By the design of its collective bargaining agreement structure, the NBA has a limited history in regards to its best players defecting elsewhere in free agency.  There are very few past instances in which the Cavaliers and Raptors can look into the past to frame what they can realistically expect in the first season of their post-LeBron James/Chris Bosh eras.

A general uneasy feeling is completely natural before even examining similar situations of the past and the 10-11 season looks completely menacing and ominous in terms of the simple equation of winning and losing.

Because there are few suitable case examples of a pure free agency defection, I'm bringing in a few scenarios that are similar even if they do not completely fit the model in order to compensate for the insufficiency. These are situations in which a team's decline is accelerated because a single player's departure was either sudden or severe.

Interestingly, there are just two exceptions listed below where a decline wasn't compulsory; the 04-05 Cavaliers withstood the loss of Carlos Boozer due to the natural maturation of James and while the 04-05 Suns had their record increase sharply with the signing of Steve Nash, Dallas was also improved in that subsequent season.

But Boozer is a misleading comparison because they didn't leave the kind of massive footprint that most of the other players listed below did over a block of multiple years. They are essentially the exception that prove the general rule.

Bill Russell retires in 1969

Last With: 68-69 Celtics, 48-34 (win title)

First Without: 69-70 Celtics, 34-48



Winning Percentage Change: -26%

- Even with an in his prime Hall of Famer in John Havlicek, the Celtics missed the playoffs in each of the next two seasons.  But they rebounded in 71-72 with a 56-win team that lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Knicks, followed by a 68-win team that lost to the Knicks again in the EFC. But the Celtics returned to the Finals in 1974, beating the Bucks.

The Celtics needed just four seasons to win their first title without Russell and just two to become relevant again. There were also just 14 teams in the NBA in 1970.

Moses Malone signs with 76ers in 1982

Last With: 81-82 Rockets, 46-36

First Without: 82-83 Rockets, 14-68



Winning Percentage Change: -70%

- The Rockets reached the Finals in 1981 despite having a losing record in the regular season, but were bounced int eh first round during Malone's last season with the franchise. After drafting Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon first overall in consecutive seasons, the Rockets returned to the playoffs in 1985 and the Finals in 1986. They reached the playoffs in 14 out of their next 15 seasons and won the Finals in 1994 and 1995.

Magic Johnson retires due to HIV in 1991

Last With: 90-91 Lakers, 57-22 (58-24 overall, lose in Finals to Bulls)

First Without: 91-92 Lakers, 43-39



Winning Percentage Change: -27%

- The Lakers lost their title teeth when Magic was forced to retire, but they remained a playoff team in each of the next two seasons. Their crash was in 93-94 when they won just 33 games and missed the playoffs, which was one of just two seasons where they played no postseason basketball since 1977 (the other being an example further down on this list).

Michael Jordan retires in 1993

Last With: 92-93 Bulls, 56-22 (57-25 overall, win title)

First Without: 93-94 Bulls, 55-27 (lost in Eastern Conference Semifinals)



Winning Percentage Change: -7%

- Out went Jordan and in came Scottie Pippen as the focal point, along with Euro import Toni Kukoc.  Their regular season tally remained virtually unchanged, but we all knew things were different in the postseason when Phil Jackson drew up a play for Kukoc and Pippen refused (perhaps rightfully so) to stay in the game.

Shaquille O'Neal signs with Lakers in 1995

Last With: 95-96 Magic, 40-14 record (60-22 overall)

First Without: 96-97 Magic, 45-37



Winning Percentage Change: -26%

- The Magic remained a playoff team without Shaq, but needed to fire Brian Hill and replace him with Richie Adubato to do so. Penny Hardaway was one of the best guards in the NBA at this point, though beginning to show the injuries that derailed his career and Rony Seikaly filled in as well as possible for Shaq.

Dikembe Mutombo signs with Hawks in 1996

Last With: 95-96 Nuggets, 31-43 (35-47 overall)

First Without: 96-97 Nuggets, 21-61



Winning Percentage Change: -39%

- The lasting image of Mutombo with the Nuggets is him holding the ball up in the air while on Seattle's home floor in a historic upset. But the Nuggets failed to improve from that 1994 season and were already trending down in 95-96. Their playoff drought lasted eight seasons until Carmelo Anthony's rookie campaign.

