The Rajon Rondo ACL injury was a major disappointment on Sunday. 

The NBA—especially its postseason—is a markedly better product with Rondo involved. When healthy, his unique skill-set has the ability to change the outcome of not only playoff games but also an entire series on a moment's notice.

Something we are certainly well aware of as Cavaliers' fans.

Kyrie Irving now has a chance to start in the 2013 NBA All-Star game as a result of the Rondo injury.

While the way he could inevitably earn that start is the worst sort of way, the truth is that Irving deserved that start anyway.

He is—without question—the best backcourt player in the Eastern Conference this season.

Not simply the East's best point guard.

In the post-decision era, Cavs fans have had to endure a lot of terrible weeks. Weeks where key players sustain injuries, losses mount, and the growing pains of rebuilding an entire franchise takes its toll.

I could go out on a limb and say this past week was the best in our new “Post-Decision” era and hopefully a sign of many more to come.

We started the week in relative obscurity, sitting on the sidelines as the league showcased itself for it’s Holiday viewers, but ended the week making all kinds of noise on and off the court.

As with any recent Cavaliers' success story, it begins with our soon-to-be-named Eastern Conference Player of the Week, Kyrie Irving.



Irving started by torching Rajon Rondo in the final minute on his way to 40. He iced a great comeback win against the Bucks with a few buckets. Then slayed an old dragon from 28 feet out at the buzzer in Toronto.

In the end, his team went 3-0 in three close games in large part because of his insane play in the clutch that was so good it somehow overshadows the fact that he averaged roughly 36 pts a night and shot 61 percent from the field in the process.

To put it another way, Irving scored 107 points on 67 shots. Yet, the biggest moment for himself and for the organization as a whole came on an off night.

The Cavaliers' newly acquired big man, Marreese Speights, made a lot of friends in Cleveland on Friday night.

In his Cavs debut, after arriving from Memphis earlier this week, Speights provided a combination of NBA-caliber size and athleticism that the Cavaliers have desperately lacked for the last three seasons.

More importantly, however, is that Speights took the floor—after only a couple hours of learning the Cavaliers' system—and played with passion.

His attitude and energy were both refreshing and contagious for a Cavs team who would've lost by 15 if he hadn't arrived.

Following the come-from-behind victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, I caught up with Mo Speights to talk about all that.
 

StepienRules: First experience in Cleveland, with these Cavs fans, what was it like out there with the crowd getting behind you guys late?

Marreese Speights: It felt good, it always feels good to have the crowd get behind you. This is a great organization, great city and I'm glad we got the win tonight. 

SR: What can Cavs fans expect from Mo Speights this year?

MS: I'm just going to go out there to play hard every night. Help my teammates, and just get wins, and try to do the best we can do to get some wins on our record.

SR: How excited are you about the type of minutes you're going to get here? Playing behind Gasol and Randolph in Memphis you were getting about 15 minutes a game, you're going to get a lot more than that now. What do you feel like you can do with those type of minutes?

I was old enough to remember how rare it actually is to employ an NBA All-Star in Cleveland.

Otherwise, maybe he would’ve been right.

Maybe I would have been spoiled by the last great All-Star to wear Cleveland across his chest.

I appreciated his brilliance then, though, just as much as I appreciate Kyrie Irving’s now. Irving’s inclusion on the 2013 All-Star team only reinforces the fact that the rest of world is now officially appreciating his greatness too.

As Irving prepares for his trip to Houston, the Cavaliers have now drafted two players in the last decade who have gone on to become All-Stars in their second season.

As much as that simple fact could genuinely appear like a trend to the under-20 crowd, it most certainly is not.

There have only been 15 Cavaliers selected as All-Stars since 1971. Irving now makes 16.

Unlike the selections of Tyrone Hill and Mo Williams, however, Irving will remain on the NBA’s midseason showcase for many years to come.

While I fully expected Irving to make the All-Star team this season, and even think he could’ve made it last year as a rookie, his official selection last night gave me pause from the monotony of losing.

It made me reflect on how quickly Irving has instilled a new hope within a franchise that has compiled a 50-140 record since the 2010-11 season began.

