2009-10 NBA Season Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers

Depth Chart:

C: Shaquille O’Neal/Zydrunas Ilgauskas

PF: Anderson Varejao/J.J. Hickson/Darnell Jackson/Leon Powe

SF: LeBron James/Jamario Moon/Jawad Williams

SG: Anthony Parker/Delonte West/Danny Green/Coby Karl

PG: Mo Williams/Daniel Gibson

Head Coach: Mike Brown (5th year)

2009-2010 Team Salary: $81.6 million

Projected 2010-2011 Team Salary: approximately $35.1 million

Off-Season Grade: Aced

Trading Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic for Shaq made a whole lot of sense. I mean, why not? Both former Cavs were not going to play vital roles in Cleveland this season and Shaq could be the force inside the Cavs need to take the next step of winning the NBA title. If it does not work out, Shaq is a free agent after this season, so it was worth rolling the dice.

The Cavs also did a nice job of bringing in complementary players. Anthony Parker will bring his three-point prowess to Cleveland while Jamario Moon is a nice addition to the bench. When Leon Powe gets healthy, he could be an absolute bargain and a huge spark off the bench during the postseason like he was last year in Boston.

2009-2010 Outlook:

With the pending free agency of King James, it may be now or never in Cleveland. Orlando and Boston both improved in the offseason, so claiming the Eastern Conference crown will be no easy task. But LeBron continues to develop into an all-around dominating player and is running with the best talent he has played with in his tenure in Cleveland. As Shaq said, “The goal is to get the King a ring.” Anything less will be considered a disappointment.

Looking Ahead to the Summer of 2010:

Minus that whole “LeBron opting out of his contract and possibly abandoning the Cavs franchise” thing, there isn’t much going on in Cleveland this summer. Oh, except for the fact that both of their aging centers are free agents.

I am not going to beat a dead horse. LeBron is very likely to test the free-agent waters and could sign with the Knicks, Nets or Clippers, but he’ll probably stay in Cleveland. Shaq and Big Z hit the market as well. The only way the Diesel is returning is if LeBron re-signs. Otherwise, he is gone. Ilgauskas is rumored to be considering retirement after this season.

If Cleveland loses all three, they will still be about $17 million under the cap and could pursue one of the many big-named free agents. Translating it all – it is going to be an insanely interesting offseason for the Cavs.

2009-10 NBA Power Ranking: 4th