NBA Season Preview 2018-19: Cavaliers roster not built for life without LeBron James

The Cleveland Cavaliers built a roster to contend for NBA titles with LeBron James. Will there be enough to be competitive now that he is no longer in wine and gold?

When the best basketball player in the world is on your roster, especially when he is seemingly approaching the end of his prime, you do what you can to win an NBA title. For the last four seasons, that was the exact position the Cavaliers found themselves in, which meant adding veterans whenever possible and using young players and draft picks as the way to do so. While that approach led to a title that the city will never forget, it also has put Cleveland in a difficult situation now that James is playing in Los Angeles.

The Cavaliers now sit in that awkward position where a rebuild makes the most sense, but the team is still mostly designed to win games now. With a very weak Eastern Conference this season, it is not hard to see a situation where the collection of veterans wins just enough games to secure the sixth, seventh or eighth seed and a berth in the playoffs. It also isn’t that difficult to see a world where management makes smart decisions and trades some of those veteran pieces to actual contenders around the trade deadline, freeing up room for younger players to gain bigger roles and more minutes.

What that all adds up to is a bit of confusion in figuring out exactly what the Cavaliers rotation will look like this season. Here is the best guess based on how things sit right now.