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The rebuilding process is just barely underway in Cleveland as the franchise, especially team owner Dan Gilbert, is still recovering from the departure of All-Star forward LeBron James. Hope has arrived, though, in the form of rookies Kyrie Irving (No. 1 overall) and Tristan Thompson (No. 4 overall). The two of them are expected to usher in a new era of prominence in Cleveland. However, they’re quite young and inexperienced; this year will be tough for the Cavaliers’ dynamic duo of the future as they learn on the job. Their development will serve as a bright spot in what looks to be another down year for the Cavaliers. They’re just not good enough overall right now to move out of the Central Division’s cellar.

5th Place, Central Division

- Yannis Koutroupis

It’s going to be a rough year for the Cavaliers, though there are plenty of possibilities. The Cavs had a brilliant draft, grabbing Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson, and could parley veterans like Antawn Jamison and Anderson Varejao into more high draft picks next summer . . .and the 2012 NBA draft will be replete with impact players. The Cavs also have a $15.4 million trade exception that expires on December 15th, so they could help faciliate a major trade, as well. Plenty of excitement ahead for the Cavs, even if the wins are few and far between.

5th Place, Central Division

- Bill Ingram

It’s officially a new era in Cleveland, with rookies Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson at the helm, and very few people outside of Ohio are particularly excited about how this year might end up. Actually, it’s probably a safe bet that a lot of Ohioans aren’t all that pumped about it, either. This season will be a slow and grueling one for a team that just doesn’t have a whole lot going for it right now. Given a couple more years and a couple more high draft picks, however, and they’ll find themselves back on the road to redemption. They just aren’t on that particular road quite yet. In fact, they’re barely out of the garage.

5th Place, Central Division

- Joel Brigham

Long term rebuilding projects are tough to watch in their beginning stages and such is the case with the Cleveland Cavaliers entering season two of the post LeBron James era. The Cavs sputtered to only 19 wins in 2011 which ultimately landed them the No. 1 overall pick in this past June’s draft. The team selected point guard Kyrie Irving and are hoping his learning curve isn’t a steep one and that he’ll be able to contribute from day one. On the other hand, the team does possess a solid mix of veteran talent with Baron Davis, Anderson Varejao, Antawn Jamison and Anthony parker on the roster, but expecting anything more from this team other than occupying the Central Division cellar in 2012 would be a stretch.

5th Place, Central Division

- Lang Greene

All eyes will be on Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson this season, but the two lottery picks won’t be enough to make the Cleveland Cavaliers competitive in the Eastern Conference. Irving and Thompson will have every opportunity to succeed since they’re expected to receive a considerable amount of minutes from day one. Outside of the rookies, Cleveland brings back many of the same players that won 19 games while donning wine and gold jerseys last season. Irving and Thompson may turn the Cavaliers into a playoff team down the road, but this year they’ll continue to be one of the bottom feeders in the East.

5th Place, Central Division

- Alex Kennedy

Top Offensive Player: In a rebuilding year, it cannot be taken as good news when your top offensive player is a 35-year-old veteran that the team is hoping can be swapped for youth and draft picks by the trade deadline. Unfortunately Antawn Jamison averaged more than four points per game better than anyone else on the Cavaliers last season, and if he plays starter’s minutes, he will probably do it again. If Jamison sees a big decline in playing time to make way for rookie Tristan Thompson, expect rookie Kyrie Irving to be leading his team in most offensive categories.

Top Defensive Player: Veteran center Anderson Varejao was averaging career highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots until a foot injury sidelined him after playing just 31 games last season. While there are still some minor concerns that his ankle has been a little sore after training camp workouts, the 29-year-old Varejao is expected to start the season ready to go. The highest energy player on Cleveland should provide at least another nine points, nine boards, a block and a steal per game again this season and irritate the opposition at both ends of the floor.

Top Playmaker: Irving is expected to lead his team, virtually from day one. The skills that took Irving to the number one pick of the draft were his ability to make plays off the dribble, to drive and dish or drive and kick, and his solid shooting. While NBA veterans Baron Davis and Ramon Sessions are ahead of him in experience and the ability to make an impact on day one, this is now Irving’s team.

Top Clutch Player: On a team that managed only 19 wins, it is hard to find a clutch player. Jamison managed to pull out some monster games to steal wins, and after the trade, Davis led the way a few times, but neither of these players figures into the Cavaliers long term plans. Sessions scored more points last season than any other Cavalier still on the roster, and when Cleveland needs a win, the 25-year-old, three-year veteran should be the player expected to get the bucket. Irving should assume this role next season.

The Unheralded Player: When the Cavaliers took Tristan Thompson fourth overall, it surprised almost everyone. Thompson was viewed more as a top ten draft pick than a top five, and with the first overall pick on the roster, it is easy to forget that big expectations usually follow someone taken this early in the draft. Thompson lived in the paint during his brief college career, and despite his unpolished offensive skills, he drew fouls at a high rate and got to the line more than seven times a game. No one is expecting the 20-year-old Thompson to dominate right away, but if the rookie can bring his physical presence straight to the NBA, he will not be unheralded for long.

