String of events can help Cavs get over loss of LeBron

The anger is subsiding and the grim reality is swelling. Folks in Cleveland, after blowing out their elbows from throwing darts at a former hero, are wearing that familiar frown again. The same frown, circa 2003, when the basketball highlight was Ricky Davis taking a shot at the other basket and giving himself a triple-double.

Bad news: Those days are upon us again. There's no relief coming quickly for the Cavaliers or their fans, either emotional or otherwise. There's no sense pretending, no sense buying what Dan Gilbert is selling (guaranteeing a championship before LeBron James gets his). Make no mistake. LeBron is gone. Times will be tough.

You can almost see the immediate future beginning to crystallize: Losing streaks, empty seats, very little national TV exposure, loss of identity and a morale drop that falls faster than the franchise's net worth. Eventually, fans will turn their passion and pin their hopes on the Browns -- the Browns! And the Cavaliers will threaten to return to the grim days of pre-LeBron.

Yes. It's coming. Everyone knows it. And those who disagree are just fooling themselves.

But the loss of LeBron doesn't have to translate into a string of lean years. The turnaround won't be immediate, but it can happen in a relatively short time, and it all depends on those at the top and the decisions they make.

It starts with Gilbert, a very good owner who seems committed to making the Cavs winners. Gilbert made himself a folk hero in Cleveland by lambasting LeBron in a hasty state of the union address, but that will be long forgotten by January if and when the Cavs are treading water in the standings. Gilbert must put a long-range plan in place and begin taking the painful yet necessary steps to kick-start a rebuilding process.

The point man is Chris Grant, a neophyte general manager who nonetheless brought more front-office experience to the job than his predecessor, Danny Ferry. Grant served his apprentice for 10 years with the Hawks and even turned down the Atlanta GM job a year ago, so he's well-known in front office circles. He'll serve the Cavs well if he becomes the next Sam Presti or Daryl Morey, a pair of young GMs who are remaking their teams with bold moves and gutsy decisions.

Gilbert and Grant need to be realistic and start the rebuilding process immediately. No sense trying to squeeze out a few wins to soften the blow from losing LeBron; where will that get the Cavs? As constituted, this team is perhaps good enough to fight for a bottom playoff spot and flawed enough to just miss. And that's the worst position for a franchise: stuck in mediocrity, unable to increase the odds of landing a high draft pick and a possible star.

The first order of business should be to develop J.J. Hickson. He's the one player on the roster with upside. He's 21 and raw but teased the Cavs last season when he averaged 8.5 points and 5 rebounds in 20 minutes. Until he proves otherwise, Hickson is an athlete, not a basketball player. Meaning, he can run and jump and dunk, but what about creating off the dribble or developing a reliable shot from 15-20 feet?

Mo Williams gets plenty of grief for his playoff performances but he's fine for a starting point guard, for now. Same for Anderson Varejao; the Cavs would be better off keeping him than trading him, if only because they lack quality big men. Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon, brought in as pieces to complement LeBron, come cheap and therefore are keepers.

In a perfect world, the Cavs would dump Antawn Jamison yesterday. Not that Jamison is a problem child or a lousy player, far from that. But his contract ($13 million next season, then $15 million) does the Cavs no favors. Cleveland only took on his contract because of LeBron. Given that scoring will be a pressing issue for the Cavs next season, Jamison will be useful. But not necessarily valuable.

Basically, the Cavs must swallow hard and take their lumps for at least the next two seasons. Meanwhile, they need to see how Hickson develops, then add high draft picks and then spend wisely once Jamison's deal is up. It's not complicated. When confronted with a big decision, the Cavs must nail it. Any awful choice will set back progress a few years; just ask Minnesota.

There are too many examples of teams that turned themselves around (Oklahoma City via Seattle, Bulls, Blazers) with snap decisions coupled with a little luck. That's something for Cleveland to use as consolation come January, when it's cold outside and downright frigid inside Quicken Loans Arena.

Shaun Powell is a veteran NBA writer and columnist. You can e-mail him here and follow him on twitter.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.