ESPN Summer Forecast: Expect Inevitable Cavs-Lakers Clash in Finals Next June

ESPN.com's NBA Summer Forecast already threw Cavs fans a major bone when an overwhelming majority of their 50-plus member panel voted that LeBron James will stay in Cleveland. Now, an overwhelming majority is picking them to finally get back to the NBA Finals this year.And, of course, give the world the matchup that they have all wanted to see: Kobe vs. LeBron for all the marbles.Thirty-two of a 53-member panel (60.4 percent) believe that the Cavaliers will outlast both the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic -- the two teams to eliminate them since their Finals appearance in 2007 -- and get back to the league's biggest stage:After showing indecision in 2008-09 about taking on big contracts, Cleveland moved more decisively into win-now mode after its Orlando humiliation. Directly addressing its defensive weaknesses, Cleveland traded for Shaquille O'Neal in part to face Dwight Howard -- Superman I versus Superman II -- in a potential playoff showdown, and also acquired wings Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon to provide the kind of length and defense the Cavs needed against the Magic. Whether the moves are too little, too late are what the 2009-10 season will be about, in large part.Looming over it all will be the question LeBron James won't answer: What will he do when he can become a free agent in 2010? His freedom to walk next year has raised the stakes in Cleveland to a level seldom seen in the NBA, and could contribute to tensions along the way unless LeBron, Shaq and the Cavs can successfully merge their games and their goals: LeBron's first title, Shaq's fifth (putting him ahead of Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan) and Cleveland's hope of pleasing and keeping LeBron. And with the Cavs having added three rotation players to a 66-win team and probably demoting stalwart Zydrunas Ilgauskas in favor of The Big Disruption, it's not clear how chemically balanced they will be.Over the course of Danny Ferry's four-year tenure as Cavaliers GM, he has shown that the subtle additions are the ones that end up making the biggest impact when all is said and done. While observers of his blockbuster trade in February of 2008 thought that the deal was all about Ben Wallace, it was Delonte West who ended up being the jewel of that deal. When most looked at 2006 first-round pick Shannon Brown to make a big impact as a rookie, it was second-round pick Daniel Gibson who was helping take the Cavs to the NBA Finals in 2007.And while NBA fans have Shaq in mind when thinking of the Cavs offseason moves, it will be Moon and Parker -- especially Moon -- who will prove to have the biggest impact of any of the Cavs' offseason acquisitions.The Cavaliers looked like a team without any weaknesses for large stretches of last season. Down the stretch in March and April, they looked like a well-oiled machine ready to rock to their first-ever championship in June. But they did have some glaring holes -- holes which were exposed relentlessly by the Orlando Magic in the six-game exit in the Eastern Conference Finals. Length on defense on the perimeter was a big issue, and now Mike Brown won't be forced to put guys like a 34-year old Ben Wallace on an All-Star like Rashard Lewis when the season is on the line. Now, he can turn to the 6'8" Moon -- an athletic defensive specialist -- to help cover many of the holes the Magic exposed last spring. The 6'6" Parker can also help defend bigger guards instead of leaving that to the 6'3" Delonte West, whose heart can only do so much to make up for height mismatches.Sure, Shaq will have an impact, but when all is said and done in the 2009-10 season -- regardless of the outcome -- most fans will remember Moon and Parker as having the biggest impact as newcomers for the season.And if they are as big as the contributions made by West and Gibson over the years (well, Gibson circa 2007), then the city's 46-year championship curse could be in its final hours come June of 2010.