ATLTimekeeper wrote:teke184 wrote:zshawn10 wrote:holy crap this thread blew up
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I’m curious as to the “context” myself.
Because I can sure see how trying to build a title team centered on a guy perpetually on one season deals would be stressful as hell and make it near-impossible to do any form of long term strategizing.
What long-term strategizing did he have to do? They had two all-stars through their primes to surround LBJ with and had just won a title. ffs, LeBron made 4 straight finals in Cleveland, why is Griffin complaining about sustainability? He was wrong. It was sustainable. That's about as good a run as you can get.
For one, same crap that Cleveland had to deal with in their FIRST LeBron run... few want to commit to there if they don’t know LeBron is staying for the length of their contract. As mentioned upthread, this helped take them out of the Paul George trade sweepstakes.
For another, part of the deal of having a superstar on the roster is a plan of what to do if they leave, which is mainly timing contracts and cap hits so that you aren’t stuck with up to 4 years of crap and repeater tax after they go.
You know, exactly what the Cavs are suffering through right now as they finish up deals for guys like JR Smith (cut) and Tristan Thompson (expiring) who were supporting pieces next to LeBron but are crap without him.
Most teams extending guys of questionable quality will try to have them expire at the same time as their star so that they aren’t left with expensive useless parts when the star leaves.
In short, the GM job with LeBron is high stress, to where getting anything other than a title is a disappointment, while at the same time the sword of Damocles is hanging over your head and you may have to spend 4 years in purgatory getting rid of all the guys you had brought in to support him if he decides to walk in that particular offseason.
The people talking up Cleveland under LeBron are focusing on the highs while he was there, not the issues with achieving those highs or the inevitable crash that happens when he takes his talents to South Beach or LA.
LeBron may be gone but the team and the GM are still there and are having to pick up the pieces afterward. And even before then, people can see the oncoming train but know they can do little to avoid it.