The Cavaliers came into Training Camp feeling great about who and where they were as a team.  No contract squabbles, no injuries, just huge expectations.  Three games into the pre-season things have drastically changed.  That Cavs have lost all three games, which in and of itself is not a concern, as LeBron tells us - 

The preseason is not about winning," James said. "You want to get some wins to feel good about yourself, but it's about learning."

Personally, I agree, and the Cavaliers have shown progress in all three games, especially on the defensive end.

My worries come off the court where issues seem to be mounting.  Injuries and excused absences have hampered the team's ability to get everyone on the same page.  Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic have played a total of 3 minutes the past two games due to injury.  For Pavlovic it is a sprained ankle, something he dealt with alot last season.  While the injury is not considered serious, the fact the a player like Pavlovic, who needs to find a rhythem in his game to be effective, continues to miss games has to be a concern to the Cavaliers.

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It all gets started today, unofficially at least.  The Cavaliers will open the 2008 NBA Pre-Season tonight at the Q against the Toronto Raptors(7PM, WTAM, No TV).  Like the Cavs, the Raptors revamped thier roster, bringing in Jermaine O'Neal, among others, in an effort to get Chris Bosh some help.

For the Cavs, the season kicks off with a renewed optimism and welcomed stability within the organization.  Last season, despite coming off the team's first trip to the NBA Finals, the Cavs were in a bit of dissarray.  Larry Hughes was unhappy, Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao were battling the front office over contract issues, and Damon Jones was demanding a trade.  This season, the Cavaliers took care of contract issues during the summer, getting Delonte West and Daniel Gibson signed, sealed and delivered well before Training Camp.  Instead of Hughes, the Cavs brought in Mo Williams to be the offensive side-kick of LeBron James, and the attitude difference has been uplifting and refreshing to say the least.

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It all gets started today, unofficially at least.  The Cavaliers will open the 2008 NBA Pre-Season tonight at the Q against the Toronto Raptors(7PM, WTAM, No TV).  Like the Cavs, the Raptors revamped thier roster, bringing in Jermaine O'Neal, among others, in an effort to get Chris Bosh some help.

For the Cavs, the season kicks off with a renewed optimism and welcomed stability within the organization.  Last season, despite coming off the team's first trip to the NBA Finals, the Cavs were in a bit of dissarray.  Larry Hughes was unhappy, Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao were battling the front office over contract issues, and Damon Jones was demanding a trade.  This season, the Cavaliers took care of contract issues during the summer, getting Delonte West and Daniel Gibson signed, sealed and delivered well before Training Camp.  Instead of Hughes, the Cavs brought in Mo Williams to be the offensive side-kick of LeBron James, and the attitude difference has been uplifting and refreshing to say the least.

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Here is a snippet of quotes from yesterday's workuts from various sources around the web.  This is something I'll be doing daily here at FTS to keep every being said by the Cavs and about the Cavs in oe convenient place.  

Here we go!

LeBron James on taking it easy during Training Camp after a busy summer -- 

You learn from things that go on in your career and I definitely learned from [2006], I know how to approach this season.  I think I've prepared myself to start the season the best I can.  I think this year I have a lot of help so I don't have to put as much pressure on myself. I think I'll be fine.

LeBron on wearing #6(his Olympic number) during camp -- 

'I'll be No. 23 when the games start, but I like No. 6, too.

LeBron talking about the feeling at camp compared to the instability of last season -- 

The atmosphere has been great -- a lot better than the start of last season.  Everybody's here. It's a great feeling. I think everybody's focused and knows what's at stake here.

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I have September 18th marked off on my calendar as National Hyperbole Day.  Also, since this is my first post on Fear the Sword, I figure I need to make my pie in the sky optimism completely obvious.

This is the best Cavs team since 1992 - and the best Cavs backcourt for just as long.  The Mo Williams signing, the Delonte signing and the best draft since Lebron pretty much guarantee an easy path to a 2nd round match against an aging Celtics team or a Pistons team with no identity.

Think about it.  Just the backcourt for now.

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Keeping true to the words he spoke after acquiring Mo Williams in a trade last month, Danny Ferry was able to re-sign G Delonte West to a multi-year contract, ending a potentially nasty situation the Cavaliers didn't want a repeat of.

"We have consistently communicated our desire to keep Delonte as a member of this basketball team. His tenacity helps us on both ends of the floor and his defensive play certainly reflects how we want to play the game," said Ferry. "Contending teams need areas of strength and need depth. Having Delonte, Mo (Williams) and Daniel (Gibson) certainly creates an advantageous situation for us."

West has said all along that he wanted to stay with the Cavaliers, and he was visably relieved that the contract stalemate was over.

"This is the first time since I was offered a scholarship at St. Joes that I feel like I am valued as a person and a player. Dan Gilbert and the Cavaliers have shown me that they value me as a person and a player and that was the most important thing to me," said West. "In that sense, this was not about a specific dollar amount. You can’t really put a dollar value on a person, their skills you can, but not their heart and what kind of person they are. My family is blessed and I feel a great relief to be able to concentrate on basketball now."

Acquired as part of the 3-team mega-deal last February, West went from seldom used bench player on a bad basketball team to the starting Point Guard on a team that made it deep into the playoffs.  West started all 13 games in the playoffs last season, averaging 10.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals in 34.8 minutes per game.

via www.delonte.com

With the deal done for West, the Cavaliers could have one of the deepest backcourts in the NBA.  While it will be interesting to see how all the pieces come together, I'd imagine keeping West also allows the Cavs to go get the piece they need with Wally's expiring contract still on the books.

After last year's double-debacle with Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Verejao, it was imperative that something, anything, got done before training camp.  Kudos to both Danny Ferry and West for knowing this and coming together.

[Note by FTS, 09/12/08 4:35 PM PDT ]According to ESPN.com, the deal is for 3 years/$12.5 million.  The 3rd year is a team option, which is important because that would mean the Cavs could walk away the same summer that LeBron is a free agent.  The Cavs are being as active as anyone in keeping flexibility that summer, with LeBron and D-Wade, among others, becoming free agents that summer.