(My Sportsbook) - Cleveland hasn't made the playoffs since 1998, and don't look for a surprise run this season from the Cavaliers, especially since they had a roster overhaul during the summer.

The Cavs have finished no higher than fifth in the Central Division each year since the 1996-97 campaign and this season should be no different. The club went 29-53 last year under head coach John Lucas, coming in seventh place in the division, just in front of the Chicago Bulls.

The Cavaliers made a big trade over the summer, shipping star point guard Andre Miller to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of a four-player swap. The Clippers acquired Miller and shooting guard Bryant Stith, while sending athletic forward Darius Miles and forward Harold Jamison to the Cavaliers.

Lucas admitted the team is in a rebuilding stage.

"Now I think we took a step back to be better for some substantial years. I don't think we were going to go much further with what we were doing, we were just going to be treading water," said Lucas. "I think for four or five years here we just decided we would do partial -- I don't like it as a coach, but it's a necessary evil that we have to go through."

Also coming to the Cavs was Dajuan Wagner, who spent just one year in college before entering the NBA Draft. Cleveland chose Wagner, a guard from Memphis, with the sixth overall pick. The team also drafted 6-9 power forward Carlos Boozer from Duke in the second round.

FRONTCOURT

After playing two seasons with the Clippers, Miles gets to showcase his talents in front of the Gund Arena crowd this season. Miles played in all 82 games last season for LA, but started just six times and averaged 9.5 points per game. That will probably change this season as the 21-year-old is expected to be a regular starter. Miles could log minutes at the two, three and four spots for the Cavs.

"Our team is real young, but we do have a couple of veterans," said the 6- foot-9 Miles. "We need to play hard and give it our all every game. We aren't saying we are going to win the championship this year, but we are always going to give our fans 150 percent. We are going to be playing more upbeat and we're going to be running a lot."

Tyrone Hill is going into the last year of his contract and if the 34-year-old wants to extend his career, he'll no doubt have to impress Lucas and make a big contribution. Hill played in just 26 games last season due to back spasms, but he averaged over 10 rebounds a game.

The team welcomes back Zydrunas Ilgauskas at the center position this year. The 7-foot-3 center, who has battled foot problems throughout his NBA career, averaged 11.1 points and 5.4 rebounds in 62 games for Cleveland last season.

This summer, Ilgauskas pleaded no contest to driving under the influence and was suspended for the season opener.

GUARDS

Wagner was sidelined almost all of October because of a blood clot in his ureter, the tube that connects his left kidney with his bladder. Regardless, if he starts the season without any complications, it's expected Wagner will need plenty of time to adapt to the pro game. In his freshman season at Memphis, Wagner set a school single-season scoring record and averaged 21.2 points per game en route to being named Conference USA's Rookie of the Year. However, now he'll be competing against much better defenders.

Ricky Davis is expected to be at the other guard spot, but can switch off with Miles at forward. Davis is likely to be thrust into a position he is not accustomed to after starting in just eight of the 82 games he played in last season.

BENCH

Boozer is expected to be a banger from off the bench and can provide some lift to the rebounding game and some inside scoring in relief of Hill. Chris Mihm, Michael Stewart and DeSagana Diop will provide some depth in the frontcourt.

Other than that, Cleveland's bench isn't that impressive. Veteran Bimbo Coles, who has endured knee surgeries the past two years, is expected to be a mentor for Wagner.

Jumaine Jones will provide some punch at the forward position when Lucas employs his fast-paced style of offense.

OUTLOOK

The Cavaliers are going to have to learn quickly if they hope to win even 30 games this year. Instead of superstars, the team is filled with young role players and nearly every player on the roster has five years or less of experience in the NBA.

Further complicating things, the Cavs gave up 98.6 points per game, 26th in the league, last year, and it doesn't look to be a much prettier picture this season.