CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers will not be at full force until J.R. Smith's contract situation is resolved.

As LeBron James told reporters, "J.R. is a big piece. I hate it that for the second year in a row, one of our big guns is not here." He meant how Tristan Thompson missed most of the 2015 camp when his contract was being negotiated.

But otherwise, the Cavs are off to an outstanding start. Everyone is there, everyone is healthy.

A year ago, the Cavs had five players coming off surgery: Iman Shumpert (wrist), Timofey Mozgov (knee), Kevin Love (shoulder), Kyrie Irving (knee) and Anderson Varejao (Achilles).

The main workouts are not open to the media. But I hear the coaches have been very pleased with the players' attitude and conditioning. The Cavs had very good informal workouts a week ago when LeBron James held his mini-camp in Santa Barbara. He had 13 players attend. It has carried over to the official camp.

Here are some key points:

1. Love is much stronger than a year ago, when he was coming off major shoulder surgery. He couldn't lift weights last summer. He lost some weight and became more flexible, but lacked upper body strength.

2. Love has not bulked up, but he is visibly stronger. He has been playing more in the post, and scoring more often. Coach Tyronn Lue: "He's lost some weight, but he looks stronger. We want him to be Kevin, to rebound the ball, do the things he does well."

3. James on Love: "He looks unbelievable. He's in great form. He's shooting the ball extremely well."

4. I was told Thompson has been "a monster" on the boards. He is relentless, and he also is working on some passing skills -- just to keep the ball moving.

5. Mike Dunleavy is impressing with his outside shooting, passing and intelligence. He will be a great fit on the roster.

6. There are some analytics showing that Channing Frye, Love and Dunleavy are among the top five outside shooters over 6-9. The others are Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant.

7. Lue on Dunleavy: "He shoots 52 percent on open shots. He is a straight line driver (to the rim). He is always in the right spot for (team) defense."

8. General manager David Griffin has been working to surround Irving and James with outside shooters from the moment James arrived. Tall 3-point shooters are especially effective. He had been pursuing Frye for nearly a year before dealing for him last February. He had sought Dunleavy for a long time.

9. With Smith out, the Cavs have had Shumpert at shooting guard with the starters. But they've also worked other lineups. One of the more interesting has been Irving and James in the backcourt. The center is Thompson, with Dunleavy and Love at the forwards.

10. The Cavs also have experimented with "small" lineups, featuring James at power forward and Thompson/Love at center. They then add three guards to the mix.

11. Rookie Kay Felder has impressed with his full-court defense. The coaches want him to defend opposing point guards for the full 94 feet. The challenge for the 5-foot-9 Felder will be when he is forced to switch off point guards and defend someone else. His size is a factor. "I just want him to play hard, be great defensively -- we'll figure the rest out," said Lue.

12. James mentioned he's been aware of Felder for several years. His former St. Vincent-St. Mary teammate Brandon Weems was an assistant coach at Oakland University for two seasons when Felder was there. Weems is now a Cavs scout. He also has been an assistant coach at Kentucky and Drexel.

13. Felder's quickness intrigues the coaching staff. The rookie averaged 24.4 points last season while leading all Division I players in assists (9.3). He can be a player to come off the bench and bring a faster tempo to the game.

14. Shumpert is in good shape and has been a factor defending opposing guards. When he's fully engaged in defense, he tips away a lot of passes and creates steals. The Cavs were curious to see how Shumpert would look when camp opened, but he has been fully engaged.

15. James mentioned Shumpert working hard to improve his offense, "We need him to make timely shots ... remember, he's still young in this league."

16. Shumpert is 26 and heading into his sixth season. James is in his 14th, so he's reaching the stage where players in the middle of their careers are still young to him.

17. Lue on Shumpert: "We want him to look to be the best defender on the court, and then make open shots. He doesn't need to get carried away offensively."

18. Chris "Birdman" Anderson was a quiet addition by Griffin. He played in Miami from 2012-14. The big man has been very active on defense. This is season No. 14 for the 6-foot-10 center. He fits in with the Cavs because he is like Thompson, he plays defense, rebounds and doesn't worry about scoring.

19. Several times this week, Lue has talked about "sacrifice" when it comes to the players and their stats. He doesn't want the players to forget how they won last year, and he has James to back up that message with authority.

20. A final thought: It's only two years ago that James left Miami. This summer, Dwyane Wade signed with Chicago. Last week, Chris Bosh (blood clots) flunked his physical with the Heat. That's the end of the Big Three in Miami. It began in the summer of 2010 when Bosh and James joined Wade. Six years later, all are gone from the Heat.



