The Cavaliers and the team that could have been

The Cavaliers front office isn't afraid to make bold moves, and this is a good thing. In an NBA where there is too much group-think, the Cavs choose to make every move on how they evaluate players, not on how other teams do.

However, when a team goes out on a limb in three straight drafts, that team leaves itself open for criticism if the moves don't work out. And in the Cavaliers case, this is especially true. It is not that the team now has no options; there will be cap room going forward and the Cavaliers have a star in Kyrie Irving. Nonetheless, it's hard not to imagine how exciting the team would be in Cleveland if the Cavaliers handled a few things differently.

To be fair, the Cavaliers got the most important decision right: taking Kyrie Irving over Derrick Williams. It is easy to forget, but, with Irving coming off an injury-plagued season at Duke, some thought Williams was the better pick. Irving looks like he'll be a superstar for years, and Williams has been mostly a bust. So give the front office in Cleveland credit for this.

However, imagine if the Cavaliers made the following moves, all plausible ideas at the time (and not just revisionist history...

Take Jonas Valanciunas instead of Tristan Thompson It is hard to fault the Cavaliers too much for reaching on Thompson. He has turned into a valuable role player, as a high-motor player with a good feel for the game. However, Cleveland passed on Valanciunas, who is a legit 7-footer with ball skills and court vision. When Andrew Bynum isn't playing, the Cavaliers are an undersized team up front. Having Valanciunas would certainly solve that problem, and would remove a player from the logjam Cleveland has at power forward

Take Harrison Barnes instead of Dion Waiters This may be the hardest call on the list. Cleveland certainly reached on Waiters, but the consensus pick at the time would have been Thomas Robinson, who has not worked out so far either. Without Thompson on the team, it's certainly a possibility Cleveland would take Robinson with the fourth pick. However, the thinking here is that the Cavaliers saw that a team with Irving (who is still an awful defender) would need a good defender on the perimeter. That, plus better shooting than Waiters offers, would have been enough for the Cavs to reach slightly on Barnes, who has turned into a fine player for the Warriors with tremendous upside.

Take Victor Oladipo instead of Anthony Bennett It's still too early to call Bennett a bust, but he has been awful so far and doesn't look ready to contribute this year. The Cavaliers have sworn that they will make the playoffs this year, and the NBA-ready Oladipo would have combined with Barnes to form an excellent perimeter defending pair. He also moves well without the ball for a rookie, and the Cavaliers desperately need more movement from their guards when Kyrie has the ball.

Keep Shaun Livingston and don't sign Jarrett Jack Jack is a nice player, but he doesn't exactly fit on a team with a ball-dominator like Irving. Livingston has been a great player for the Nets so far, and is a much cheaper option.

Instead of signing Andrew Bynum, overpay slightly for Paul Millsap The Bynum signing was a good gamble by the Cavaliers, but Millsap might have been the steal of the offseason. With Valanciunas in the fold and no logjam at power forward anymore, the Cavaliers could have offered Millsap a lot more money than the Hawks gave him in exchange for a team option in year two. A two-year, $25 million deal with a team option in year two maintains flexibility and gives the Cavaliers a scorer currently averaging 15.8 PPG on 53% shooting.

Use the savings on the Jarrett Jack contract to sign a shooter The Cavaliers would still have plenty of cap room due to the discount Livingston provides. A shooter off the bench would make this team even better. Coincidentally, the Jack contract was very similar to the contract given to Kyle Korver. Maybe Korver would leave Atlanta to play with this exciting team for the same amount of money. If that didn't work, one of the other cheaper shooters on the market would have helped.

So let's compare the two Cavaliers teams...

Current team                         

PG Kyrie Irving                    

SG C.J. Miles

SF Earl Clark

PF Tristan Thompson

C Andrew Bynum

Bench Jarrett Jack

Bench Dion Waiters

Bench Alonzo Gee

Bench Anderson Varejao

Bench Anthony Bennett

Hypothetical team

PG Kyrie Irving

SG Victor Oladipo

SF Harrison Barnes

PF Paul Millsap

C Jonas Valanciunas

Bench Shaun Livingston

Bench C.J. Miles

Bench Alonzo Gee

Bench Anderson Varejao

Bench Kyle Korver

The hypothetical team certainly needs another big, and would have to find a veteran willing to play for the minimum or play Tyler Zeller a decent amount of minutes. But the starters fit much better together, with an excellent blend of offense and defense. Nobody needs the ball in their hands other than Irving, but the other players are all capable scorers. Also, four of the starters are young players who should only improve. There is also the potential for a deadly offensive small-ball lineup when Millsap rests, with Barnes at the four and Korver at the three.

The Cavaliers are fine going forward, and will have plenty of cap room to try and improve. However, it is difficult to not imagine how easily this could have been the most exciting up and coming team in the league.