Brave New World: Drafting and Winning in Cleveland

By: Scott Barkett

But I don't want comfort. I want God. I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin. 

-Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

We Prefer to Do Things Comfortably

Cleveland fans would do well to read a little Huxley this week, as the tired, huddled masses cope with last weekend's underwhelming NFL draft. The safe, traditional--dare I say comfortable--path that Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert followed during their brief stay in Barea is no more.

In its place, Browns fans have seen their team pursue and sign two of the top available free agents--a facet of roster building openly abhorred by Holmgren, et al. Then, during the 2013 NFL Draft--the yearly Super Bowl for Browns fans starved for hope--Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi opted to trade down, then out of the middle rounds for higher future picks and veteran wide receiver Davone Bess. They even traded with the Steelers, an ultimate sign of confidence for a franchise that has all too often cowered in fear and deference to the black and gold.

(And for the all the talk of Steelers drafting greatness, ask your local Steelers fan how that 2009 draft went for them. They'll tell you that it's not just Eric Mangini that can blow an entire draft.)

Despite Banner's active free agency period and confident if not arrogant patience with the draft, the pitchforks and torches are out once again among Cleveland fans.

You'd have thought Banner and Lombardi slapped Bernie Kosar across the face.


And yet, if the anger seems irrational from the outside it is certainly more understandable from beneath the grey clouds of Northeast Ohio. Recent history tells us that if the Browns blow a draft that's it. While free agency aggression and talk of maximizing assets might invigorate those tired of a passive, docile organization, the risks Banner took last weekend could easily result in disaster. Browns fans younger than 35 know only disappointment. After all, there has not been competent coaching or front office leadership in Barea since the late 1980's.

But should recent failure be an excuse to prefer safe, passive leaders? How pathetic is it to be upset that the Browns traded with the Steelers simply because they are a strong franchise? Championships are not won by teams thin at leadership positions but deep at the fetal position.

Taking Patience for Complacency

Drawing parallels to the safe, traditional, unsuccessful route(s) taken in Barea are useful in examining the pressure on the Cleveland Cavaliers own brain trust entering June's NBA Draft. As much as Dan Gilbert wishes it to be true, his franchise cannot operate in a vacuum safe from the stench that rebuilding Browns and Indians teams have spewed for the past decade. Without question the Cavs' run with LeBron should have bought Gilbert patience, support, and confidence as his franchise struggles to craft a successful post-LeBron identity.

But, Cleveland fans are rightly skeptical of Soviet-style five year plans touted by a string of empty suits. Gilbert has proven his dedication to building a consistent winner, but the jury is still out on whether Chris Grant can turn Gilbert's unlimited resources into wins. There is no fairness in a world where "process" and "patience" have become inside jokes for fans who "battled" through empty promises from Pat Shurmur, Eric Mangini, Manny Acta, and Mark Shapiro. Still, Grant must be mindful of such rhetoric when he speaks to the media. Fans now take patience for complacency and confidence for mindless arrogance.

That is why it was so refreshing to hear urgency return to Dan Gilbert's voice as he introduced Mike Brown 2.0 to the media last week. That fire was omnipresent during the LeBron era, and was unique among the Cleveland sports franchises. For all of Gilbert's early mistakes after buying the Cavs, taking a win-now attitude was not one of them.

The past three Cavaliers seasons have been as difficult as any before them. First, there was the atrocious post-Decision roster; an empty shell built around a King that vacated the throne. In the two years since, optimism surrounding young draft picks has been tempered by poor coaching, poor effort, and a prevailing sense that it will all get better tomorrow as long as everyone is patient. As Keynes said, we're all dead in the long run.

It is hard to listen to Dan Gilbert now and not think he has had more than his fill of the waiting game. With four first rounders on the roster and two more on the way, this Cavaliers squad has all of the young talent that it can handle. By hiring a veteran defensive coach in Mike Brown, it seems foolish to keep throwing more and more rookies at the Cavaliers' winning problem. Rather, the time has come for aggression in free agency and even more aggressive asset management in the draft.

While Joe Banner's approach to building the Browns may not yet resonate with fans, his approach to the off-season is exactly what the Cavaliers should emulate. Banner inherited an exceptionally young roster littered with rookies and second year players with upside, but largely devoid of veteran leadership beyond a few key names. The additions of Kruger, Bryant, Campbell, Bess, and others should help stabilize the roster and transition it toward a more winning posture. For Chris Grant, his own rebuilding project has yielded similar results to this point. While another talented top five pick and mid-first rounder will certainly be welcome, the time has come to find a balance through free agency.

Nothing Costs Enough Here

As Chis Grant approaches this off-season, he has an embarrassment of non-player wealth at his disposal. He will have one of the first few picks in the draft, as well as the 19th overall selection. The Cavaliers also own two of the first three picks in the second round. In addition to the picks, Grant has enough cap space to pull off almost any roster maneuver he can dream up.

The challenge, as always, is turning these assets into living, breathing players that will nudge the win column ever higher for the Cavs. Grant's assets are cheap--the NBA is a market and more often than not great players are expensive. A quick look down the Cavs' roster shows nothing costs enough here. Banking on every young draft pick developing into a star is a recipe for disappointment. It is time for Grant to spend on a few proven commodities.

Last year, Grant opted to consolidate his draft picks into two first rounders. At the time, Grant explained his rationale as not wanting to add too many rookies to the roster at one time. Given the new found sense of urgency within the organization, it would be incredibly surprising if Grant opted to use all four of his draft selections.

It would be prudent to consolidate again--either by moving up from the 19th pick or by packaging multiple picks to acquire a future first rounder of higher worth. Of course, Grant could also use his available picks in a trade to acquire a veteran. There are plenty of options, and Grant has a lot of flexibility.

What would be most frustrating is if Grant opts to sit back this off-season and let his draft picks be the main roster additions. The Cavaliers should always be mindful of adding young talent, whether the team is trending up or down in the standings. But, the time has come to shift the focus away from only adding young talent. Mike Brown needs an influx of savvy veterans to run his system. Regardless of whether Byron Scott deserved his fate, Chris Grant let him enter three straight seasons as the driver of a school bus rather than a professional basketball coach. Here's hoping Grant does Brown a favor and gives him a much more balanced roster to work with; a roster where young guys learn from veterans and earn playing time by merit and not by mere heartbeat.

Exactly who Chris Grant should pursue in free agency and the draft is a topic for another time and another column. In the meantime, suffice it to say that the patience of the city is wearing thin across all three professional franchises. Their fates are intertwined because the frustration of three concurrent rebuilding projects spills over between seasons. The idea that the road to a championship is paved through a half-decade of losing seasons is preposterous, and younger Cleveland fans distracted by the LeBron era are figuring it out.

The time has come to support those who lead with a sense of urgency, even if the trust is tenuous and even if the risk for more disappointment is high. Fans' ire should be reserved for the Holmgren's of the world who would have us subsist on a steady diet of Soma and patience, blissfully ignorant as a never ending rebuild sputters along on the road to mediocrity.

I missed angry Dan Gilbert, and I sure as hell salute Joe Banner's fearless aggression. The draft is great, entertaining, and important. But, it is the roster building tool for the long term. Those who want to win now should recognize that rookie-laden rosters rarely succeed at anything other than getting coaches fired.

Cleveland fans are trained to fixate on the draft, but as the Cavs and Browns progress through their off-season, the true test of their win-now urgency will be their aggression in free agency.

If that feels foreign, it's because while Cleveland sports teams condition us to wait for next year, their competition is busy competing this year.

It's about time we join them.

One believes things because one has been conditioned to believe them.  

-Aldous Huxley, Brave New World