It may seem daunting, but rebuilding the Cleveland Cavaliers is not an impossible task.

 

Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson are a good start. These two young talents from Duke and Texas, respectively, are a nice jumping off point for the post-Lebron era in Cleveland.

 

Irving may have only played 12 games with Duke, but if not for the 19-year-old rule, he would have been a top five pick out of high school. A very good shooter who can also drive, Irving should be able to take command of this Cavs team relatively soon. As for Thompson, he has the potential to be a fine forward in the NBA. He should benefit greatly under the tutelage of Cavs starting power forward Antawn Jamison.

 

This year teams have an Amnesty (aka buyer's remorse) Clause, which allow teams to wipe one contract off the books. The Cavs decided to use it on Baron Davis, which frees up 28 million over the next two years and puts the team 7 million under the salary cap for this year. Davis showed that he can still go last season, but being injured, this was definitely the right call.

 

The Cavaliers also acquired little known forward Omri Casspi from the Sacramento Kings for JJ Hickson. This could end up being a great trade for the Cavs in the short term. Casspi shot over 60 percent from behind the line when shooting from the corners, which was by far the best in the NBA. Speaking of high 3-point field goal percentages, the Cavs have also resigned Anthony Parker. He brings a great veteran presence to the team which is what they will need when it comes to tutoring the young players they have and will have in the future.

 

Players like Christian Eyenga, and Samardo Samuels are not going to get you to the playoffs, nor are they a long term answer.  The free agent market could be used for some help plugging holes, but at the same time giving you a chance to win some games. A solid free agent that could help would be a player the real Cavs released this year, and that would be Joey Graham. Graham has a nice B+ outside shooting rating in the game. This would give the Cavs a number of talented marksmen on the court.

 

 

What it all comes down to in my opinion is the draft, with a good set of Draft Class rosters. Even with the signings and draft picks, you should end up with another great pick in next year’s draft. My personal preference would have to be the virtual equivalent of Jered Sullinger from The Ohio State University. Not much needs to be said about him. He will be a baller for sure.

 

Other than Sullinger, some other hot draft prospects that could help this team would be Andre Drummond and Jeremy Lamb from UConn. Either of these super talented players could go number one overall. Let’s hope the Cavs aren’t in that position again. If not, a more realistic approach would be getting someone like Austin Rivers from Duke or Meyers Leonard from Illinois. I would personally like to see Meyers Leonard as a Cavalier. The team needs a dominant center again.

 

The fact of the matter is, we can speculate all day. Having to rebuild the Cavs is not going to be an easy task. I could see the virtual Cavs being competitive in the 2012-13 season, and even playoff bound the year after. 

 

If you are a Cleveland fan, or just want a monumental challenge, get that association going and let us know how it all shakes out.

 

Which franchise do you think is the toughest challenge to rebuild in NBA 2K12?