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Will the Cleveland Cavaliers ever be a top spot for free agents?

By Tony Pesta

CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 30: A general view as fans gather outside Quicken Loans Arena before a game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks on October 30, 2014 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 30: A general view as fans gather outside Quicken Loans Arena before a game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks on October 30, 2014 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Cleveland Cavaliers never find themselves as a top spot for star free agents. Will this theme ever change for Cleveland?

For as long as they have been an NBA franchise, the Cleveland Cavaliers have never been the ideal landing spot for top free agents. Even with LeBron James being their most iconic player, he left the team twice via free agency.

Their failure in this area could be for a few reasons. Perhaps the city has such a bad reputation from its history that players feel turned off by the idea of playing in Cleveland. Maybe it’s their controversial owner, Dan Gilbert. More simply, it could be because the team has only won one championship in its 50 years of existence and has one of the worst win percentages of any NBA franchise.

This trend trickles down into other sports within Cleveland. The Browns have been the laughingstock of the NFL for most of the century, while the Indians have seen only a few seasons of success. For the most part, no team in Cleveland has managed to sign and keep a major star. Of course, these two things play into each other. It’s tough to win championships when no significant players want to play for your team.

However, things have been changing in Cleveland recently. While James might have left the city, star NFL players such as Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. are only getting started. The culture is slowly changing in Cleveland, but could the city ever become a top spot for NBA free agents?

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