12up Logo

John Beilein Drama is Further Evidence the Cavaliers Are Broken Without LeBron James

By Jerry Trotta

LeBron James' first game back in Cleveland as a Laker
LeBron James' first game back in Cleveland as a Laker / Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Former Michigan head coach John Beilein stunned the basketball world last year when he abandoned Ann Arbor in favor of a long-desired move to the NBA.

What was so shocking was the fact that he left a tremendous gig with the Wolverines, where he was genuinely thriving, for the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team presently at a crossroads and facing a rebuild.

Well, it appears that the Cavaliers' stench has taken its toll on Beilein less than a year into their marriage, because Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Sunday night that the 67-year-old is seriously considering stepping down in Cleveland.

Cleveland putting all of their eggs in Beilein's basket, a man who had zero previous professional coaching experience on his resume, was an audacious move, at best. The organization promptly signed him to a massive five-year contract.

That eternal goose chase for relevancy further proves that the Cavaliers are a walking dumpster fire without LeBron James, who entered the league in 2003 when the team hadn't won more than 32 games in the previous FIVE years.

By James' third season, he had catapulted the Cavs into perennial contenders, advancing as far as the Eastern Conference Semifinals each year until the 2009-2010 season.

That offseason, LeBron rightfully bolted for South Beach to chase rings with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Care to guess what Cleveland's record was during The King's reign with the Heat? 97-215. Folks, the Cavs won 19 games in their first year without the kid from Akron.

James, of course, would return in 2014 and led the franchise to FOUR consecutive trips to the Finals. That next season, he willed the team to their first world championship in franchise history.

In the season-and-a-half since LeBron departed for the Lakers, Cleveland has a .320 winning percentage.

Our guess? James, unless he shocks the world, is finishing his career in Los Angeles where he is comfortable both as a basketball player and a business man. In other words, the Cavaliers will continue to be an NBA laughingstock, and there's no evidence to suggest that narrative will change anytime soon.

The drama surrounding Beilein proves that.