If you told me back then, that the Cavaliers would employ a 20-year-old All Star in three years, I’d have asked you simply to stop lying. There is no way I’d have ever believed that.

Those things don’t happen in general, and they certainly don’t happen in Cleveland. 

Only, as Irving becomes the seventh player in NBA history under 21-years old to be selected to an All-Star game, it’s happened in Cleveland now twice.

Where we go from here is anyone’s guess. Unlike 2010, though, I’m not ruling anything out anymore.

A lot of NBA was played on Monday.

Blessed as I was, I had the chance to sit out the storm and enjoy a day off courtesy of Dr. King and his impact on our country. At one point, my oldest boy asked if the Cavs were on.

“Not this year little man, but maybe soon.”

As he ran off, I caught myself remembering back to when the Cavs were the main event on day’s like the King Holiday.

Every year.

Every NBA showcase game they were there. As gone as they are now, I truly believe they’ll be back.

Maybe not to the same scale and probably not next year, but those days will arrive in time to shape into my five-year old’s version of our "Price and Daugherty Era."

The Cavs, and their fans, are swallowing the pain of doing this the right way. Dan Gilbert warned us.

On Tuesday, we had an escape from that monotony. The trade was exciting and Kyrie’s performance at home against the Celtics was even better.

By and large, however, “the process”, includes no shortcuts. The pain will return.

This team is being built through the draft, primarily, in a sustainable way. In the modern NBA, where Jon Leuer can be exchanged for much more than we'd ever imagine, sustainability does not come quick.

Organizations can only shoot for the big trophy in a few different ways, and we’ve clearly chosen the path of patience and prudence. By far the most disciplined and unpopular plan anyway.

On consistently selling the rebuild

You have to tell a fan base coming off two straight 60-plus win seasons that winning 50 of your next 190 games is the plan. Get young, get flexible, stockpile picks, and it’s inevitable that the rest of the NBA will make sure you’re losing.

Frankly, if you’re going to do it, you might as well do it masterfully. As far as phase one is concerned, anyway, the Cavaliers have.

The mood is still changing, though, as we approach the 2012-13 All-Star break. Patience is wearing thin, and to some degree, it's understandable. All of the frustrations of losing are taking its toll.

It’s the exact reason that rebuilding is horrible to go through as a fan and also the reason that teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors offer big contracts to Drew Gooden and Landry Fields to temporarily avoid such pain.

It’s also the reason the Orlando Magic, when the situation was screaming for a tear down, took back over $50 million dollars in cap space over the next three to four years for Arron Afflalo and Al Harrington in the Dwight Howard deal.

Mediocrity usually avoids apathy. Gilbert and Grant are choosing to roll the dice, and considering they’re boasting a .263 winning percentage for the last three years and are still middle of the pack in attendance, I think that call is correct.

According to multiple reports, including Yahoo!'s Marc Spears, the Cleveland Cavaliers have traded Jon Leuer for what at first appeared to be half of the NBA.

Those players have since been identified as Memphis Grizzlies' Marreese Speights, Josh Selby and Wayne Ellington.

There is also a draft pick included in this package that will be sent to Cleveland as well, but what exactly that pick is hasn't been identified at the time I'm writing this. 

Hoopsworld is reporting that pick could be a 2015 first rounder with a top-5 protection. Maybe it's a second. I'll update this post later once we find out.

*updated below*

In any event, this is a move made by the Memphis Grizzlies that was facilitated by the NBA's new luxury tax structure.

After exploring possible trades for Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph, the Grizzlies appear to have settled on avoiding the tax by moving the dollars owed to Speights, Selby and Ellington.

That number is approximately $7 million-ish in total on an annual basis, that does not extend past next season.

This move, in its eventual totality, is a good one for the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

It is one of those "trade nothing for something" type deals. It's not a major deal, but it could provide much needed help on the Cavaliers' bench moving forward.

That's besides being crazy to think, of course, that Jon Leuer alone netted these returns. 

The fact that the Cavaliers went out and signed essentially zero free agents this summer, and have struggled mightily with their bench as a result, put them in the cap-friendly position to make this trade.

