'Lamond Murray. Wesley Person. Andre Miller. Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Cavs fans of the pre-LeBron era once dubbed these players above as good players. Honestly, I would often look at the roster and wonder how the Cavs were so bad.

I thought to myself "Lamond is as good as any 3 in the East" and "If Z is healthy, he’s the best Center in the east" and "Andre Miller is one of the best point guards in the league" and finally "Can anyone shoot the 3 like Wesley?" Casual fans, meanwhile, were starving for a savior. And deep down, the die-hards were too. Ricky Davis arrived on the scene, and had an explosive 2^nd half of the 01-02’ season. Ricky’s energetic style, his youth, and freakish athleticism quickly won over the dedicated Cleveland fans and even managed to start a stir among the more casual fans. Ads for the Cavs no longer included the all star point guard Andre Miller. Rather it was "Come see Ricky Davis and the Cleveland Cavaliers." With Ricky Davis here now, surely the Cavs would finally make the playoffs the next year. Well, mysteriously, the Cavs ended up trading an all star point guard for a project small forward. Then traded Lamond Murray for a bad contract and a conditional 1^st rd pick. Wesley Person was traded for Nick Anderson, who never played a game in a Cavalier uniform.

Who knows how much better the Cavs would have been. But in all truthfulness, there is very little chance they would’ve been 25 wins better, enough to put them in the playoffs. But still, why? There was seemingly talent all over this teams roster. Even after the trades, young, promising talents like Boozer, Wagner, Miles, Davis, Mihm, and an all-star center in Zydrunas Ilgauskas, failed to win games with ANY kind of consistency. If the Davis era begins in his first full season starting and concludes at his departure, the Cavs were 23-83 with Davis is the main man. In his first full season, he did a lot of impressive feats, but still failed to win, and had an attitude that screamed "ME! ME! ME!" He was a staple for the embarrassing Cavaliers organization. Only the Cavs would consider Davis a player you could build your team around.

After his first full year starting, many fans debated. Some said all we needed was a veteran point guard and a coach. I strongly disagreed at the time, mentioning that this team wasn’t any deeper than 3-4 starters that can play the game. The team’s youthfulness and erratic play wouldn’t simply be cured by adding a PG and a coach. This team needed a star. Someone every player could turn to when they needed him most. Thanks to Davis and company, the Cavs stumbled upon LeBron James. Obviously, everyone knows about his game, and his unlimited potential. But his maturity, and star power can’t be mentioned enough.

Not mentioned nearly enough however, is that if LeBron was added to the 02-03 roster, his first season wouldn’t have been nearly as successful. In fact, it likely wouldn’t have been much prettier than the season prior. The Cavs did a wonderful job acquiring veterans Ira Newble and Kevin Ollie. Neither are great players, in fact, some fans want them out of Cleveland. But the Cavs had the right idea and it was a great step towards respectability, and a clear stamp of Silas’ arrival. John Lucas and Keith Smart, both were great guys and I admired their efforts for what they were dealt with, but let’s be honest; neither had the credentials to do anything about it. All they could do was hopelessly work with players who didn’t listen to them because other than being young and arrogant, who is Keith Smart? How can the players believe in a coach they know will be gone after the season? Silas on the other hand is a veteran coach with playoff experience and a no-nonsense kind of guy. Silas had a significant impact in the Cavs trading Ricky Davis and Chris Mihm for veterans Eric Williams, Tony Battie, and project Kedrick Brown. Talent-wise, the Cavs lost this deal, but in terms of results, the case could be made that both teams won.

Silas then had an impact on getting a PG on this team. They traded Darius Miles for Jeff McInnis, who looks like he can be a core player. Neither of these deals turned out to be highway robbery, but at least there was direction. Silas and LeBron TOGETHER implemented a winning attitude in Cleveland. My original question of "Why isn’t this team winning" became so clear once Silas arrived. The teams before LeBron didn’t have character. They didn’t have any desire to do anything other than clear their checks (ahem, Lamond.) And finally, I never really did consider that Lamond Murray, Wesley Person, Andre Miller, and Z (at the time) were some of the worst defenders in the league. All the sudden, Silas shows up and starts talking about this "Defense" stuff. And for whatever reason, it showed great results, helped in due part to acquiring defensive wizards Eric Williams, Ira Newble, Kevin Ollie, and Tony Battie. But don’t shun Silas of credit. Boozer made great strides throughout the season defending, as did LeBron. But nothing was more evident than the progress made with Z. Z suddenly looked active on defense. He was bending his knees, swatting shots and changing others, and he wasn’t afraid to wack a player coming down the lane, and he never had a problem getting in any players face who tried to confront him. Many Cavs fans, myself included, never thought we’d see the day when Z would be an aggressive center, considering his slight frame and natural kindness. But we are definitely glad to see it!

In conclusion, on behalf of all the Cavs fans, I would like to thank LeBron, Paul Silas, the rest of the Cavs, and the fans for making this first year of a new era such a thrill. I can’t wait to see what Silas and Paxson do to take the next step forward in Cavaliers basketball. Let’s hope for a successful offseason, and remember…the chosen one asked for court vision because he wanted glory for his TEAM!