Cleveland Cavaliers: Complete 2021 NBA Free Agency preview

The Cleveland Cavaliers missed the playoffs for the third straight year in 2020-21, but the result was a top three pick in the NBA Draft that they could use on Evan Mobley. Now they have a defensive prodigy in place to build their frontcourt of the future.

Now we turn quickly to free agency, which kicks off on Monday, August 2nd at 6:00 pm EST. Teams and players are almost certainly discussing contracts already behind the scenes, but conversations become legal at 6:00 pm  and then the deals will start flying off the presses.

The Cleveland Cavaliers want to use free agency to build towards a playoff berth. Where do they start?

The Cavs still have a lot of salary on their books, especially with Kevin Love’s bloated contract. That being said, they have some options in free agency depending on how things play out, and they should be active and not passive in making improvements.

They don’t have the pieces to make a big splash, nor are the best players available (nearly all point guards) a good fit for this roster. While they give the young pieces time to develop, they should be looking for inexpensive rotation help to fill in behind them.

With that in mind, let’s set the stage for what is to come. What does the current roster look like, and what are their contracts? What tools do the Cavs have to sign players, and who might they target? Finally, what happens with Jarrett Allen and Collin Sexton?