Best New Addition: When the Cavaliers drafted Thompson, they created a log-jam at power forward that needed to be addressed in a hurry. General manager Chris Grant wasted no time in trading his young power forward J.J. Hickson to Sacramento for the second year small forward Omri Casspi, resolving two big issues with one stroke. Casspi had a great rookie season in 2009-10 averaging 10.3 points and 4.6 rebounds, but his progress stalled last year as he won and lost the Kings starting small forward spot with a mixture of spectacular and unimpressive efforts. Casspi remains a gritty defensive player who has shown he can be a capable scorer. Now on a team where he has little reason to be looking over his shoulder, Casspi should be expected to have a breakout year and be the best new addition not named Irving.

- Stephen Brotherston

1. Bryon Scott – Coach Scott believes that he is the best mentor for Irving and he has a strong case. It was Scott who coached the rookie Chris Paul in 2005 after an inaugural 18-64 season as head coach in New Orleans. This tough-minded defensive coach mentored one of the best point guards in the NBA, and just like this year’s situation, Davis was a point guard on the Hornets the season before Paul arrived. Scott is the right coach in the right place at the right time.

2. Chris Grant – A lesser general manager might have packed up and looked for greener pastures after losing the best young veteran player in the NBA a month into his new job. His team had just gone from championship contender to the lottery. Then the Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert produced a rant that brought publicity no general manager needs. A year later Gilbert is still making life challenging for his front office, but Grant appears to take it all in stride. “Dan is a passionate guy,” explained Grant. A general manager who can enter a full rebuilding process while his owner talks about winning championships before a stacked team in his own conference is worthy of the job.

3. Kyrie Irving – The knock on Irving is his 11 games of college experience and the structural foot problem that caused him to miss most of his freshman year. Those issues didn’t cause Irving to slide out of the number one spot in last year’s mock drafts however, and the reasons were obvious. In a point guard driven league, Irving showed basketball I.Q. well beyond that of a college freshman, and unlike many of the more recent point guard draftees, he is already an accomplished shooter. Not the freak athlete we have become accustomed to, he has the size, skills, and control to help a team right away at both ends of the floor. The foot problems appear to be behind him, and although Irving will have to prove himself at the NBA level just like any other rookie, a lot will be expected and demanded from him immediately.

4. Andersen Varejao – A player who never stops moving and hustling is a great example for a very young team to model themselves after. Varejao sets a tone with his play that is infectious.

5. Omri Casspi – The 23-year-old Casspi fits in well with the Cavaliers rebuilding process and Coach Scott’s emphasis on defense. Last season was spent looking over his shoulder at the Kings veterans who wanted his spot in the rotation. This season, Casspi faces no such threat and his game should blossom as a player the Cavaliers have a lot invested in and want to succeed.

– Stephen Brotherston

The Cavaliers are deep at the point. Even if Davis is gone by the start of the season, Irving will be backed up by Sessions and fan favorite Daniel Gibson. If Davis remains on the roster, the problem could quickly become too many guards for too few minutes.

In a season where many teams have few returning players, the Cavaliers could see as many as 12 from last year’s roster. Continuity should help Coach Scott get his team off to a better start than expected. Also, with so many young players on the roster, Cleveland will almost certainly see at least one breakout this season.

- Stephen Brotherston

The biggest Cavaliers weakness heading into this season is the team’s inexperience. This is a very young roster with 10 players who have three years or less of NBA experience. Only Davis and Jamison are over 30-years old and neither player may be with the team for the entire season. The overwhelming lack of experience on this team will be extremely difficult to overcome.

- Stephen Brotherston

It’s a brand new start, and a brand new beginning. Kyrie, Tristan, welcome to professional basketball. You guys are going to get baptized by fire. I don’t expect you to come out and be perfect, but I do expect you to take advantage of every opportunity you are given. The worst thing you can do is not the wrong thing: it’s nothing. Commit to playing defense on every possession and give us energy in transition. The rest will take care of itself. This is the cornerstone for a new future here in Cleveland, and if you want to be part of something special, get in now on the ground floor.

- Anthony Macri

Is Kyrie Irving a franchise player?

The burning question is not about Davis and his training camp sore back.

The Cavaliers luck turned the eighth from last place Clippers draft pick into first overall in June and the team took the consensus number one Irving over the athletic freak Derrick Williams. It may not have seemed like a close decision, but injury and inexperience has to put at least some small measure of doubt in the minds of the Cavaliers front office. There are no guarantees in the draft process and Irving could prove to be either the wrong choice or merely the best choice in a weak draft class. Based on what we know however, Irving has a legitimate chance to become the franchise player who eventually leads the Cavaliers back into contention.

– Stephen Brotherston