Charles Barkley signs with Rockets in 1996

Last With: 95-96 Suns, 38-33 (41-41 overall)

First Without: 96-97 Suns, 40-42



Winning Percentage Change: -9%

- The Suns team that lost to the Bulls in Game 6 in 1993 had aged out of contention and Barkley's departure sealed it. They bounced back in 97-98 with a 56-win team behind Jason Kidd, Antonio McDyess and Danny Manning.

Michael Jordan retires in 1998

Last With: 97-98 Bulls, 62-20 (62-20 overall, win title)

First Without: 98-99 Bulls, 13-37



Winning Percentage Change: -66%

- Going out with Jordan this time were Pippen, Jackson and Dennis Rodman. Kukoc was never going to be a lead option and though the subsequent lottery brought them Elton Brand, free agency eventually brought Ron Mercer and Brad Miller instead of Tim Duncan, Grant Hill or Tracy McGrady.

Grant Hill signs with Magic in 2000

Last With: 99-00 Pistons, 40-34 (42-40 overall)

First Without: 00-01 Pistons, 32-50



Winning Percentage Change: -28%

- The Pistons missed the playoffs in 00-01, but rattled off their first of seven consecutive 50-win season teams in 01-02, as Joe Dumars rebuilt the team in the image of his 80s teams.

Shaquille O'Neal traded to Heat in 2004

Last With: 03-04 Lakers, 49-18 (56-26 overall, lose in Finals)

First Without: 04-05 Lakers, 34-48



Winning Percentage Change: -43%

- The Lakers did receive Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant back in exchange for Shaq, but the team was shellshocked and clearly in a rebuild. The departure of Phil Jackson, Gary Payton, Karl Malone and Derek Fisher compounded to the talent drain that forced Kobe Bryant to reach the low point of his career.

Steve Nash signs with Suns in 2004

Last With: 03-04 Mavericks, 50-28 (52-30 overall)

First Without: 04-05 Mavericks, 58-24



Winning Percentage Change: +10%

- Even though Mark Cuban looked shortsighted to question the contract Steve Nash signed with Phoenix, it was a situation where both parties were better for the divorce. Dallas lost to Phoenix in the Conference Semifinals that season, but advanced to the Finals in the following season.

Carlos Boozer signs with Jazz in 2004

Last With: 03-04 Cavaliers, 34-41 (35-47 overall)

First Without: 04-05 Cavaliers, 42-40



Winning Percentage Change: +13%

- As mentioned above, the Cavaliers improved without Boozer because of the development of LeBron. If Boozer hadn't left Cleveland, they wouldn't have used their cap space on Larry Hughes and wouldn't have played hot potato with so many bad contracts in its aftermath. The combination of James and Boozer could have won multiple rings if we are to play the 'What-If' game.

Kevin Garnett traded to Celtics in 2007

Last With: 06-07 Wolves, 32-44 (32-50 overall)

First Without: 07-08 Wolves, 22-60



Winning Percentage Change: -36%

- Similar to when the Lakers traded Shaq in 2004, Minnesota acquired assets back for Garnett, mainly Al Jefferson. The team needed to completely rebuild and Minnesota was lucky to have even won 32 games with Garnett, evidenced by their 0-6 record without him in that final season.

Ray Allen/Rashard Lewis leave Sonics in 2007

Last With: 06-07 Sonics, 31-51 overall

First Without: 07-08 Sonics, 20-62



Winning Percentage Change: -35%

- Finishing second in the lottery and hiring Sam Presti sealed the direction of Seattle, which was a complete rebuild centered around Kevin Durant. They

Baron Davis signs with Clippers

Last With: 07-08 Warriors, 48-34 (48-34)

First Without: 08-09 Warriors, 29-53



Winning Percentage Change: -40%

- Throwing aside the debate on whether or not Golden State made the right or wrong decision to get frugal with Davis, the team fell back to its familiar position in lottery limbo as quickly as helped the team ascend with their first round upset of the Mavericks in 2007.

..The Cavaliers and Raptors won 61 and 40 games respectively during the 09-10 season and both are expected to win around 30 games in 10-11. The real question for these franchises won't be how bad they will be in the coming season as much as it is how quickly can they replace their lost franchise player and return to the playoffs.

? Chris Reina is the executive editor of RealGM. Follow him on Twitter at @CR_Reina.