Via Bleacher Report
Key Players: LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas, Kevin Love, Derrick Rose(I'll explain)
The Kyrie Irving era is over in Cleveland. Actually, it never got a chance to start; Kyrie's time with the Cavs is more widely known as the post LeBron and return of LeBron era. Moving on from the disgruntled Irving , the Cavs' plan seems to be the same as the last three years--give LeBron James a solid roster and hope for the best. Isaiah Thomas, second team All-NBA guard, is the clear number two on that solid roster. However, no one, including Cleveland and Isaiah Thomas, seems to know how bad Thomas' hip injury truly is. One source stated, "no one has any idea how quickly this will heal or if it will heal at all." Never count Isaiah Thomas out, but it's looking like Derrick Rose will be the Cavs' starting point guard for most of the regular season. *insert knee joke here*
Best Case Scenario
Via SI.com
What is a best case scenario for a team that's been to three straight Finals?
Is it another trip to the Finals? That would be great, but no.
Is it Isaiah Thomas returning to his 28.9 points per game form? That would be great as well, but no again.
What if they sign Dwyane Wade and somehow beat the Warriors? That's a dream scenario, but still not good enough to be the Cavs' best case scenario.
What can a team do better than having it all?
The answer to that question is keeping it all, and for the Cavs/city of Cleveland LeBron James is it all. A championship is a franchise's ultimate goal, and for the foreseeable future LeBron James gives the Cavs a yearly shot at the title. With LeBron comes deep playoff runs, and with deep playoff runs comes deep pockets. Upon James' 2015 return home, bar owners reported revenue increases between 30 and 200 percent, county sales tax went up an average of 10 percent, and Northeast Ohio generated nearly $162 million more. James deciding to stay home is the Cavs' and Cleveland's economies best case scenario.
Worst Case Scenario
Via Total Pro Sports
"There's an old saying in Tennessee—I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee—that says, 'Fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again.'"~George W. Bush
The Cavaliers clearly learned their lesson from LeBron James' 2010 decision and, in the words of George W. Bush, can't be fooled again. The team was able to pry the Nets' 2018 draft pick from Danny Ainge and the Celtics, leaving them with a solid fall back option should James take his talents elsewhere. However, a number of other negative scenarios have real possibilities. For example, Isaiah Thomas' aforementioned hip could cause him to miss significant time, setting up a return that disrupts the team's on-court chemistry late in the season. Another very possible scenario is the new-look Cavs not making it to the finals. *Gasp, LeBron not in the Finals* .Vegas has the Cavaliers only slightly ahead of the Celtics(4/1 vs 8/1 odds) to win the championship. Either of these examples open the door for a LeBron James exit.
Prediction: 51-31