The notion of “taking care of a player” most commonly refers to a generous financial package. It also refers to the attempt to surround him with the right players. In the case of LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers have taken care of him in a third way: They’ve put themselves in position to make LeBron’s physical workload a lot lighter than it’s been in the past.
The importance of this point, on the heels of Love’s announced five-year, $110 million deal on Wednesday afternoon, cannot be stressed enough: Cleveland doesn’t need new players, and it doesn’t need to give LeBron more money. The Cavs needed to take care of LeBron by reducing stress and strain on the game’s best player. By keeping Love, they’ve given themselves a chance to do that. It’s now up to David Blatt to implement the plan the Cavs would be wise to adhere to in the coming season.
*
The outlook is extremely bright for the Cavs: They won the Eastern Conference and gave the Golden State Warriors a very good fight in the NBA Finals with a very short bench. Two of their better players, Love and Kyrie Irving, were out (save for Kyrie in Game 1). Iman Shumpert’s level of shooting was hampered by a shoulder injury. Give the Cavs healthy bodies next season, and they should be the NBA title favorite, especially since Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson have shown how valuable they can be to the organization.
Love gives the Cavs that much more diversity and balance. Cleveland will enjoy so much freedom and flexibility in terms of being able to put offense-first or defense-first lineups on the floor, as situations warrant. The Cavs can create all sorts of matchup problems for opponents. If healthy, they will not have glaring deficiencies at any spot on the floor, with the possible exception of backup point guard.
What emerges for Cleveland as a need — beyond making substitutions for offense and defense, or going big or small — is to effectively and broadly distribute minutes during the regular season. This is an opportunity for Cleveland not just in the context of the 2015-2016 season, but in the attempt to replicate the Miami Heat’s run of four straight NBA Finals appearances and perhaps go beyond.
No team other than the 1960s Boston Celtics has ever made five straight NBA Finals appearances. Cleveland is in position to do so, but if the Cavs want to have a long-term focus (and this Love deal, being five years, is consistent with an outlook on the big picture), they must get serious about limiting LeBron’s minutes.
You only need to look to San Antonio to appreciate this point. The Spurs and Gregg Popovich have mastered the art of distributing minutes, giving players nights off, and counting on a deeper roster to share the workload over the course of the regular season. This approach has prolonged the careers of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili, keeping them relevant as core players on championship rosters. With LeBron having played 12 (yes, TWELVE!) years in the league, he has to be mindful of the need to rest during regular seasons. Moreover, his midseason sabbatical in the winter definitely contributed to his — and the Cavs’ — second-half surge. More rest and fewer minutes, in the San Antonio mold, have to point the way forward for Cleveland if it wants to not only win one championship, but several, in the coming years.
*
You might have doubts about the ability of the Cavs to spread out minutes such that LeBron rarely if ever has to go above 35 a night during the regular season. You might question the ability of the Cavs to play six-minute stretches in the first or second quarters without LeBron. However, you need to realize that being the number one seed in the Eastern Conference is just not something LeBron needs. History shows this to an extent that might surprise you.
Try on these facts for size:
LeBron has made the NBA Finals six times, but only once as a top seed, in 2013 with the Heat. LeBron has made the NBA Finals four times with a second-seeded team that beat a top-seeded team. In those four 1-versus-2 East finals series, LeBron’s second-seeded teams went a cumulative 16-5, never needing a Game 7. This past spring, you saw the Cavs sweep a number one seed (Atlanta) out of the playoffs. They did not need to knock themselves out in the regular season, and they never will.
If David Blatt — equipped with not just Kevin Love, but all the other complementary players on his roster — can spread out minutes, he will not only keep his full roster fresh for every playoff run; he’ll give LeBron the best possible chance to play to Tim Duncan’s age and beyond. Cleveland faces the easy temptation to chase this next (first) NBA title in 2016 with so much hunger that it exhausts LeBron and overextends itself. The far more prudent long-term approach is to save fuel for when it really matters, rationing energy and resources at every turn before the playoffs get serious (East semifinals, East finals, NBA Finals).
*
Kevin Love’s deal has given Cleveland this flexibility, so it’s only appropriate that we end with a word on Love and his legacy as an NBA player.
There’s a very clear and specific role for Love, now that he’s reaffirmed his commitment to Cleveland: It’s not just to help the organization and LeBron to win a title, but to specifically play valuable minutes throughout the regular season that make it easier for LeBron to get added (career-prolonging) rest. Love, if effective in lineup combinations with LeBron off the floor, won’t just help Cleveland and Bron in the short run; he’ll help them in the long run as well.
If he can successfully do that, how differently will we all regard Love’s career five years from now?
Love took a lot of hits this past season — the physical hits caused by injuries, but also the arrows thrown by his coach (Blatt) and pundits throughout a very trying campaign. If Love becomes a player who unequivocally lightens LeBron’s workload and thereby sustains this team for the long haul, we’re going to view him in a very new light.
This is the light Kevin Love is pursuing on a day when the Cavaliers’ future gained fresh new dimensions of possibility — for 2016 and beyond.
