NBA Countdown: No. 23 Cleveland Cavaliers

Note: Sportsnet.ca will unveil a team preview every day from Oct. 1-30 counting down in reverse order where we believe the teams will finish.

The Cavaliers check in at No. 23:

2011-12 record: 21-45 (Division: 5th Central; Conference: 13th Eastern).

Key additions

Kelenna Azubuike (Acquired from Mavericks); Jon Leuer (Claimed from Rockets); C.J. Miles (Signed from Jazz); Jeremy Pargo (Acquired from Grizzlies); Dion Waiters (Drafted); Tyler Zeller (Drafted).

Key subtractions

Antawn Jamison (Signed by Lakers); D.J. Kennedy (Traded to Grizzlies); Anthony Parker (Retired).

Key player: Tristan Thompson

The Cavaliers invested the fourth overall pick in Thompson in 2011 and he will need to show some improvement on an acceptable rookie season to justify their faith in him.

Outlook

The Cavaliers are quickly putting together a solid young nucleus as they attempt to rebuild in the post-LeBron James era.

Last season, point guard Kyrie Irving and power forward Tristan Thompson were drafted with the first and fourth overall picks in the draft.

Irving went on to win the Rookie of the Year award after a tremendous season in which he averaged 18.5 points and 5.4 assists per game.

Thompson, who was not expected to go that high in the draft, proved to be more of a project. The Cavaliers brought the Canadian along slowly but he flashed some potential over the final month of the season.

This summer, another pair of first-round picks entered the mix as the Cavaliers once again surprised the NBA community at the draft by selecting shooting guard Dion Waiters with the fourth pick and centre Tyler Zeller with the 17th pick.

Waiters, despite did not starting at Syracuse, he played a whole lot of minutes for the Orange. He was able to score at will against some opponents but tended to disappear when the level of competition reached a higher level.

Zeller, who played four years at North Carolina, will provide the team with a more mature rookie and a big body down the middle.

The team lost Antawn Jamison this summer to the Lakers, so they will need to replace not only his scoring but his leadership as well.

CJ Miles, Kelenna Azubuike and Jeremy Pargo were the free agent signees this summer. Miles and Azubuike both have a chance to earn minutes at the wing spots while Pargo will provide insurance for Irving. Anderson Varejao and Daniel Gibson are still on board to help provide leadership to this very young squad.

This team is slowly being built through the draft but remains a couple of pieces and a year or two away from being a squad that is an annual playoff contender.

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