Barring a last minute signing of Ray Allen, the Cleveland Cavaliers roster appears to be set. The team clearly won the offseason after inking LeBron James and trading for Kevin Love. There was also the key veteran pickups of Mike Miller, Shaun Marion and James Jones along with giving point guard Kyrie Irving a max deal. With everyone in place, figuring out the starting lineup could be the hardest part of new head coach, David Blatt's, preseason job.
The Cavaliers held their first team scrimmage of the season on Wednesday to a packed Quicken Loans arena. It marked James' official return to the Cleveland Cavaliers after a championship-winning stint with the Miami Heat and Love's debut with Cleveland after the Minnesota Timberwolves trade. The annual White & Gold scrimmage was certainly a light-atmosphere affair, but also gave a few hints as to who the Cavaliers intended to put out in their starting lineup.
Without question James, Love and Irving took their spots in the starting five. James has made several comments noting the Cavaliers were the "Irving Show" as he referred to the point guard as one of the best young players in the league. However, the final two spots do not appear as guaranteed.
The biggest surprise of the scrimmage likely came when Tristan Thompson stepped out as the team's starting center over Anderson Varejao. According to Dave McMenamin, Blatt could be favoring Thompson over the veteran for the start of the year and will let the preseason determine the winner of that competition. There is certainly an upside and a downside for both players. Thompson is younger and far more athletic than Varejao. He would certainly match well next to Love, James and Irving. However, Varejao is a much better shooter and defender of the pick-and-roll than the younger power forward. He has an ability to create plays, but if Thompson shows promise at the spot, he could get the nod.
Dion Waiters also marched out with the starters. He survived an offseason filled with trade rumors, hearing his name come up in numerous deals including the one to acquire Love. Waiters spoke out on Twitter prior to training camp stating he had no intentions of coming off the bench this season and wanted to be a full-time starter. After a nice endorsement from James, he is getting just that.
The Cavaliers are still hopeful their final roster move is acquiring Allen. The free agent guard is reportedly attempting to avoid training camp in order to spend more time with his family and could make a decision regarding his future very soon.
