To those who have moved on...

We never will (even if the front office did).

Wednesday night was a bittersweet night for Cavalier die-hards.

Did the Cavs play a game? No.

They finally got a day off to lick the wounds inflicted by Jason Tatum's off arm and the playoff-level physicality of their 120-113 loss to Boston on Tuesday. (Hopefully Kristaps Porzingus has time to recover from this egregious violence.)

Were there any major organizational updates out of Cleveland? No.

Any minor ones? No.

You may be wondering then what could have happened to inspire a flurry of both somber and celebratory Twitter activity among the online community of Cavalier faithful. The answer just might engender you to Cleveland's fanbase, or it could (more likely) disappoint you.

Because after all this drama, what happened on Wednesday was that former Cavalier Collin Sexton scored 26 points in a Utah Jazz victory over the New York Knicks, who were without former Cavalier Dylan Windler, because Windler had just been waived.

Why the emotional investment in this overwhelmingly insignificant news? 

Because for years, as Cleveland nursed its hangover from the party that was LeBron James, the young players on Cleveland's rebuilding team were our only respite from the headache of losing streaks and blowouts. Every Collin Sexton staredown was another sip of water and dose of ibuprofen, every Dyland Windler three pointer another shower, every Darius Garland assist another press of the snooze button.

While the Cavs are a long way from partying again, at least we're back at the bar sipping a cold one. Unlike a hangover, however, it's not so easy to forget how hard those rebuilding years really were, and just how much the players who we poured our hopes into like life-saving glasses of pedialyte really meant and mean to Cleveland fans.

So to honor those who helped get us through the darkest rebuilding days, here's a quick update on some of the beloved Cavaliers who are no longer with us.

Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens were sent to the San Antonio Spurs to make room for Max Strus this summer. Stevens was promptly waived, and then scooped up by the Boston Celtics. I was disappointed that no Celtics fans submitted any opinions about JB Bickerstaff's former energizer bunny, but it's hard to form opinions about someone who's only played in seven games. He did get some good run in last night's disappointing 116-107 loss, including committing three fouls in three minutes.

Osman, on the other hand, is struggling to shine in rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama's impossibly long and slender shadow. While that might be good for Osman's hair follicles—and thus his budding role as the Turkish face of Head and Shoulders—it hasn't been for his highlight(s) reel. He's averaging under 20 minutes a night. But he plays well within Greg Poppovich's system, and all accounts are that Spurs fans are as taken by his hustle and streaky shooting as the good people of Cleveland.

That anyone would bemoan giving up Collin Sexton in Cleveland's 2021 trade for Donovan Mitchell (who was Second Team All-NBA last year) shows how passionately Clevelanders took to "the Young Bull," an apt nickname for someone as fearless and perennially shoulder-chipped as Sexton. Sexton is averaging just over 20 minutes a night in Utah, and some Cavs fans are up in arms, believing that he deserves more time. This is more out of loyalty than because they've actually watched the Jazz, but these passionate few may have a point. Bull has scored more than 20 points in three of his last five games.

Lauri Markkannen, the centerpiece of a Mitchell trade that was primarily about draft compensation, has turned himself into the centerpiece of Utah's roster. He took the jump to All Stardom last season, and while he's just back from an eight game absence, the seven-foot Fin is averaging incredibly similar numbers to last year, shooting almost 40% from deep, snagging over eight and a half rebounds, and pouring in 24 points a night.

Any Clevelander’s loyalty to Ochai Agbaji only runs as deep as their devotion to NBA Summer League, because that's the only setting in which the 6'5 shooting guard--who's gotten absolutely ripped--ever donned the Wine & Gold. Drafted to be the shooter Cleveland had been missing, Agbaji is hitting 3 pointers at a 39% clip in 20 minutes a night for the Jazz, on just 3 attempts.

