Cavs Training Camp Full Of Happy Campers

The one story you’ll read over and over again this year is about the stark contrast between Training Camp 2007 and Training Camp 2008 for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Last year, the Cavs were coming off a hangover of having been swept in the NBA Finals, Sasha Pavlovic was holding out, Anderson Varejao was holding out, the only significant roster move the Cavaliers had made was signing Devin Brown, and they were clumsily working on an offensive system that none of the players embraced while losing focus on the one thing the team was actually good at: defense. This year, things are radically different.

The team’s two biggest free agents were Daniel Gibson and Delonte West, and neither one is holding out. Both received brand new contracts and are happy to be in camp with the team. Danny Ferry made other significant roster moves to bolster this year’s team. He drafted J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson. Hickson should see some significant minutes this year. He traded Joe Smith and Damon Jones for Mo Williams, thus giving the Cavaliers the true PG they needed and giving LeBron the playmaker he needed. He signed Tarence Kinsey who has a chance to be a bargain signing if he pans out. Anderson Varejao is in camp and looking for a big bounceback season in what is a de-facto walk year. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is rested and ready to go. And then there’s LeBron, coming off a Gold Medal summer. All in all, there is harmony in Cavaliers camp, and this is a team that sounds focused, energized, and ready to chase that elusive Championship for the city of Cleveland.

Yesterday, as the media descended upon Cavs headquarters in Independence for Media Day, LeBron talked about the ways in which he has improved this summer.

“Me, as an individual, I know I’ve improved, I think five times [better] than I was in Game 7 of the Boston series.

As a leader, I think I can lead these guys to a championship. We really believe that. It’s not about making the playoffs any more for our team. It’s about winning a championship.”

We know LeBron loves telling us about his leadership qualities, but he seems to sense that this year he is in a better position to lead than ever before, thanks to the lessons he learned by playing on one of the greatest teams ever assembled this summer in Beijing.

“It was a tough challenge for me to go out and say I’m going to lead 11 of the best guys in the world. If you can lead 11 of the best guys in the world, you can lead anybody. So I improved more as a leader. Of course my game improved. When you go against these guys every day, your game is going to elevate.”

As for the moves Danny Ferry made while he was off chasing the gold, LeBron has never sounded more pleased with his teammates.

“I’m really happy. [The Cavaliers’ front office] did a great job of going out and getting players who could help win a championship. This is the best team we’ve had since I’ve been here, especially to start off the season. I see the talent from 1 to 14. From 1 to 14, everybody can contribute.”

He seems especially pleased with the makeup of the Cavaliers’ backcourt combinations.

“[Mo Williams] can allow me to play off him. I don’t have to bring the ball up as much. You look at me in the summer time when I am playing with great point guards and I can just run the floor and it is easy for me. Now with Mo and Delonte [West] here, I can do that, which is what I do best.”

Of course, LeBron was also asked about the biggest thing on seemingly everyone’s mind this summer: Is LeBron going to leave in 2 years, and how dare he wear Cowboys or Yankees gear? LeBron’s answers were refreshingly frank and to the point. He said,

“Go on the Internet and look at every time I have been asked am I happy in Cleveland and see my response. I’ve never given any indication that I was leaving or didn’t like being here. Every time I am asked the question — I love being here, I love playing in front of these fans, my family is here, I grew up 30 miles away — I never gave any indication that I did not like playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Now, I’ll say I like the Yankees and the Cowboys, but that has nothing to do with the Cavaliers. It’s not fun [to be questioned about it]. Am I not allowed to be a fan? When I grew up watching sports, the Cowboys were a team to love; Michael Jordan was [a player] to love. If I say I like Michael Jordan, is that a problem because I didn’t say Mark Price? Is that a problem? Is it? That is who I grew up watching. These are the teams and the people that inspired me. Now I broke it down for you all.”

