How the Cleveland Cavaliers revamped culture after James Harden trade

Cleveland Cavaliers Rebuild: What’s next?

Now for the hard part, what’s next for the Cleveland Cavaliers? The franchise is starting to put together something that resembles a direction for the future, but what will their first step towards being a playoff contender be?

It starts with continued development. The Cavaliers’ young core has shown improvement – but the job is far from finished. Each member of the roster has glaring issues that either need to be solved or covered up by another player’s strengths. For instance, Sexton’s weakness as a playmaker can be forgotten if Garland continues to make leaps in that department. The same goes for Okoro’s shooting and Porter’s defense. Covering up for each other is one of the first indications of a truly great team.

To set some goals, I’d like to see Sexton strive for a 50/40/90 season, prioritizing smart shot selection over simply attacking the rim at all-times as he did in his rookie season. We can say a bit of the opposite for Garland, as I think it would benefit him to be a bit more aggressive in shooting the 3-pointer seeing as how he has such a talent for knocking down shots off the dribble.

Other goals include Okoro improving as a catch-and-shoot threat while he and Porter can both flesh out their ability to pass the ball. As for Nance, he could use some more assertiveness as an initiator on offense – and while we haven’t seen Allen play yet, I’d assume his troubles as a free throw shooter will follow him to Cleveland.

If you’ve noticed that I haven’t given goals for Andre Drummond, Cedi Osman and Kevin Love – it’s because I’m not sure they have solidified their roles with the team. Love and Drummond’s purpose as veteran leaders will evaporate as the core blossoms into stars of their own. Meanwhile, Osman just hasn’t shown enough consistency to earn hefty minutes in the rotation.

Replacing these players will most likely happen via the NBA Draft. With a loaded 2021 class upcoming, intriguing names like Cade Cunningham and Jalen Suggs can fill in on the wing for Osman – whereas a big-man with a soft shooting touch like Evan Mobly could potentially take Love’s position.

Regardless of what the Cavaliers do for the rest of this season, it’s obvious they’ve taken a step in the right direction. Next on their list is hammering in their core rotation and completing the roster with a grand slam in the draft.