Agbaji might actually have made his Cavalier's debut if Markkanen, cornerstone of the trade for Mitchell, had never swapped places with all-time fan favorite and Cavalier legacy Larry Nance Jr.. Nance, the bouncy, smart, deft-passing power forward who moves with the subtle lag you would normally expect of someone with like size 17 feet, was averaging a career low in minutes in New Orleans before aggravating a right rib fracture. Pelican's fans will miss his delightfully creative trash talking for two to four more weeks.

While some Cavaliers leave the city and the team (but never our hearts, except for you, Jae Crowder) for free agency or in a trade, some are taken away by Father Time himself.

Ed Davis, however, might just be Father Time. The now-retired veteran center only played one season on the Cavaliers, but he made enough of an impression on me from the bench that I wrote a piece about him. Including Davis on this list is entirely an excuse to plug that essay (read it if you want to procrastinate). He doesn't reeeally deserve to be mentioned here otherwise.

That's because Davis's contributions to the Cavs, and thus the reverence he garners from Cleveland fans, pales in comparison to Cavalier legends like Kevin Love and Matthew Delevedova. Last year, the Cavaliers thought a playable version of Love had slipped through their hands like sand leaking from an hourglass, and they pinned him to the bench. Love felt he had more to give, and Cleveland honored him by buying out his contract. Love signed with Miami as a free agent, and played in the Finals for them. He also helped convince Max Strus to sign with the Cavaliers. This season, despite looking like a Just For Men Touch of Grey model (we've said goodbye to so much good hair, don't even get me started on Robin Lopez) Love is blithely drawing charges and snapping eager overhead outlet passes 20 minutes a night for the Heat.

Father Time had little to do with either of Matthew Delevedova's departures from Cleveland. The first time the aussie folk hero left town, it was because a truly epic performance in the NBA Finals (remember when he outplayed Steph Curry and had to stay overnight in the hospital?) earned him a major payday from the Bucks in free agency. The Cavs later brought Delly back as a veteran presence on the rebuilding squad, but he broke his shot trying to fix it, and ended up in a similar bench-heavy role on the Kings. Delly is now mentoring fellow Aussie and Cavalier draft pick Luke Travers on the Melbourne United of Australia’s National Basketball League. He remains the face of my favorite Cavaliers meme, the Delly Trey, and he'll never pay for another beer in Cleveland as long as he lives.

There are so many more players–the Exums, the Pangoss, the Greens (NOT Draymond, don't worry)—and we could, and should, honor them all. But it's Friday. There's no time. 

And so it is with a heavy heart that we conclude this list with the party that was never started, the keg of first round potential that was never tapped: Dylan Windler.

You've already gotten your update on the 6'7 lefty sniper who couldn't shoot in the pros, the long armed sneaky athlete with a nose for the ball and a squeaky clean injury history who missed practically his first two seasons in the league because he trained too hard. Windler was waived by the Knicks, the second NBA team to do so.

I don't know where Windler will go from here. Perhaps, like fellow former Cav Dante Exum, he'll play in Europe, regain his confidence, and come roaring back to the association? Perhaps he'll try to become a professional golfer? Perhaps he'll use his savings to start a business? Whatever he does, I hope Windler can get his mojo back and move on from these last few seasons. Because after three years of knowing that a healthy Dylan Windler would solve all of the Cavs' problems, willing it to be so, and failing, I know it'll be awhile before I'm able to. I mean here I am giving a guy who's not on an NBA roster prime space in my conclusion!

One thing that would help me to move on, to regain my naively optimistic faith that all players will reach their ceilings (All-Star Isaac Okoro, looking at you), would be an all-around performance from the Wine & Gold. Because the Cavs do have a high ceiling, and I remain faithful they too can hit it.

Here's hoping that Windler is the exception and not the rule, and that the future-former Cavaliers can earn our timeless and teamless devotion by reminding us tomorrow night against Atlanta how good they can be. It's been awhile.

Cheers, and go Cavs.