TORONTO -- Tristan Thompson has been through this before.

He was younger back then, a baby-faced 20-year-old rookie trying to find his place in the NBA. It was before he became a full-time starter, NBA champion and consecutive-games ironman. Before he identified his dominant hand and added muscle to a once-wiry frame.

Of the 15 players on this Cleveland Cavaliers roster, Thompson's the only one with experience in a post-LeBron James universe.

It can be gloomy. It can be challenging. The constant losing that typically follows can test mental fortitude.

"My first year, when me and Kyrie (Irving) came to the team, if you looked at the roster, there were guys that were borderline pros," Thompson told cleveland.com. "And the team was kind of in the still-building mode with me and Kyrie."

That was 2011, one year after LeBron left Cleveland the first time, sending the franchise tumbling down a dark hole.

When Thompson arrived alongside Irving -- two of the top four picks in the draft and new beacons of hope -- the Cavs had just suffered through a miserable season, complete with a humiliating 26-game losing streak and one embarrassing game where they failed to reach the 60-point mark. An old and nearly-broken-down Antawn Jamison was the team's best player. Christian Eyenga's athleticism had fans excited. Byron Scott, who signed up to work with LeBron, was the head coach.

That's the hellish environment Thompson and Irving walked into.

The Cavs didn't have a plan. They were blindsided by LeBron's decision and hadn't yet come to grips with what the future would look like. Eventually, they felt there was only one option: tanking.

So the two newest Cavaliers came to a team that was openly trying to lose. Lottery picks were the goal, hoping lucky bowties would yield the right four-digit combination. That's how they were going to build the foundation, believing the draft would bring salvation.

"It was f------ miserable," said one executive who was with the Cavs at the time.

Flash forward to now and it's fair to call that a lesson learned.

Many continue to ask the same question: Why are the Cavs so determined to compete for a playoff spot when history says James' departure makes it unlikely?

Technically, the planning for this LeBronless era began all the way back in the summer of 2017, as the Cavs made a draft pick the centerpiece of the Irving blockbuster. Then at the February trade deadline, the idea was pushed forward again. Sure, the Cavs needed a roster overhaul to keep the ship from sinking. They needed James to believe once again. But with his free agency a few months away, the Cavs knew they needed youth so they acquired Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. -- three players in their 20s -- along with George Hill.

It was obvious the Cavs wanted the roster in better shape than when James bolted for Miami in 2010.

No, not everyone that's decided on the anti-tanking approach was here seven years ago, a time when two promising youngsters learned nothing but losing and bad habits for a three-year stretch. But that experience was certainly discussed.

Each team enters a new season with unshakeable belief. Everyone has the same playoff goal. The Cavs are no different.

They'd love to become the first team to make the playoffs in the inaugural LeBronless season. They'd be thrilled to get the extra revenue and bragging rights that come with a postseason trip. They wouldn't mind losing their draft pick if it means getting to celebrate another postseason appearance. They'd like to believe that being out of James' orbit doesn't have to be crippling.

Earlier this summer, the Cavs studied at least 10 other franchises that historically faced similar situations and ultimately chose the competitive path. They looked at the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets, a pair that refused to tank and instead built from the middle. They also looked at teams that blew up their rosters and recognized the danger in going down that road.

But this playoff battle cry is about so much more than research projects and ancillary perks. It's about Cleveland's promising young core.

"I think the key for us, and this is really important for the season, is player development through playing in meaningful games," general manager Koby Altman told cleveland.com recently. "We wanted to do it by putting the guys in a competitive atmosphere.

"What's it look like for Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman, Larry Nance Jr. to close out games in the fourth quarter with Kevin Love on the team and try to win that game as opposed to being down 30 and developing that way? Having Collin, Cedi and Larry play with Kevin, they are going to be infinitely better because of that. We want to develop our guys through being competitive."

That was the Cavs' thinking when re-signing Love. That's why they kept the veterans instead of trying to unload them in the summer.

"It's different," Thompson said when asked to compare the two situations. "We still have guys that are still playing at a high level, better players overall, and this is a team that wants to be competitive and wants to fight for a playoff spot. For Collin, it's a little different, he's going to have more help compared to what me and Kyrie had and for us it's really on myself, Kev, JR (Smith), G Hill and Kyle (Korver) to come out and be productive. I think if we play at a high level and take some of the pressure or the stress off of Collin and that's what we want."

Sexton, Osman and Nance are key components. Clarkson and Hood will have a chance to state their case. Raising all of them in a habitat with daily competition, where winning matters, is invaluable.

Nance gets to lean on Thompson, who has gone through this tough transition once already. The youngsters get to watch Love work every day, seeing what it takes to become a five-time All-Star. Sexton has already raved about Hill's tutelage and how much he's grown as a player because of their one-on-one practice matchups.

"Going to an organization where winning means something, where you're held accountable and you have goals and things like that I think that molds you early as a player," Hill told cleveland.com. "It gives you that platform and foundation to be a professional."

Irving and Thompson never got that. It was a mistake the Cavs were determined not to repeat.

Because of the endless losing, the front office actually had internal debates back then about Irving's value. The talent was obvious. The accolades were piling up. But so, too, were the losses.

Some wondered whether he could be a core piece moving forward, the right player to pull them from the rubble or just a flashy score-first offensive dynamo. Seeing him so miserable actually worked in his favor. The pouts and frowns showed that he cared deeply. It let the organization know how much he hated losing. The Cavs were able to see his insatiable desire to change the culture.

Sexton isn't Irving. But he represents what Irving once did -- a bright light in a dim time for the franchise.

And they want to groom him -- and the others -- properly.

Perhaps the Cavs will change course midway through the season and try to salvage their draft pick. It's a possibility if they get off to a slow start and a playoff spot looks unattainable. Maybe they will get a wake-up call in the first few months -- all of their training camp optimism shown to be unjustified.

But, unlike the first post-LeBron era, there's a plan this time. The Cavs are determined to see it through.

"I think they've been writing us off since we all came together in 2014," Thompson said. "I think me, Kev, JR, we've been through this whole journey together. I think you guys enjoy writing us off and I think we take the challenge. I think T Lue takes the challenge and our front office takes the challenge, ownership takes the challenge to prove people wrong.

"I think that's what makes this organization special and that's what builds a culture. Always being ready to stand up and fight and it kind of represents the city of Cleveland. Always being underdogs, always being written off, but always proving people wrong."