For months, many Knicks fans have smiled at the prospect of the summer of 2007. It isn’t just that most of the millstone contracts currently choking the organization will expire next off-season, but more that all-world Cleveland Cavalier forward LeBron James will be a restricted free agent that summer.

Those dreams intensified late this past season when the Cavs slipped into a second-half free fall, tumbling from the middle of the playoff picture into the lottery and firing coach Paul Silas and GM Jim Paxson along the way. It seemed that the Cavs were giving James ample reason to flee once his contract was up.

But the moves made in Cleveland since the end of the season have certainly given him reason to stay. After a brief flirtation with Larry Brown, the Cavaliers moved swiftly to build a new regime. Within weeks, Danny Ferry was hired as the new GM, Mike Brown was installed as head coach, and the Cavs began playing the free-agent market aggressively, signing guard Larry Hughes and forward Donyell Marshall, as well as re-signing center Zydrunas Ilgauskus.

With this flurry of activity, the Cavs stand to be one of the most improved teams in the NBA this season.

Last year’s Cavs were difficult to get a good grip on during the season. The first part of year was dominated by the hype surrounding James, which proved to be well-founded. Early in the year, he was posting triple-double numbers nearly every night. Then, with Cleveland firmly in the middle of the playoff pack at 31-21 and network execs salivating over a Le-Bron-Shaq playoff match-up, the Cavaliers fell apart, dropping 19 of their final 30 games and missing the postseason by one measly game.

Ultimately, the Cavs finished in the middle of the pack on both sides of the ball, ranking 14th in offensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions) at 104.3 and 12th in Defensive Efficiency at 102.3. Before they’re ready to challenge for conference supremacy, both rankings will need to improve.

Still, those are impressive numbers given that the Cavs had only three players – James, Ilgauskus, and power forward Drew Gooden – who could be considered above average. The rest of the roster was filled out by has-beens like Jeff McInnis and never-weres like Desagana Diop. Adding Hughes, a fleet guard who put up 22 points a game on 43% shooting in Washington last season, gives their backcourt a much-needed boost. Marshall, a journeyman forward with good range from behind the arc (36.3%) and a decent rebounding rate of 10.3 boards per 40 minutes, will fortify a young and improving front line. He’ll also burn teams that try to double-team James, Hughes, or Ilgauskus.

Hughes, meanwhile, will remove some pressure from James and provide the team with a better second option in its half-court offense. Even if James improves on his already superstar-level production of 27.2 points, 7.4 boards, and 7.2 dimes a game, he’ll still benefit greatly from the scoring help that Hughes will provide.

The new additions will likely reinforce the Cavs’ defense, as well. Brown most recently apprenticed with the Pacers’ Rick Carlisle, who’s known as a defensive master. Brown is one of a group of NBA head coaches who never played in the league; One characteristic of their teams is generally stellar defense. In fact, five of the top seven teams in defensive efficiency last season were run by guys who never played in the NBA.

These improvements should enable the Cavs to climb into the 50-win neighborhood, but it’s too soon to close the book on their off-season.

One of the biggest culprits in the team’s second-half swoon last year was poor point guard play. Unfortunately, the solutions being bandied about right now – Portland’s Damon Stoudamire and the Clippers’ Marko Jaric – are not pure point guards, but shooting guards who played the point last season out of necessity.

Jaric is a better defender, which might please Brown. With few true solutions, the Cavs would be wise to sign Jaric and back him up with a solid reserve like Dallas’s Darrell Armstrong.

The most encouraging thing for Cavs fans (and discouraging for Knicks partisans) is that Ferry and the Cleveland brain trust have spent wisely thus far. The older players they’ve signed – Ilgauskus and Marshall – are big and thus likely to suffer slower erosions of their skills. In signing Hughes, 26, they’ve assured themselves that the bulk of his prime will take place in a Cleveland jersey.

In a league where players are often signed well past their productive days (Knicks fans, just nod knowingly), these were shrewd moves and bode well for future personnel decisions. With the direction the Cavs are moving, they should be a playoff fixture for years to come.