How to fix: The Cleveland Cavaliers

Alcoholics are allowed 12 steps to get over their addiction. I'd say that's more than fair. But I think I can one-up them when it comes to getting over another problem--fixing a team that needs help.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were the NBA's best team (technically) in the regular season, the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and swept their first two playoff series until getting humiliated by the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals in six games.

The Orlando series went a long way in exposing the sorrier parts of Cleveland's roster and coaching philosophy and showed their fans that there's still a ways to go until LeBron gets legitimate help.

That's where I come in.

I've read a million reports over the last two weeks that have suggested GM Danny Ferry is going to wheel and deal to get some more talent in town for 2009-10, and I've heard just about every name but Kobe Bryant's come up in trade discussions. The problem is that the majority of ideas and players involved make no sense whatsoever.

In six steps, I'm going to lay out my plan to fix the Cavs and get them an NBA title.

1.) Unload all your draft picks for the next two years---The Cavs have picks in both rounds this season and I believe they do next year as well. I say trade 'em all. The hot item in the NBA right now is taking on expiring contracts, picks and additional money. Therefore, Ferry needs to get rid of all his team's picks in order to get seasoned talent in uniform for next season. Make no mistake, the Cavs are on a short timetable. LeBron needs to see that the effort's being made to win a title RIGHT NOW, not two years from now. This year's draft is one of the worst in quite awhile talent-wise, and there are maybe two to three guys in the entire thing who are going to make any kind of real impact at all as rookies. The Cavs have the 30th pick in the first round, so drafting anybody is going to set the team back. They don't have time to develop new players. J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson are already projects, and the case can be made that Daniel Gibson is still a major work in progress, too. Danny, unload those picks!

2.) Take advantage of the bad economy---The NBA's got a real big problem on its hands. The economic turmoil throughout the country has hurt the league immensely, even if it's not being as widely reported as it should. All of the bad teams in the league (Oklahoma City excluded for now because they're new) lost a ton of revenue last year due to low crowds and high costs of operation. Right now, most of these teams are looking to unload all the contract cash they can in order to pay the bills (Sacramento, Phoenix, etc.) and will more than likely make a bad trade or sign-and-trade in order to save some money. That's where Ferry needs to do his best work. He needs to fleece a team or two to get more talent on the Cavs, and he can do it if he plays the game smart, waiting and applying pressure to the teams he deals with. If he can somehow con Phoenix into handing him Shaq for Sasha Pavlovic and Ben Wallace, teriffic. There are other moves to be made as well, but that's one example. The Cavs will be one of the handful of teams this summer who are actually willing to take on additional payroll while everyone else has the "For Sale" signs up. Take advantage and play the market like a fiddle. It'll work.

3.) Take on players with an edge---Everybody's afraid of taking on guys with questionable or combustable personalities because they don't want the Cavs' vaunted "team chemistry" to take a hit. But here's the deal, the Cavs need more of a mean streak out on the court. When Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis were tearing them apart in the ECF, where was the anger from anyone but LeBron? Where was the fire in Game 6 when the season was on the line? The team needs more force of personality. That's why I like the Shaq trade, and that's why I'll support bringing in a guy like Rasheed Wallace for a year or two. Both guys are outspoken. Neither one takes crap from anybody in the other uniform. And both guys have an over-abundance of pride. The way the Cavs are situated now, that's a good thing. When the team was searching for its identity two years ago, I would've said 'no way, don't get those idiots'. Now, the team needs those idiots to win a title. They need outspoken/angry guys who will make other teams/fans hate them. Two seasons ago, everybody outside of Boston hated Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the core. Many still do. But they've got a ring. The Cavs can win it all with edgier guys like that. I want 'Sheed to get T'd up. I want Shaq to say something offensive about Dwight Howard's lack of post offense. The Cavs need that fire. When your team's down 10 in the fourth quarter, the Cavs need veteran guys who are going to say "F*** this, let's go right now!" Outside of LeBron, they didn't have that last season, and really haven't had that at all in the entire LeBron era. That has to change. Ron Artest anyone?

4.) Drop the dead weight---Anyone who knows me knows exactly who I'm talking about, but there are other guys who need to go to. First and foremost, the Sasha Pavlovic experiment is over and it failed miserably. He was overrated when former GM Jim Paxson traded for him, he was overrated when he started during the 2007 Finals run, and he's overrated right now as he sits at home eating leftovers on his couch. He's not a very good player and he's a mental midget who doesn't show up to play, well, ever. He just goes through the motions. That lack of focus kills the team, and it hurt badly in the playoffs. He has to go THIS summer. Also, people may not agree but I don't care. Daniel Gibson has to go as well. His game has regressed in the past year, and he hasn't developed any other part of his game at all since being drafted. That should be a huge red flag to team management. Basically, when Gibson's shot isn't falling, he's completely and utterly useless on the floor. He doesn't do anything else well. The Cavs need to trade him away and get a backup point guard who can handle the ball, get to the foul line occasionally and play a lick of defense. Gibson hasn't developed into that guy. Time to make a change. Also, Ben Wallace needs to go. He may not play again anyway because of a litany of nagging injuries, but he's prime trade bait, so trade him. The team should keep either Hickson or Jackson, but not both. They're essentially the same player. Hickson has more upside, but Jackson's more of a dirty work guy, which every team needs. Honestly, if Hickson's healthy, I'd trade him.

5.) Re-sign Andy Varejao---People always want to point out his per game averages when building a case against him, but all that is a bunch of BS. Anderson Varejao means more to the make-up of the Cavaliers' team than any other player on the roster except LeBron. He's the ultimate intangibles player, the guy who will do literally anything to get his team an extra possession, extra shot, draw a foul, get points, anything. He plays hard at both ends and is one of the only guys LeBron has played with since he got drafted that moves without the ball on offense. For those reasons, he has to stay. Varejao is a massive part of the team's identity, and opposing teams hate to play against him. He doesn't have the mean streak of a Shaq or Rasheed, but he's intense, quick for his size and he gets under other big guys' skin. Those are indespensible qualities. If the Cavs want an NBA title, they'll bring "Wild Thing" back on a new contract.

6.) Don't worry about long term effects---Danny Ainge mortgaged the future of the Boston Celtics when he traded literally half the roster and all of his quality young players to Minnesota and Seattle for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, but the team went on to win a championship, and if you ask any Celtics fan if they care that the team will suck a year or two from now, they'll probably all tell you they don't give a damn because they got a ring out of it. That's the exact attitude the Cavs need for 2009-10--do whatever it takes to win it all right now. Don't worry about how the franchise will look three years from now. You can't think in the long term, especially with the LeBron cloud hovering over the franchise. Strike early and often once July 1st hits, and don't look back. Also don't look forward either. Live in the now. Gamble a little bit. Just don't, under any circumstances, stand pat. That would be the ultimate mistake Dans Gilbert and Ferry could make. If the team has to take major luxury tax hits, then so be it. A title will more than make up for the lost cash. If the situation arises where Amare Stoudamire or Chris Bosh can be had (slim chance, but never say never), then do the deal and don't look back. Danny Ferry has to have major balls this offseason in order to take this team over the top. He can start by getting as creative and aggressive as he can on the free agent/trade markets.

In closing, this is going to be the most important offseason in the history of the Cavaliers franchise, maybe even the history of Cleveland sports in general. The front office will have to pull out all the stops to get this team over the title hump. This is the year, this is the time. The six steps above will make it happen.