With a week to go before the start of training camp, the Cleveland Cavaliers have yet to solve a huge issue in their frontline. As of now, the Cavs front-office is still looking for a big man capable of anchoring their defense and protecting the rim.
While Anderson Verajao seems pretty set to become the Cavs' starting center next season, the need for a defensive-oriented backup should be a top priority for the team.
Despite their status as the most talented offensive team in the league, many analysts aren't convinced that the Cavs' offensive onslaught is going to be enough to win the championship this year.
As the old adage goes, defense wins championship. The San Antonio Spurs showed the Miami Heat what championship defense was all about through the five-game series.
Although the Cavs made a solid move in jacking up their perimeter 'D' by signing veteran Shawn Marion, there's no doubt that there's still a glaring hole to be filled in the middle of the interior.
As expected, there are tons of speculations on the Cavs' next move to solve their big man problem. Earlier in August, there were reports on the team's interest to trade for Denver Nuggets center Timofey Mozgov, who once played for Russia under head coach David Blatt at the London Olympics.
Another crazy rumor was a reported comeback of LeBron's recently-retired buddy Zydrunas Ilgauskas. ESPN Cleveland Radio host Tom Rizzo brought up the idea of possible return of Big Z, saying the Lithuanian center was willing to play at least 10-15 minutes per game for the Cavs, if that's going to win him a championship ring. Unfortunately, Ilgauskas' agent Herb Rudoy popped the bubble right away, calling the comeback rumor all false.
Then there's the latest idea from Cavs blogger Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal about starting Tristan Thompson over Verajao at center position.
"Don't rule out the possibility of Tristan Thompson starting at center. While it has been widely assumed Anderson Varejao would start in the middle, a theory has been floated within the organization recently that by starting Thompson, coach David Blatt could better limit Varejao's minutes and help protect him from injury. There is plenty of time to make that final decision, but it's worth noting the idea has at least been discussed."
It's indeed interesting to see if Blatt will make a gamble on starting an undersized but athletic Thompson over a more experienced big man like Verajao. Will the Cavs stick with their current frontline personnel or will another trade put the final touches of what many expected to be a championship-contending team. All of these questions will be answered one-by-one at training camp.
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