Cleveland Cavaliers: Complete 2016 Offseason Grades

Cleveland Cavaliers: 2016 Offseason Grades

Jun 16, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the fourth quarter with guard J.R. Smith (5) against the Golden State Warriors in game six of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

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Jun 22, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving, forward LeBron James and guard J.R. Smith laugh during the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA championship celebration in downtown Cleveland. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

Overall

Coming off their first ever championship, it would’ve been easy for the Cavs to be complacent this summer. Instead, they worked their way into the second round of the draft to snag Kay Felder, added a useful bench scorer in Mike Dunleavy and ensured their status as perennial contenders by bringing back LeBron James.

The new deal for King James is a victory in and of itself, but the Cavs also avoided him signing another 1+1 deal, opting out next summer — when the cap jumps to $102 million — and signing an even larger deal.

However, Cleveland also lost a bit of depth this summer with Mozgov and Dellavedova departing. Mozzy was hardly a factor come playoff time and Delly similarly struggled in the Finals, but they helped with the grind of the regular season.

There were no blockbuster moves to be had for Cleveland this summer, which automatically knocks them down a peg from the Warriors — a team that won 73 games last year, was one win (and possibly a Draymond Green suspension) away from the title and just added Kevin Durant.

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Just by bringing LeBron James back though, the Cavs would’ve gotten something in the “A” range. If they’re able to take care of business and bring J.R. Smith back into the fold, this A- will move up to a full A.

Grade: A-

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