Cleveland Cavaliers: For The Forward Thinkers, What Direction Could The Cavs Turn After The NBA Finals?

What could the Cleveland Cavaliers do this offseason after the NBA Finals, win or lose?

For some, looking at this season isn’t enough. It’s a foregone conclusion that the Cleveland Cavaliers will face the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. Many believe that the Cavaliers will emerge victorious with their recent additions.

With that said, do their offseason moves depend on whether they win in the NBA Finals or lose. Or if a team like the Boston Celtics acquires Jimmy Butler?

In my opinion, the Cleveland Cavaliers make no splash moves in the offseason no matter what. That means no Carmelo Anthony, no Kevin Love trade in general. Love has ingratiated himself with this group with his personality and his play. The only way Anthony comes to the Cavs is if Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye and a player on a minimum salary is traded, players the Knicks don’t want. That means a third team would have to take on their contracts.

It’s not impossible, just unlikely. So what is the more feasible outcome for the Cavs?

It’s no secret that the Cleveland Cavaliers are cash-strapped. That’s why the buyout market and using traded player’s exceptions have been an ingenious way for the team to acquire talented players for little to no cost at all. Kyle Korver‘s salary was absorbed into the player’s exception. Derrick Williams, Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers for minimum contracts after being waived by their team’s. All figure to play a significant role in the Cleveland Cavaliers attempt to repeat as NBA champions.

Unfortunately for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the new CBA has doubled the amount of money that player’s on minimum contracts would make. This is unfortunate because the Cavs essentially are spending $2.50 for every $1 they intended to spend thanks to the NBA’s luxury tax. Ultimately, this means that the Cavs payroll will only increase as they reload their roster in the offseason.

Korver and Williams will be free agents and the Cleveland Cavaliers will want them back, though they may only be able to bring back one player. However, at 36-years-old, Korver may not be a player that the Cavs want to pay too steep a price for, even with him shooting 50.3 percent from three-point range in 25 games with the team this season.

Must Read: Reading Between The Lines Of The Cleveland Cavaliers Depth Chart

There is a solution though.

Shumpert could be traded in a salary-saving move as the Cleveland Cavaliers attempt to re-sign Korver, who should have plenty of suitors. Because the Cavs traded for Korver, they also acquired his Bird Rights and can sign him to whatever contract they like despite being well over the salary cap.

Unfortunately, Williams, a former second overall pick in his prime and playing well for the Cavs, probably won’t return. He’s played for about $5 million per season and is likely to have priced himself out of the Cavs budget with his play for the champs, as the Cleveland Cavaliers don’t have his Bird Rights.

Keep in mind that Williams (Sr.) and Bogut, the Cavs’ two most recent signings, are unlikely to return as well. Williams is likely going to finish his career where it started, with the Utah Jazz. Bogut, a former center for the Golden State Warriors, is interested in joining the Boston Celtics. Both signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the same reason. To chase a championship this season.

So, where are the reinforcements?

Cedi Osman will be making his NBA debut next season. Osman, who was selected with the 31st pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, has made 41.2 percent of his threes this season while playing for the Euroleague’s Anadolu Efes. He figures to be a three-and-D player for the Cavs, who are high on his talent and believed he had more potential than some player’s selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. The Cavs believe the same about Kay Felder, who has shown flashes of NBA-readiness but is oozing with talent.

Speaking of Felder, his play with the Canton Charge for the rest of the season will be a major factor in determining if the Cleveland Cavaliers will finally relinquish the reins of the offense to him. Felder is short on experience, and size, but has nifty ball-handling ability and elite explosion. As he learns how to create the best possible shots for himself and others, he’ll be a player the Cavs love because he, like Irving, is an explosive scorer. Despite his size, Felder isn’t as big of a defensive liability as other undersized point guards because of his athleticism; his ability to pressure the ball-handler, jump the passing lanes and come up with blocks shouldn’t be underestimated.

Eric Moreland, who was in training camp for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and is listed as an affiliate player, is another player who the Cleveland Cavaliers have interest in. Moreland, who was named an NBA D-League All-Star this season, is an athletic stat-sheet stuffer and a New Age big man able to shoot from outside of the paint and put the ball on the floor. He also, interestingly, excels as a passer in addition to being a strong defensive player. The most exciting part of Moreland’s game may be his offensive capabilities on the low block. He has a large variety of moves and will either draw attention down low that opens up the offense for shooters or will benefit from the space and one-on-one matchup he has down low because of the shooters the Cavs already have.

Holmes, who has potential as a stretch four, has a great functional understanding of the game and as an understated impact on both ends of the floor. However, he may not hit his threes consistently enough to warrant serious consideration from the Cavs yet. For the season, he hit 45.9 percent of his threes in eleven Charge wins and only made 15.2 percent of his three-point attempts in nine Charge losses.