Another reason to rationalize losing so much this season, I guess.

Jeff Goodman from CBSsports.com reported earlier this week that the Boston Celtics, San Anonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers have expressed interest in free agent center Greg Oden.

If I'm Chris Grant, I'm probably thinking the same thing those other GM's are. 

Why not? 

Oden hasn't played a game since December 5, 2009 because of his inability to stay healthy. In all, he's played a total of one NBA season. He's clearly fresh. And he’s young, as he will turn only 25 in a few days.

Really, what do the Cavs have to lose in taking a chance on Oden? Lets be honest, this is a lost season and I would much rather watch Oden than the likes of Kevin Jones, Jon Leuer and Luke Walton. But I also know what kinds of risk come with Oden.

If he can stay on the court, which he hasn’t been able to do, he has been pretty effective. In the 2009-2010 season, his last time healthy, Oden played in 21 games for Portland. He averaged 24 minutes per, with 11.1 points, 8.5 boards and 2.3 blocks per game, while shooting 60 percent from the field.

Dion Waiters came off the Cavaliers' bench last night to attempt 18 field goals in 26 minutes.

He made seven, finished with 15 points and the Cavs lost to the Lakers by 20 in Los Angeles.

The 7-18 shooting display from Waiters, to be fair, was certainly not without it's cringe-worthy moments. 

It also marked the 18th time in 31 games that Dion shot less than 40 percent from the field for the night. 

That level of consistent inefficiency is not good and obviously needs to improve next season.

At this point in his NBA development, though, with the Cavaliers currently leading the league in losses, there is no reason Waiters should not take each and every one of the field goals he's attempting.

He might as well keep bombing away until they begin to fall more consistently. Use the entire 2012-13 regular season to find an NBA rhythm if he has to. 

Last night, the 21-year-old Waiters shot 38.9 percent from the floor and 25 percent from three. Not even after a couple airballs that appeared punted towards the rim in the second half did he ever seem to think taking his foot off-the-gas was a reasonable option.

Which is specifically why I continue to remain encouraged about Waiters' mentality moving forward. He has the potential to be an NBA scorer, but also wants to go out and get buckets too.

This season he is learning how.

Luke Harangody once played four games in as many nights during a dominating run through both the NBA and D-League last season. 

It was a stretch of basketball brilliance that will live forever in Cavaliers' history.

In November, however, the Luke Harangody era ended in Cleveland. It also ended in Canton, too.

Good news for Gody fans, though, is that the big man by way of Notre Dame is back on the scene like he never left.

Following arthroscopic surgery, Harangody is back dominating the D-League with one devastating performance after another. Yesterday, NBA.com's Fran Blinebury took notice.

In an article headlined, "Can hustle get Harangody back in the NBA?", NBA.com catches up with the former Cavaliers' forward.

It opens with this awesome lede.

There are Swiss watches that aren’t as reliable as Luke Harangody. No need to wind him up. He rebounds, he hustles, he gets to the foul line.

Harangody played back to back games at the NBA D-League Showcase, averaging 22.5 points and 14 rebounds. Tick, tick, tick.

Gody goes on to say that he's enjoying his time in Fort Wayne.

The news that Samardo Samuels had been waived by the Cavaliers this weekend was a major bummer.

I enjoyed Samardo playing in Cleveland over the last few years and will miss having him around. 

On the Stepien Rules Facebook page I went into more detail this morning. I only bring it up here, too, in order to enter these sentiments for the record.

The Rudy Gay trade talk, conversely, has me brimming with unfounded hope this week.

Unfounded in the sense that simply because Gay is being shopped, it appears, I'm therefore dreaming he ends up in a Cavs uniform.

All over again.

Ever since LeBron James left, I've always thought that Gay is the 'best available small forward' capable of filling that gaping wound left by James at the position. 

At 26 years old, Rudy is in his seventh NBA season. He's averaged 17.9 points and 5.7 rebounds for his career, while never before playing next to a guard like Kyrie Irving.

The problem, of course, is the six trillion dollars that Gay is being paid.

Below are those contract details, specifically, with respect to the Grizzlies' current roster (via Hoopshype.com).