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Well, Saturday’s Cavs game was not fun. At least we call get the day off. Be sure to leave your feedback below or send your comments to christopherwmanning@gmail.com.
Take of the day
As the Cavs look towards their future, the Pacers are model they should follow. It is not the same situation as Cleveland finds itself in, but Indiana moved on from a lost star (Paul George) as well as any franchise could hope to. A big part of that was Victor Oladipo blossoming with the Pacers and Domantas Sabonis being awesome. The Nate McMillan hiring also worked out better than expected.
But also look through their roster. Myles Turner was a late lottery pick. Bojan Bogdanovic was a smart, low-cost free agency signing. Thaddeus Young was acquired in a trade. This wasn’t a roster built around a star — they built up smartly and sustainably and, if Oladipo can come back after his injury, they should be good for a while.
Again, losing LeBron James has played out differently than the Pacers’ loss of George. But if Cleveland is smart, it’ll study Indiana’s success and find things to steal.
Draft watch
As of today, the Cavs have the third-worst record in the NBA. They have a 52.1 percent chance of landing a top-four pick and a 14 percent chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick.
Today’s Tankathon sim gave the Cavs the second overall pick in June’s draft. If this happens, buy your R.J. Barrett jersey:
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ICYMI — news and notes from yesterday
LeBron says his All-Star game picks are not about recruiting, but about winning the game
Kyrie left Celtics-Clippers with a knee sprain
Citing a personal issue, the Thunder released Alex Abrines
Chandler Parsons is going to play again for the Grizzlies after all
Luka Doncic says the bigger court and three-second rule make the NBA easier to score in than Europe
AD sat an entire fourth quarter as the league’s weirdest situation got weirder
Duke beat Virginia on Saturday
What to read today
The Ringer’s Dan Devine outlines the five biggest questions about the NBA after the deadline