The Cavs are now a playoff team, Bynum or no Bynum (PODCAST)

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert made a vow to Cleveland’s long-suffering fans that his team would be playing postseason games next spring.

I think he is going to deliver — and it will not matter if Andrew Bynum pans out or not.

First of all, getting Bynum for only $6 million guaranteed is a worthy gamble. Gilbert is bringing in that kind of money nightly at the casino complex located right across the street from the Cavs’ arena.

Secondly, Bynum doesn’t need to be a 30-minute per night player. The Cavs have Anderson Varejao manning the middle, meaning Bynum can come off the bench or play alongside Varejao when Anthony Bennett is not on the floor.

So if you are talking about a starting five of Varejao, Bennett, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters and Kyrie Irving, you are talking about a 45-50 win team.

More on that projection, where the Cavs rank in the East, and the chances of LeBron James returning in 2014 as a free agent are discussed in this podcast with Cleveland.com.