After winning the championship, the Cleveland Cavaliers have some decisions to make during the offseason and we have a look at some of those options in the latest installment of The Central Division Off season Preview.
Cleveland Cavaliers (57-25) NBA Champions
Guaranteed Salary: $73,345,873
Non-Guaranteed Contracts: $874,636
Jordan McRae ($874,636)
Free Agents: $46,069,428 (Cap Hold)
LeBron James ($24,004,173) *Likely to opt out
JR Smith ($9,500,000)
Timofey Mozgov ($9,405,000)
James Jones ($980,431)
Matthew Dellavedova ($2,179,824)
With the draft taking place just a couple of days after being crowned the NBA champions, general manager David Griffin won’t have much time to celebrate before putting together a strategy to help the Cleveland Cavaliers in their quest for back to back championships.
With no draft picks, Lebron James’ pending free agency and $231 million tied up between the likes of Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson over the next three years, the Cavs will have little to no financial flexibility this offseason. There is a likely scenario where the Cavs attempt to bring the same supporting cast back, minus the retiring Richard Jefferson, to go with the Big Three of LeBron, Love and Irving that led them to a championship this season.
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If Griffin decides change is required, the Cavs will need to scour the trade market if they are to make any significant changes outside of signing ring-chasing veterans on minimum contracts. They have a $9.6 million trade exception to use from the Anderson Varejao three-team trade that also netted them Channing Frye.
A break up of the Big Three will be the only way the Cavs will receive any sort of value in return which leaves Kevin Love on the outer. Unlikely to net a superstar in return, the Cavs may look to add depth and potentially adding a draft pick with the likes of Eric Bledsoe, Jae Crowder and CJ McCollum being linked with moves to Cleveland.
Making things difficult is the Cavs “Win Now” approach with James on board, lottery picks will not be as valuable to Griffin as much as they would other teams in rebuilding phases.
Another player Griffin may look to move to create some flexibility would be Iman Shumpert. Owed over $30 million in the next three seasons, Shumpert may prove difficult to move after scoring in double digits just once this postseason.
The Cavs will also need to make tough decisions on some of their own key free agents. Players like Timofey Mozgov, Matthew Dellavedova and J.R. Smith will seek significant pay raises with the salary cap about to explode and how much owner Dan Gilbert is willing to spend in luxury taxes may determine how many they will be able to retain.
Mo Williams has opted into the final year of his contract with the team and moved ahead of Dellavedova during the finals playing important minutes. That might make Dellavedova expendable, particularly with his price getting towards and possibly exceeding $10 million annually. Many teams have been linked to him even at that price, including the Detroit Pistons.
I’m interested to see what sort of deal Mozgov commands in the offseason with the league valuing players with his skill set a less than in the past. Smith seems to be one of Lebron’s favorite teammates which makes it likely he will be resigned, but at what cost?
Next: 15 picks are being shopped, could Detroit Pistons move up?
If a Love deal doesn’t materialize, it is likely the Cavs will go into next season with a very similar looking team that won them a championship and implant them as one of the favorites to repeat.