Cleveland Cavaliers Roster 2019 Cavaliers Roster

For the second time this decade, The King has abdicated his reign in Cleveland. Last time that LeBron James left town, the Cavaliers went from great to average. Where Cleveland will benefit from Lebron's Exit Part Deux is that James has left the Eastern Conference completely. While there are two teams that are clearly at the top of the pecking order, everything else beneath them is wide-open territory. The Big Three of LeBron, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love is now the Big One of Love. Minus LeBron, there actually is some roster continuity in Cleveland. The Cavaliers made a bunch of late season moves to try to put a winner around James and convince him to stay. Now that LeBron has skipped town, some of these moves may start paying dividends. Now, Cleveland is actually an intriguing team with several pieces on the roster that have some upside. It will definitely be an interesting season in Cleveland.

Top Cleveland Cavaliers Roster Questions 2019

We all heard it, this was LeBron James worst starting cast of his career, although you can argue for those early Cavs years as well. This was a tale of two halves, trading for George Hill, Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood, and Larry Nance. When you already have J.R. Smith, Jeff Green, and Tristan Thompson, it wasn’t helping a whole lot. Kevin Love was the secondary start on this team, but injuries and inconsistent play made it tough on him. Looking back at this roster, it was truly an unbelievable job that James took this team to the finals. Moving forward there is a lot of uncertainty with James being a free agent. The Cavs own the Nets pick, and they will look to build around him or use him as a sidekick to James moving forward. The Kyrie Irving trade never quite worked, neither did trying to fill in with Derrick Rose and Isaiah Thomas.

How Will the Pieces Mesh Without LeBron?

King James was the glue that held this team together. The ball seemed to run through his hands on every key possession. There are now a bunch of pieces on the roster with potential, but this may as well be a new team without their leader returning. There are easily half a dozen players on the Cavaliers who can be labeled as possible second options to Love. However, there are a multitude of players on the roster who seem as if their styles do not mesh together. Having LeBron will always paper over a lack of team chemistry. These issues tend to get exposed when the team leader is gone.

Where will the Leadership Come From?

The marquee player on this roster is now Love. He is best as a complimentary piece. When asked to fill a leadership role in Minnesota, Love did not rise to the task. Now, he is several years more experienced and has played several years alongside LeBron. The question now is whether Love has the desire and ability to step up as a team leader. Love is fresh off of a contract extension, and this is now his team. Prior to landing in Cleveland, Love was one of the top players in the league. He is a threat both inside and outside and one of the better rebounders in the league. Love is now 30 years old, and the question is how much toll injuries and the turmoil in Cleveland have taken on him.

Is Tyronn Lue OK?

Anxiety and health issues wore greatly on coach Tyronn Lue last season to the point where he had to take a nine-game leave of absence to recover. Granted, there is a lot of pressure coaching one of the greatest players to ever put on a uniform. With lower expectations for this team, Lue may be able to relax and coach what may be a fun team to coach and watch. Lue's health will certainly be a question mark hanging over this team all season.