Golden State Warriors were simply too strong this year and they ran over the Cleveland Cavaliers in just five games. Even though LeBron James was amazing and he even averaged a triple-double in the series, rest of the team let him down, especially the bench players.
In order to stay competitive and have a chance to win a championship next year, the Cavaliers will have to make some big moves. It is obvious that this year's roster cannot compete with the Warriors as the team depends a lot on LeBron. Therefore, something has to be changed as James cannot play for 48 minutes every single game.
Here are some moves the Cavaliers could do to improve and go back to the NBA Finals next year.
1) Sign a big-name free agent
Two best free agents this summer will be Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, and it is not likely they will join any other team after winning a championship. While Durant has a player option on his contract, Curry will be an unrestricted free agent and the Warriors might have to pay him a lot.
However, two Los Angeles Clippers superstars, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, will also be on the free-agent market this year. Both of them could improve the Cavaliers, but it is questionable if Cleveland can afford them as the team will have to pay over $120 million for their players next year, which is well above the salary cap.
2) Trade for a superstar
Despite losing the 2017 NBA Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers are still the second-best team in the league and they are an attractive free-agent destination. There are already rumors that Kevin Love could be traded this summer, and the Cavaliers could get a lot in return for him.
Love would be a great first option on many NBA teams and the Cavaliers could trade him for Paul George or Carmelo Anthony.
While it's true that Kevin Love had a great season with the Cavaliers, it is not very likely that they can beat this amazing Warriors team with him.
3) Get another head coach
Even though Tyronn Lue did a great job with the Cavaliers in the regular season, his struggles were in the spotlight in the playoffs, especially during the Finals.
The Cavaliers head coach could not make the team function properly when LeBron James was on the bench, and they struggled a lot because of it.
In order to succeed next year, the Cavaliers will have to come up with a much better gameplan and they will have to perform well, with or without LeBron. Lue hasn't shown that he's capable of adjusting his strategy with James on the bench, and he might lose his job as a consequence.
4) Improve the bench
The Cavaliers would benefit from adding another star player to the roster, but one of their biggest weaknesses is their bench. In the last game of this year's NBA Finals, the Cavaliers' bench scored only 7 points. On the other side, the Warriors' backup players accounted for 35 points.
Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye and Kyle Korver will be paid over $20 million combined and the Cavaliers might be better off trading some of them to another team. Even though this is an era of super teams, bench players are very important and the Cavaliers learned it the hard way.
5) Reunite with old friends
LeBron James would benefit a lot from Dwyane Wade and there's a chance that the shooting guard joins the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer. Wade would have a great opportunity to win another championship ring, while the Cavaliers would get another veteran who can perform well and led the team when James is on the bench.
Wade and LeBron won two championship rings in Miami and they were extremely fun to watch, and we might see more of them. Who knows, maybe Chris Bosh could join them as well?
