While the Cleveland Cavaliers remain the cream of the crop in the weak Eastern Conference, they had a flat offseason, to say the least. Though the Boston Celtics have improved themselves substantially, they will still likely need more to legitimately contend with Cleveland.
But the Celtics aren’t who the Cavs are worried about, instead, it’s the Western Conference team they will face in the Finals as powerhouse squads continue to form out West. LeBron James reportedly has been frustrated with the lack of offseason moves from the Cavs front office and he isn’t the only star that has something to say about their quiet summer.
Point guard Kyrie Irving also recently gave his two cents on the Cavs current state, saying they are in a ‘peculiar place’ with the lack of movement they’ve made. Following from Sports Illustrated Twitter:
Kyrie on the Cavs' offseason: 'We're in a peculiar place'https://t.co/PpEI1ZScEj pic.twitter.com/WFQGuoKSw8
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 19, 2017
While peculiar may not be the exact right word, the message Kyrie Irving is trying to get across is clear. He and James both know they’ve got more than enough to come out of the East again, but the question is do they have the firepower to match up with whoever prevails in the West, likely Golden State.
The Warriors have made a few signings here and there but their roster looks similar to last seasons as well. However, the Warriors aren’t the team in need of moves. They are the clear-cut best team in the league and the Cavs likely had to make a major addition to even the playing field but ultimately couldn’t get anything done, striking out on stars such as Jimmy Butler and Paul George.
Add LeBron’s looming free agency to their lack of roster improvements and it’s easy to see why Kyrie feels the way he does. While the Cavs are still one of the few teams linked to Carmelo Anthony, Cleveland has remained mostly stagnant for this entire offseason and their two main stars are taking notice.
