So what do the Cavs do now? LeBron James didn’t get his ring, despite many people thinking he would. Now the Cavs are in a tough spot. If they could have proved to LeBron that they would win with this group then James would be more likely to stay beyond next year. By not winning, the pressure is definitely on them to win next year.

Assuming Illguaskas and Varejao exercise their player options for next year, and they would be foolish not to considering the economy, the Cavs will have 10 players under contract at about $20M less than this season. Most of that is thanks to Wally Szcerbiak’s expiring contract. The Cavs are in a good spot in 2010 as well. With Ben Wallace coming off the books then, that alone should be enough to make up the additional salary to LeBron. So it would seem to me that they can afford a big name this year. The question is, who?

The first name that comes to mind is Chicago’s own Ben Gordon. Gordon is a scorer, plain and simple. But he is undersized, doesn’t play very good defense and isn’t great at getting to the hoop. Plus, one could argue that with Mo Williams, Delonte West and Daniel Gibson this isn’t the kind of guy that the Cavs need.

What if they went short(er) term, with someone like Rasheed Wallace? Wallace gives this team fire, experience, and he is what they were missing in defending someone like Dwight Howard. The biggest question about Wallace is, how much does he have left in the tank and how much would he cost? He clearly isn’t the guy that led the Pistons to the finals, but he doesn’t have to be the man in Detroit.

What about Lamar Odom? Bill Simmons loves to talk about how Odom wants to live at the beach so that doesn’t help. And if he can’t win as the third option in Los Angeles, can he win as the 2nd option in Cleveland?

Carlos Boozer also comes to mind. Those that remember his horrible breakup with the Cavs though, might think that isn’t possible. Boozer gives them a better offensive option than anyone else they have, but what about defense? Is Boozer good enough on defense to defend the elite low post guys?

Shawn Marion is a free agent this summer. But he basically plays the same position as James. He is a pretty good defensive player and gets points. But he really doesn’t seem to be the answer.

So what about someone via trade?

The craziest move would be to get Zach Randolph. Crazy on so many levels, and would also never happen. Let’s face is, the Clippers are taking Blake Griffin #1 and they would love to dump Randolph. Randolph has 2 years left and MIGHT be a better low post offensive player than anyone the Cavs have, but most importantly he is available.

Michael Redd could be available. The Bucks have been struggling and Redd has one year plus a player option left. Joe Johnson is a free agent next year and could leave Atlanta. If the Cavs do a sign and trade they could add him maybe?

But now, let’s get really crazy…There were Vince Carter rumors last year. Carter has two years plus a team option left. The Nets are going to have to sign Devin Harris to a big contract soon and with Brooke Lopez they have some younger players to build around. Carter gives the Cavs another star.

The bottom line is that the Cavs are in a tough spot. If they go after a big name with big money and LeBron walks anyway next year, they are stuck with a big contract. But if they don’t do something LeBron is going to bolt. I think Gordon, Boozer or Rasheed will be here next year.