2018-2019 Finish: 65-17 3^rd in Eastern Conference

     Back to back NLL Champions

Season Highlight:

The highlight of the season has to be repeating as NLL champions. GM Pete stayed consistent with his core of Lebron and Drummond and rode them to another title. They might not have finished first in the conference but they won the games that many other teams are envious of.

Season Lowlight:

In such a great season, the big hit to the franchise was the loss of their GM. Pistolpk was an incredibly active GM in the league, providing entertainment to our ears in the form of his podcasts. Besides his contributions to the league, he also was one of the hardest working GMs for his franchise. He changed the team’s culture by having them in the practice gym quite often. He was a master tinkerer with his lineups and knew that he’d have his team in the best position to win each time they took to the court. The franchise will miss him and the new GM will have some large shoes to fill.

Best Trade:

The Cleveland Cavaliers send Serge Ibaka to the Sacramento Kings. The Sacramento Kings send Boban Marjanovic to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Note: Dirk Nowitzki was also sent over to Cleveland after free agency as part of this deal.

Pete had a strategy and knew that Boban would play very well in our league. He was an excellent bench big for him, averaging 8 points and 7 rebounds. Dirk being added as well was another seasoned vet who started 58 games for the Cavaliers. This move also shaved off $14 million off the books for Pete.

Worst Trade:

Pete wasn’t known for his trading and very few trades were made last season. When you’re the reigning NLL champs, I’m not sure there is such a thing as a worst trade.

Other Notable Trades:

The Cleveland Cavaliers send Kosta Koufos to the Houston Rockets. The Houston Rockets send Wilson Chandler to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Adding a solid contributor off the bench in the playoffs in Wilson Chandler for a middling big is never a bad move. There are lots of cogs to turn in the machine that is an NBA franchise.

Free Agency:

This is where things start getting a bit dicey. The team currently has 5 players under contract, one of which is Lebron James, you might have heard of him. The other two that round out the core are Andre Drummond and Robert Covington. That’s a fairly solid top 3 and it has served Pete well the last couple of years. There are 2 free agents for the new GM to consider: Gerald Green and Michael Carter-Williams. With both having an A loyalty and cheap contracts, it won’t break the bank to sign them both. It takes more than 9 players to have an NLL champion though. Author’s note: at the time of this writing, it was unknown how many GM points the franchise has. The team will likely be very active in free agency as it looks to start filling out more slots on the team.

Star:

Lebron James. What else needs to be said? The King has gotten another ring and it’s in large part due to his efforts this season (mainly the post-season). I don’t care that he only played 50 games in the regular season. When it really mattered, he was there and ready to play.

Goat:

Justin Jackson. When you are traded for Terrence Ross and a 1^st round pick, you’re expected to perform. Jackson only managed 5 points per game which is not enough to justify that price at this time. He was only a 2^nd year player so he’ll have to step it up to avoid being in this slot again next year.

Draft Grades:

#50) Terance Mann and #58) Kyle Guy

Both are seniors and you kinda know what you are getting with them.  They will be able to come in and contribute right away.  If they end up making an NBA roster, these will be contributors to the aging Cavs team.

Grade: A-

The Future:

With the loss of their superstar GM and many members of their championship team gone, where does the franchise go from here? Do they look to load up for one more run with their current core or do they blow it up and trade away their top guys to get a haul back? This is actually one of the more intriguing teams to keep an eye out for next season, no matter which way they end up going.