When a team loses its star player, it can often be difficult to project how big of an impact the loss will be on the team as a whole. When said star player is LeBron James, you would certainly expect the impact to be catastrophic to the team who lost him.
While some who have closely followed the Cavaliers over the past several seasons believe that the players who have been left behind can still form a competitive team and be fighting for a playoff spot come April, that optimism is not shared by the general public.
Several national pundits have been forecasting nothing but gloom for the Cavaliers this season. I’ve read more than one person write that the Cavaliers will be among the 2-3 worst teams in the East this season. Betting sites such as Sportsbook.com have the Cavaliers listed dead last with the Pacers, Wizards, Raptors, and Nets at +10,000 to win the Eastern Conference next season.
In other words, a lot of people think the Cavaliers are going to be pretty bad next season. If that’s the case, then the Cavaliers need a lot of help. Do you agree? If so, can you play ball and would you like to do something about it? Well perhaps you can have your shot, then. The Cavaliers and Raptors’ shared D-League franchise, the Erie Bayhawks, are holding tryouts in both Toronto and Cleveland.
The Bayhawks will be in the Q on October 9-10 and it costs $150 if you register in advance to tryout. No LeBron? No problem, we just need someone to step up, make the team, get called up to Cleveland on a 10-day contract, and then make us all forget about what’s-his-name who left us!
Obviously, this is all tongue-in-cheek (please tell me you were picking up the sarcasm), but in all reality, this is a pretty cool opportunity for anyone who is incredibly good at basketball and would like a chance to experience what life in the D-League is like. There’s no word on how many players they are looking for, if any at all, but as we all know by now, the D-League is full of players with great stories who come from varied backgrounds. The talent may not be the same as the NBA, of course, but the intrigue is there and although I don’t get to see much D-League action, I always enjoy reading about the players and their backgrounds.
So this is your chance to become the next player with a story. Don’t get your hopes up on becoming LeBron’s replacement, though. If the Cavaliers go from LeBron James to D-League walk-on, then perhaps the pundits are a lot more right about how bad of shape the franchise is in than I thought (no disrespect to any D-League walk-ons who may be reading this).
