Winner — Cleveland Cavaliers
Maybe this sounds odd. Hear me out. LeBron leaving isn’t the end of the world. It felt that way eight years ago, but the man returned and delivered a championship in 2016. Every Cleveland fan I’ve talked to is thankful for that moment and wouldn’t replace it for anything. There was no outrage from Clevelanders on Sunday night. There was reflection and peace. He returned, he delivered on his promise, he left via a press release and not on national television. Even Dan Gilbert wrote him a sweet letter.
LeBron had nothing left to prove in Cleveland. Despite going 1-3 in four Finals trips, he cemented his legacy as nothing less than the second greatest player of all-time. He took the Cavaliers as far as he could take them for four straight years and was looking for a new challenge.
The Cavaliers should not only thank him for the last four years, they should thank him for the next four. The team, as currently constructed, was never beating the Warriors. They may not have beaten the Celtics this upcoming season. Had LeBron stayed, they would have been doing the same song and dance they’ve been doing the past two years. Hand out bad contracts to the likes of J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Tristan Thompson, trade for guys like Rodney Hood, George Hill, and Jordan Clarkson, and hope LeBron can figure it all out. They were dealing long-term assets for short-term rentals that weren’t paying off.
Now, they can look towards the future. The next two seasons are going to be rough, but that’s ok. They have their 2019 and 2020 first round picks, as long as they land in the top 10. You want the next two seasons to be rough because you don’t want to lose those picks. Not only will they hopefully have two high draft picks in the next two seasons, but their cap sheet in clean as a whistle in 2020.
Two summers from now, Cleveland will have Collin Sexton, two more top-10 picks, and (accounting for those draft picks) less than $20 million in guaranteed salary. The 2016 title doesn’t expire. Enjoy that and prepare for a post-LeBron world.