3. Very quietly, Cleveland has made some savvy and interesting additions
Irving, Waiters, Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson are expected to form the core of the team, surrounded by returning and newly acquired role players.
But there are also a couple of pieces that the Cavs picked up during the offseason who are not expected to contribute much but could have a big impact if the team gets lucky.
One of those pieces is Kelenna Azubuike, who had a tremendous season as a wing player with Golden State back in 2008-2009. Since then, he has played in just 12 NBA games while battling knee injuries. However, he recently said that he is completely healthy and ready to go. If Azubuike can come close to being the player he was before the injuries sidetracked his promising young career, the Cavs will have picked up a nice wing player for nothing (he was a throw-in to a draft-day trade with Dallas).
The Cavs also quietly added Jon Leuer off waivers this summer. Leuer had a solid rookie season with Milwaukee in which he started 12 games and posted a PER of 15.31. Nobody is expecting him to come in and start or anything like that. But he is a decent young prospect who has some nice offensive moves. Anytime you can get a guy like that without having to give up anything, it’s a win. He’s a potential reward with almost no risk.
4. Varejao is healthy and motivated
Varejao played in just 25 games last season due to a wrist injury but was tremendous when he was on the floor. He used to be known as a scrappy guy who hustled for loose balls and flopped took charges. Last season, he emerged as a near All-Star who averaged a double-double.
Early indications are that Varejao is completely healthy and happy to still be in Cleveland after being the subject of constant trade rumors over the summer. His health will always be a concern because of the way he plays, but a healthy Varejao would give the Cavs the low-post presence they were missing for most of last season.
5. Irving
You probably know that Irving had a good rookie season. But it still boggles my mind just how good he 
actually was.
He was ninth in the league in points per 36 minutes. He made 40 percent of his 3-pointers. According to 82games.com, he was the highest scoring player in the league during crunch time. And he did it all with very little talent around him. Oh, and he was still just a teenager when the season began.
So what will he do for an encore? I can’t wait to find out.
I’m not sure that the Cavaliers are quite ready to compete for the postseason just yet, but they have the pieces in place for a bright future. They should be a young, athletic, exciting team that runs the floor and competes every night. I don’t imagine that they will lose another game by 55 points again.
Season Preview Index
Born and raised in Northeast Ohio, Mike Mayer has been a long-suffering fan of the Indians, Browns and his beloved Cavaliers. In 2010, he started RebuildingSince1964.com so that he and his friends could share their frustrations with the world. You can follow him on Twitter at @RS64mikemayer.
What is this Mayer kid smoking. Not only is the entire post delusional, but the line “Scott runs a version of the Princeton Offense” is high comedy.