The Roaming Photographer: The Cleveland Cavs

Photo Credit:

https://logos-world.net/cleveland-
cavaliers -logo/#google_vignette

The Cavaliers began play in the 1970-71 season as an expansion team(1). They set losing records in each of their first five seasons before winning their first division title in 1976(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8). The 1976 team was led by Austin Carr, Bobby “Bingo” Smith, Jim Chones, Dick Snyder, Nate Thurmond, and head coach Bill Fitch(9). It was remembered for the “Miracle at Richfield”, in which the Cavaliers defeated the Washington Bullets, 4-3, in the Eastern Conference Semifinals(10). They won Game 7, 87-85m on a shot by Snyder with four seconds to go(10). The Cavaliers moved on to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time(10), but were without Chones after he broke his toe before the series opener(11). As a result, the Cavaliers went on to lose, 4-2, to the Boston Celtics(12). They made playoff appearances in the following two seasons before a six-year playoff drought(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20).

The early 1980’s was marked by Ted Stepien’s ownership. During Stepien’s tenure, the Cavaliers made a practice of trading future draft picks for marginal veteran players(21). His most notable deal sent a 1982 first-round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Don Ford and the 22nd overall pick in 1980(22). As a result of Stepien’s dealings, the NBA introduced the “Stepien Rule”, which prohibits teams from trading first-round draft picks in successive seasons(21)(23). The Cavaliers went 66-180, dropped to the bottom of the league in attendance, and lost $15 million during Stepien’s three years as the owner(21). The Cavs went through six coaches during this span, including four during the 1981-82 season(21). The team finished 15-67, and between March and November 1982, the team had a 24-game losing streak, which, at the time, was the NBA’s longest losing streak(18)(18)(19)(24)(25) George and Gordon Gund purchased the Cavaliers from Stepien in 1983(23)(26).

The Cavaliers made the playoffs 10 times between 1985 and 1998(28). The 1988-89 season was the Cavaliers’ best season to date, finishing the regular season 57-25 with a team that included Brad Daugherty. Mark Price, Ron Harper, and Larry Nance, and head coach Lenny Wilkens(27)(28). They had their second 57-win season in 1991-92 and reached the Eastern Conference Finals that year(28)(29). However, between 1999 and 2005, the Cavaliers failed to make a playoff appearance(27). The Cavaliers finished the 2002-03 season 17-65, tied for the worst record in the NBA(30).

The Cavaliers had the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA draft, and selected future NBA MVP LeBron James, a native of nearby Akron(31). On January 3rd, 2005, the team was sold to businessman Dan Gilbert for $375 million(32)(33)(34), and the deal was finalized on March 1, 2005(35). That year, the team also hired head coach Mike Brown and general manager Danny Ferry(36). The Cavaliers built a new team around James and Zydrunas Ilgauskas by adding players such as Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, and Anderson Varajao(37)(38). Under this new leadership, the Cavaliers made five straight playoffs from 2006 to 2010, advancing to at least the second round each time(27). 2006-07 Cavaliers advanced to the franchise’s first NBA Finals, but were swept by the San Antonio Spurs(39)(40). The 2008-09 Cavaliers won a franchise-record 66 games, including a franchise-best 39-2 record at home, but lost the Eastern Conference Finals to the Orlando Magic(27). Despite the addition of four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal(42). The 2009-2010 Cavaliers were unable to return to the Eastern Conference Finals after losing to the Boston Celtics in the second round(27).

With the Cavaliers out of the playoffs, the focus turned to James’ impending free agency(42). On July 8, 2010, James announced in a nationally televised one-hour special titled The Decision that he would be signing with the Miami Heat(43). The repercussions of this announcement left many in the city of Cleveland infuriated and feeling betrayed(44). After a 19-win season in 2010-11, the Cavaliers began a rebuild around Kyrie Irving, whom they selected first overall in the 2011 NBA draft(27)(45).

In 2014, James returned to the Cavaliers after four seasons in Miami. While the Heat had a 224-88 record during James’ four-year tenure and won NBA titles in 2012 and 2013, the Cavaliers went 97-215 and missed the playoffs each season(46). The Cavaliers made several moves to build a championship-contending team around James, most notably acquiring power forward Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves, which created what many fans and media referred to as a “Big Three” with James, Love, and Irving(47). The Lebron-led Cavaliers made four consecutive Finals appearances from 2015 to 2018 – all against the Golden State Warriors – winning in 2016(27)48). The 2016 NBA Championship marked the Cavaliers’ first title in franchise history, as they became the first team to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the Finals(48) It was also Cleveland’s first championship in major professional sports since the 1964 Browns, signaling the end of the so-called Cleveland sports curse(49).

The Cavaliers’ roster went through many changes in the 2017-18 season, most notably the trade of Irving to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas and other assets(50)(51). Thomas was later traded to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a trade deadline overhaul that saw the Cavaliers add Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr. (son of Cavs legend Larry Nance), and others(52). The following offseason, James declined his player option to rejoin the team, instead signing with the Lakers(53). In the following two seasons, the team recorded only 19 wins and failed to make the playoffs. (27).

In the first three seasons since James left the second time, the Cavaliers won a total of 60 games, missed the playoffs each season, and have had four different head coaches: Tyronn Lue, Larry Drew, John Beilein, and current head coach J.B. Bickerstaff(27)(53)(54).

In the 2021-22 season, the Cavs finished 44-38 and eighth in the Eastern Conference, and qualified for the NBA play-in tournament, marking the first time the team played in the event. This also marks the team’s first postseason basketball since 2017-18 and the first time a non-LeBron-led team qualified for postseason play since 1997-98. The team, however, did not make it out of the play-in tournament, losing the game to the Brooklyn Nets and then to the Atlanta Hawks, ending their season.

On March 26, 2023, the Cavaliers clinched a spot in the NBA playoffs, making this the first time since 2018 that the team entered the playoffs, with a 108-91 win over the Houston Rockets. This was also the first time since 1998 that the team entered the playoffs without LeBron James(56). They wound up losing their first-round playoff series to the New York Knicks four games to one(57).

On October 25, 2023, it was announced that defensive end Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns had purchased a minority ownership stake in the Cavaliers. Along with his ownership stake, Garrett would serve as an ambassador for the team(58).

The Cleveland Cavaliers headed into the 2024 NBA Playoffs with the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference, facing the Orlando Magic.

Resources:

Pages

Tuesday, July 16, 2024

The Cleveland Cavs

No comments:

Post a Comment

Labels

Report Abuse