Fascinating Failure

Another year, another early playoff exit for LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. This was supposed to be their year, but they came up short against a wily Boston Celtics team that put it all together after waffling through the second half of the regular season. While the Celtics deserve praise for how they handled the Cavs, much of this epic collapse falls on the Cavaliers organization.

Despite being the best regular season team two seasons in a row with the league's back-to-back MVP, the Cavs' personnel moves have reeked of desperation ever since they pulled the trigger on the Shaq trade this past summer. With the clock ticking down on LeBron's impending free agency, Cleveland's management made decisions that were supposedly meant to put the Cavs over the hump, when in reality they were making decisions in an attempt to appease LeBron James. Of course this is easier said in hindsight, but the Cavs made moves simply because they could, not necessarily because they should. These trades culminated in another heartbreaking season for Cavs fans that was wrought in irony.

Let's begin with the acquisition of Shaquille O'Neal. The Cavs supposed motive in making this trade was to have a true center to compete with Dwight Howard after falling to the Magic in last year's playoffs. All they had to give up was the ineffective Sasha Pavlovic, an aging Ben Wallace, $500,000 and a second round pick. Doesn't sound like much for a legendary big man bound for the Hall of Fame, does it? No, but it wasn't a smart basketball move.

Shaq has been a poison in the locker room for years now, and the Cavs should have known that his laziness and ego would outweigh his diminishing skills and abilities. While Shaq did perform well considering his age, he clearly wasn't the answer. The irony in the Shaq acquisition is that he never had the chance to prove if he was the missing piece against the Magic (which I doubt he would've been) and that Ben Wallace may have actually been more useful against the Celtics guarding Kevin Garnett.

The Cavs performed well throughout the regular season, but with the trade deadline looming in February, management felt they needed to make another move as if to say, "Hey, LeBron! We're trying! We're really really trying!" I'm not going to pretend like I know what was being said behind closed doors, but it seemed that Cleveland had a very real opportunity to acquire Amare Stoudemire for Big Z and J.J. Hickson. But the Cavs were reluctant to part with the young Hickson and instead capitalized on the Wizards' firesale that arose from the aftermath of the Gilbert Arenas debacle. The trade seemed too good to be true. A former two-time All-Star and 20-10 guy for no more than a first round pick and 30 days without Big Z. A no-brainer, right? Not quite.

Although I can't blame them, Cavs management let their loyalty to Big Z get in the way of making the better trade. Maybe the Amare trade talks were nothing more than posturing by Phoenix, but if that deal really was feasible, Cleveland dropped the ball. Jamison is approaching the wrong side of his career while Stoudemire is looking like a man possessed as he and the Suns have ascended to the Western Conference Finals. Amare would have been a better addition to the team and he would have given LeBron more incentive to remain in Cleveland.

The irony here is that the Cavs were hesitant to give up J.J. Hickson to acquire Amare, but Mike Brown hardly played him in the post-season despite his role in the Cavs' regular season success. Instead, Brown went with the unknown, playing Shaq and Jamison who never had the chance to develop chemistry together on the court. The Cavs had a very deep frontline in place for the post-season, but Mike Brown had no idea how to use it and this failure (amongst others) will most likely cost him his job.

Clearly, change is on the way in Cleveland. However big that change may be boils down to where LeBron ultimately decides to sign, but even if he does stay there will undoubtedly be major changes. If LeBron chooses loyalty over a major market (New York), a young core (Chicago/New Jersey), or the chance to play with a fellow superstar (Miami), the Cavs organization will have to find a coach and teammates who push him to give everything he has to the game. For too long, the Cavs have tried to make James happy and content in Cleveland, rather than try to make him hungry for the ultimate goal: the NBA Championship.