Of course, LeBron wasn’t the only player talking to the media yesterday. There were several other interesting tidbits that came out of media day.

One of the biggest surprises was the revelation that Zydrunas Ilgauskas was more hurt last season than any of us had realized. After trying desperately to get the Cavaliers’ permission to play for his home country of Lithuania in the Olympics, we perhaps found out part of the reason why he never received it.

“The postseason physical revealed a ruptured disc in my back. I was struggling at the end of last season. I was in a lot of pain. I went to Canada and spent time in Vancouver with a back therapist just trying to get better. It took me completely off basketball. I didn’t touch a basketball until three weeks ago. More than anything, I just wanted to give my body a chance to rest.”

It will be extremely important that Ilgauskas stays healthy this season as the Cavaliers’ already thin frontcourt cannot take any major injuries. But for his part, Zydrunas said he felt good and that he had no intentions of slowing down, retiring, or opting out of his contract after this season. All in all, Ilgauskas is in it for the long haul.

If Ilgauskas does go down with any kind of injury, the team will rely heavily on Anderson Varejao. However, AV is also recovering from an injury that kept him out of the Olympics for his home nation of Brazil. However, AV’s decision to sit out the Olympic qualifying and to rehab his ankle and quad in the US drew the ire of some in Brazil. Varejao talked about what that experience was like.

“It was really hard. Everybody wants to play in the Olympics and I am no different. The media in Brazil did not know what was going on and everybody started to assume I didn’t want to play. [Brazilian basketball legend and television commentator] Oscar Schmidt says something and everybody is going to believe what he says. The good thing is I took care of my ankle.”

Brian Windhorst reported that AV’s ankle is still not 100% and that he is still experiencing some swelling, but that Varejao is comfortable playing on the ankle as it is now and he should be ready to go for the season.

Delonte West was there sporting a new look with a fro and sporting the typical Delonte-isms that we have grown to love so much as he discussed his lengthy contract talks with the Cavaliers, insisting it really wasn’t about money,

“‘You may think I am joking, but I’d play for free. I play for a reason not a season. The first amount they threw out there, I couldn’t believe it, that was, whew, more money than my whole family had seen if you add everybody’s salaries up. I’m talking about 10 brothers and sisters. The holdout was about me getting a sense of the team wanting me to be here.”

Delonte also addressed the rumors of him going to play in Russia.

“I don’t know where that came from, that scared me to death. I’m more of a Maryland, West Virginia, maybe Atlanta type of guy. I ain’t going nowhere.”

Maryland….West Virginia….Atlanta? Not exactly three similar places you would expect to see grouped together, but then again, that’s just Delonte being Delonte.

There were smiles and laughs all around as the Cavaliers got ready to enter Camp Harmony, and it was refreshing to see everyone joking around. From Anderson Varejao jumping into everyone’s pictures while wearing an “I’m With Stupid” t-shirt to LeBron and Mo Williams laughing together off to the side to Delonte, Boobie, and Mo forming the Three Amigos pose for pictures, everyone was upbeat and in a good mood.

Today, though, the laughs will be put aside and the real work will begin with two-a-day workouts. Cavs coach Mike Brown has insisted that the problem with the offense was not systematic, but more of an issue of execution. The hope, then, is that by surrounding LeBron with other guys capable of helping him initiate offense that the system will fall into place and take care of itself more or less.

It’s hard to say if such thinking is accurate or will prove to be successful, but it is good to know that Mike Brown will not make the same mistake he made last year and ignore the defense altogether. Make no mistake about it, no matter how much some of the players will want to run and play up tempo, this team will still be at its best when playing the stellar brand of physical, lock-down defense they demonstrated in the postseason last year. If the Cavaliers can play that level of defense all year, and if Mo Williams can help initiate just a little bit more offense, then the Cavaliers are looking primed to make another serious run at an NBA title.

Courtesy of the Plain Dealer, you can watch a video of some of the Media Day events below: