CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Scribbles in my notebook as the Cavaliers look ahead to Thursday's draft and some trades likely to happen:
1. I don't know what LeBron James will do about picking a team for next year. Neither do the Cavs. I doubt James is sure. He tends to take a careful approach to free agency, watching where other key players land -- along with taking his family into consideration.
2. As of now, the Cavs' plan is not to "blow up the team," regardless of what James decides to do. I'm talking about an extreme Philadelphia-style demolition job of aiming to lose lots of games and pile up draft picks.
3. Even if James remains with the Cavs, they have to get somewhat younger. That was behind the series of deals General Manager Koby Altman made at the trade deadline.
4. The acquisition of Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood and George Hill operated on two levels. The first was to help the Cavs return to the NBA Finals. That happened. The trades energized James and some of the other veterans on the roster. Hill and Nance had some good moments in the playoffs. And when Hill struggled, so did the Cavs.
5. Clarkson, Nance and Hill are all under contract for 2018-19. So they are part of the roster for next season, James or no James. Or they can be traded. It will be hard to move the 32-year-old Hill, who has $17 million on his contract for 2018-19.
6. Nance has been drawing a lot of trade interest, but the Cavs appear to have no plans of dealing him. The Revere product is entering the final year of his rookie contract ($2.3 million). I expect the Cavs to work on a contract extension with him.
7. Hood is a restricted free agent. It will be fascinating to see what will be the market for the 6-foot-8 guard. He had a miserable experience with the Cavs. The team believes the 25-year-old Hood could thrive with a fresh start from day one of training camp. I expect they'll give him the $3.4 million qualifying offer, meaning the Cavs will be in position to match any offer he receives from another team.
8. Nance and Hood are 25 years old. Clarkson is 26. None of them are stars. All can be valuable players if used properly. Clarkson had problems during the playoffs, but he was a dynamic scorer in the regular season off the bench. His first 3-1/2 seasons were with the Lakers, a lousy team that never made the playoffs. This was his first experience dealing with the pressure of winning and post-season basketball.
9. The Cavs also believe Cedi Osman can be a solid role player on a team with or without James. Osman is like Nance. He loves to defend. He has endless energy. He is unselfish. And like Nance, he has been attracting trade attention. Osman is only 23.
10. I'm not trying to sell anyone on the fact that Cavs will be just fine if James leaves. The future Hall of Famer has carried the franchise for four years. He is the greatest player of his generation...and perhaps the greatest ever. The reason I'm writing about the current roster is because that's what we know the Cavs have to work with right now.
11. The Cavs are one of several teams making calls to San Antonio about Kawhi Leonard. It's hard to see how they can work a deal for Leonard, who has only one year left on his contract. Reports are he wants to play for the Lakers.
12. Teams are also trying to figure out the physical condition of the star small forward. Leonard suffered a major ankle sprain in the 2017 Western Conference Finals. Injuries continued into the 2017-18 season, as he played only nine regular season games. His main problem was a quad injury. How the injury was handled by the Spurs is part of why he wants out of San Antonio.
13. Trading for Leonard for one year with no commitment to his future is a risk for any team. Oklahoma City did that for Paul George, shipping Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to Indiana last summer. George had a year left on his contract. He said he wants to play in L.A. Oladipo and Sabonis have helped revive the Pacers and will be part of the team for the next few years.
14. George joined Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony in OKC. The Thunder lost in the first round of the playoffs. If George leaves, what do they have to show for the trade? Any deal with the Spurs for Leonard would mean trading draft picks and younger players.
15. Kevin Love has a $24 million deal for 2018-19 and a $25 million player option for 2019-20. That could make him attractive in a trade. But I'm not sure a Leonard/Love deal would have much interest to the Spurs, who would want multiple assets.
16. What the Cavs' moves at the trading deadline revealed was how the front office kept a lid on the rumors. No one in the media predicted what would happen. It also showed Altman was willing to be daring.
17. Very curious to see what the Cavs do with the No. 8 pick in the draft. I watched the entire Oklahoma/Texas Tech game that was replayed on ESPN Friday night. Trae Young is mesmerizing. His 3-point shooting and ridiculous range fits with the modern NBA. He is an excellent passer, he is also turnover prone. Really hard to pass up at No. 8.
18. There are two top prospects named Bridges in the draft, and I like both small forwards. I favor Mikal Bridges, who led Villanova to a national title. I'm intrigued by Miles Bridges from Michigan State. I prefer Mikal because he shot .514 from the field, .435 on 3-pointers. Miles played for Tom Izzo, who has turned out a lot of good pros.
19. The NBA seems to be dominated by point guards and shooting guards/small forwards...or wing players. I expect the Cavs to draft a point guard or wing player.
20. Ante Zizic (part of the Kyrie Irving deal from Boston) can help in the middle. But like most NBA coaches, Tyronn Lue hesitates to play a true center. The 6-foot-11 Zizic is only 21, and he is a polished inside scorer. He shot 73 percent from the field, scoring 119 points in 214 minutes this season.