Larry Sanders, who the Cleveland Cavaliers recently worked out, could be signed though, even if Moreland arrives. Sanders nearly signed with the Cavs this season and would have if Bogut didn’t choose to sign with Cleveland. While Moreland is a New Age big man, Sanders is a traditional center who excels as a rebounder and shot-blocker. When it’s time to control the paint, Sanders is the player who can anchor the defense. Sanders may not come in listed as a backup immediately as he returns to the NBA for the first time in two seasons.

If one roster spot open for the Cleveland Cavaliers it will be for a backup point guard if Felder isn’t ready yet, which he’s unlikely to be as a 5-foot-9 second-year pro coming from a mid-major program. Felder has a lot of adjusting and developing to do and asking him to run the offense for a team in championship contention is a lot of pressure. At the first sign of hitting a developmental wall, Felder could be assigned to the NBA D-Leagee and the Cleveland Cavaliers will be left without a veteran point guard to back up Kyrie Irving.

The veteran point guard who the Cavs could choose is likely to be one of Jose Calderon, Mario Chalmers, Jordan Farmar and Raymond Felton. Ben Gordon, a former third overall pick who has drawn interest from teams this season, could also be in the mix. All of the aforementioned players have lengthy experience as a starting point guard in the NBA. A factor that’s significant to the Cavs as they look to rest Irving and have insurance in case of an injury to the four-time All-Star.

My preference would be one of Felton. Felton, a former fifth overall pick, is able to score at all three levels and is an experienced floor general with 657 career starts. Felton is more of a scorer than facilitator and on a team like the Cavs, like with the Clippers, can excel with the talent of the players around him.

With those signings, the Cleveland Cavaliers depth chart could look like this:

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PG: Kyrie Irving, vet PG, Kay Felder

SG: J.R. Smith, Kyle Korver, DeAndre Liggins

SF: LeBron James, Richard Jefferson, Cedi Osman

PF: Kevin Love, Channing Frye, James Jones

C: Tristan Thompson, Larry Sanders, Eric Moreland

or (very unlikely but possible) this:

PG: Kyrie Irving, vet PG, Kay Felder

SG: LeBron James, J.R. Smith, DeAndre Liggins

SF: Carmelo Antony, Kyle Korver, Cedi Osman

PF: Kevin Love, James Jones, Jonathan Holmes

C: Tristan Thompson, Larry Sanders, Eric Moreland

The first depth chart is a dangerous one that bears a strong resemblance to this season’s roster. While Williams will be gone and so too will his ability to play 1-5, the Cavaliers can Moreland can potentially play a similar role.

The second is deadly with four, and potentially five, All-Stars in the starting lineup. In the second unit, there are three of the best three-point shooters in NBA history, flanked by a veteran point guard and an elite shot-blocker. In the third unit are young and talented players that can step in when player’s go down and need rest and do well.

However, with two-way contracts coming to the league next year, the age of James and Jefferson at small forward and the pass-first mentality of Liggins, the Cavs should look at two more players who can score on the wing. These players may have to spend a lot of time playing in the NBA D-League but will be on the Cleveland Cavaliers roster.

So who could the Cavs sign to such contracts?

Three names stick out more than others when looking at the Canton Charge roster. Holmes, John Holland and Chris Evans.

Holmes, as mentioned previously, is an intelligent player with the potential to be a stretch four. The 24-year-year old Holmes needs to develop and the NBA D-League may be the best place for him though he could field overseas offers again. That’s why he is one of the best candidates to sign a two-way contract with the club.

The 28-year-old Holland can defend all three perimeter positions and is a talented slasher that also rebounds well. He earned a call-up with the Boston Celtics in 2015-2016 and was in training camp for the Cleveland Cavaliers last year.

Evans, a 24-year-old small forward out of Kent State is an athletic and versatile scorer with a better shooting stroke and ball-handling than Holland. He definitely knows how to market himself, as he dons a headband and rocks a number 23 jersey while knowing the Cavs can be paying close attention to the Charge on any given day.

All three players would be welcome additions to the Cleveland Cavaliers roster and if Jefferson retires this season or next, one of the three will get a promotion. In my opinion, Evans, with his age and ability, is the better prospect. He could make himself a household name in Cleveland in the future.

There was once a time when Jordan McRae was one of the players the Cleveland Cavaliers had interesting in developing and there’s been no news of him signing anywhere, although the Delaware 87ers hold his draft rights. If the Cavs want him back to continue to develop his raw scoring ability into an all-around player, they could look to sign him to a two-way contract.

Evans and McRae are the two players I expect to be extensions of the Cleveland Cavaliers roster.

What do you think the Cleveland Cavaliers will do in the offseason, if you’re already thinking that far ahead? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.