This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
After LeBron James turned his back on Cleveland, the Cavaliers' first season without him became a nightmarish plunge into irrelevance.
While James led Miami to the NBA Finals, the Cavs turned into Rick Perry.
Nobody cared.
As quickly as Perry went from contender to punch line in his Republican presidential bid, the faceless Cavaliers disappeared from the radar screen.
Without King James, they became the Sacramento Kings.
Their highlights were shown on ESPN less than mine.
During a zombie-like 19-win season, Quicken Loans Arena went from raucous to nauseous.
Even the players felt the hopelessness — despair, almost — resulting from James' decision to go south.
"The thing is, in my opinion, nobody expected it," said veteran Antawn Jamison. "When he left, it was like, 'What do we do next? What is going to be our identity.' "
According to Jamison, James' departure began a perfect storm of events that led to Cleveland's cliff-dive to the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
"We started off pretty well," he said. "But then there were a couple of [close] losses and some injuries. It seemed like everything that could go wrong went wrong — just a bad combination of things."
The Cavs finished 39 games behind James and the Heat. They ended up 18 games behind Indiana, the final playoff team in the East.
Then — unexpectedly — a little Miami sunshine broke through the depressing gloom.
The Cavaliers moved ahead of Minnesota in the draft lottery.
With the No. 1 pick, they selected point guard Kyrie Irving, considered the only can't-miss prospect available despite playing only part of one season at Duke.
As Utah fans witnessed in the Jazz's 113-105 win over the Cavs last week, Irving has breathed life back into a dying franchise.
"Oh, man. I've been playing for a while and I've had a true point guard for this period of time," said Jamison, holding his thumb and index finger an inch apart. "It amazes me to think this guy is only 19. … He's got all the talent in the world."
Irving had 20 points and five assists in Utah, despite persistent foul trouble. He already appears to have embraced the role of replacing James as the heart and soul of his team.
"It's not a sole responsibility," Irving said. "It's a collective responsibility. All of us have the same attitude. We just want to win some games. ...
"Last year was last year. We're in the present — looking forward to the future. That's the only thing we're looking forward to."
In Cleveland, local TV ratings are up 50 percent over last season, signaling Irving's impact and popularity.
Consider:
Byron Scott was Magic Johnson's teammate with the Lakers. He coached Jason Kidd in New Jersey and Chris Paul in New Orleans before his gig in Cleveland.
Scott long ago passed Point Guard 101. He knows Irving has a chance to become a cornerstone-type player like Le … Le … Le …
What was his name again?
"Obviously, we expected big things from Kyrie," Scott said. "But the good thing is, he expects big things from himself."