Cleveland Cavaliers Rumors: David Blatt Plays Down Championship Title Talks

The NBA season has not even started and Cleveland fans are already talking about the coveted championship title.

The Cavaliers' head coach David Blatt does not want to get fans hopes up and is playing down the team's chances.

"All the predictions and prognostications, it doesn't mean a whole lot," Blatt said after practice Thursday reported by ESPN. "Right now we are not as of yet a full team, so it's hard for me to tell you what we are. I know what I think we can be and certainly we can be a contender, but beyond that today? I don't think we got the right to talk too, too much about more than that. We'll take it one day at a time."

Blatt added, in regards to the expectations, "We're not even talking about that right now. We're talking about how we can get everybody on the same page, get all our players back, work hard and try to make day-to-day progress. That's very far down the line and what we're really concerned with is just becoming a good team right now."

The Cavaliers still do not have a healthy starting roster. Point guard Kyrie Irving is recovering from undergoing surgery on his fractured left kneecap. He does not have a return date yet. Iman Shumpert, who was traded to the Cavaliers from the New York Knicks last season, will not be able to return until December due to a right wrist injury while big guy Timofey Mozgov has been dealing with some discomfort in his right knee.

On top of these health issues, LeBron James has reportedly received injections for his back. Although the Cavaliers have not said anything about James' health, James has dealt with back spasms in the past.

Blatt did say about James, "We're being very conscientious and cautious with him in terms of his feeling. He's fine and he's going to be fine, but we're just going slowly and carefully with him. He'll be out there very soon."

The Cavaliers will at least have Tristan Thompson on their roster. Thompson agreed to a five-year, $82 million extension on Thursday.

The Cavaliers will open their season against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 8:00 p.m. ET.