How riders can do the unthinkable and make playoffs in the 1st post-LeBron season | Bleacher's report

The Cleveland Cavaliers are aged 1 to 8 years, have already fired their head coach, do not have Kevin Love team leader as a result of an operation at the toe and occupy the last rank of the defensive classification.

The chemistry was delayed by a cloakroom of veterans who thought they would be traded after LeBron and would now dress with a rookie Sexton Collin who does not "know how to play," as reported by Joe Vardon of The Athletic.

And yet, they are still at 2.5 games from the East series.

Only five of the 15 East teams have a winning record, which means that no matter the start of the Cavaliers' game, the hope of the playoffs is not lost yet.

The intelligence is to rebuild, hire veterans to get some compensation and play against big minutes at Sexton, Cedi Osman and Larry Nance Jr. Losing means keeping your choice of the first round of 2019 if you are in Cleveland , since the team is moving towards a record low of the list.

Of course, factor Dan Gilbert must be considered as the owner.

Gilbert and General Manager Koby Altman had the opportunity to put this team away from the studs this summer and chose not to do so. Instead, they chose to sign Channing Frye, 35, and extend Love's four-year contract. All parties refused to use the word "rebuild", no matter how bad the team looked so far until now.

What if Gilbert decided to keep running in the playoffs? What if his ego and his wallet wanted it to remain a competitive team, despite such a disastrous start?

Options for the Cavaliers would be available if Gilbert was willing to accept dubious contracts and sacrifice future financial flexibility.

Instant changes

No matter if the Cavs make the "right choice" and the right tank this season or if they go into fast repair mode, some blatant changes must be made immediately. The first frees Sexton, 8th overall, from his current role alongside Jordan Clarkson.

On the surface, Clarkson looks like one of the Cavs' best players. He is the team's second-leading scorer with 15.8 points per game and 49.6% of his career-high performance. As a microwave marker turned into one of the NBA's leading benchmark producers, Clarkson has been solid in his role.

However, this role does not include a lot of passes or improvement of his entourage, which hampers the growth of Sexton.

Sexton is averaging 21.2 points on 47.8 percent shooting and is a plus-2.5 by 36 minutes this season when he does not share the ground with Clarkson. His offensive value is 109.4 when he guides himself to the second unit.

When they are together, Sexton's numbers drop to 15.3 points on 38.6% shooting, with a plus / minus minus -16.9 score. The 19-year-old athlete's attack drops to 94.5 alongside Clarkson.

Cleveland can solve this problem in several ways. The Cavs could choose to start Sexton in front of veteran George Hill or at his side, knocking Rodney Hood or Osman off the bench. They could also trade Clarkson against a team needing to score points.

The other major problem is the ranked defense ranked 30th in the team. With a defensive score of 118.5, the Cavs are close to 20 points per 100 possessions worse than the Boston Celtics, No. 1 in the standings (98.9).

This is not a problem that has suddenly manifested itself. The Cavaliers were 29th in total defense last season, even with LeBron James in a team of 50 wins. The year before was hardly better, with Cleveland finishing 21st.

It is necessary to return to the time when Ty Lue had directed the defense as assistant of David Blatt in order to find this team of Cavs among the 10 best. or near the bottom of the league.

The way Lue and his assistant Damon Jones were fired, but not Longabardi is disconcerting, given the terrible horror the Cavs have in defense. both a participant in the final and now with the worst league record. Longabardi should be added to the list of former Cavs coaches.

Business objectives

Cleveland needs a lot of talent even to sniff the playoffs of the East.

Gilbert may not be patient enough to wait for freedom of decision, and he should not be forced either. That is, he is willing to pay. The class of free agents 2019 will be loaded. Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Jimmy Butler and Kemba Walker are top of the list, while many additional talents come just below.

First, let's be clear: none of these players will sign with the Cavs.

Instead, Cleveland's mission should be to identify teams who believe they are contenders in the free agent market and who seek to create as much capitalization space as possible. The Cavaliers have three players (Hill, JR Smith and Kyle Korver) who all have little guaranteed offers for next season and can be bought at a low price.

Although a team may have little need to play against Smith this season, it can save nearly $ 12 million by simply giving up on it next June. Hill owes only $ 1 million on his $ 18 million contract. Korver can receive $ 3.4 million out of its $ 7.5 million. For teams that already have an eye on next summer and are about to remove one (or two) maximum contract slot, they become valuable players.

Possible commercial targets would include Danilo Gallinari of the Los Angeles Clippers, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee of the New York Knicks and Harrison Barnes of the Dallas Mavericks. All come from teams that should attract stars this summer with the desire for more cap space.

There is also the list of teams pushing the limits of luxury taxes and looking to get rid of their salary, even if it means moving a good player in the process.

It could be the Wizards of Washington with Otto Porter Jr. (three years, $ 82 million), Hassan Whiteside of Miami Heat (two years, $ 53 million) or Kent Bazemore of Atlanta Hawks (two years, $ 37 million) ).

Of course, there is still a big business goal that has done everything to be moved in vain.

By ESPN Adrian Wojnarowski, the Cavs continued an exchange for Jimmy Butler before the start of the season, an agreement that seemed to be orchestrated by Gilbert and the owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Glen Taylor. Cleveland could propose a set of considerations regarding Korver, Clarkson, Hood, Osman and / or the project if Gilbert wanted to play with Butler.

These are all short-sighted movements, of course, which means that they could be at the height of Gilbert's reputation.

If the owner wants to abandon a rebuilding project while trying to play in the playoffs this season, the options are available.

Greg Swartz covers the NBA for Bleacher report. Follow on Twitter.