The Cleveland Cavaliers are not a complacent franchise. Many other teams tend to limit their forays into the transaction game, choosing instead to develop players internally and lean into chemistry, playing the long game. Not so with the Cavs.
From the LeBron James era through until now, the Cavs have been active in free agency and especially via trade. They have made a number of moves even in the last few years, bringing in Jarrett Allen, Lauri Markkanen and Ricky Rubio in the past year-and-a-half, and Caris LeVert just a few months ago at the NBA Trade Deadline.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are likely to be active in the trade market this summer. How should the Cavs’ picks and players be valued in trades?
It is likely that the Cavs will be active in the trade market yet again this offseason as they look to improve on a team that nearly made the playoffs last season. As they wade into the transactional waters, how should they value the players and picks they have at their disposal?
Let’s lay out all of the primary trade pieces the Cavs have, from budding stars to second-round picks. If an “asset” doesn’t show up, assume it is of little to no value in a deal. We’ll start at the top, with two players who are as close to untouchable as it gets.
Cavs trade tiers: The Untouchable Players
The phrase “untouchable” isn’t literally true, just functionally true. If the Milwaukee Bucks called and offered Giannis Antetokounmpo for Evan Mobley and Kevin Love, the Cavs would say yes immediately; Antetokounmpo represents the very best-case scenario for a player like Mobley. Still, that’s not happening, so in the realm of realistic trades, these two young stars are untouchable.
Mobley blasted out of the gates as a rookie last season, immediately putting his imprint on the defensive side of the ball. His length, speed and instincts on that end allow him to thrive as both a rim protector and a defender out in space. He is more raw on offense, but still showed a solid base of perimeter skills that allow him to play the 4. He is on a superstar trajectory and the Cavs’ next decade of basketball will be built on his slim shoulders.
His co-star for that span of time will almost certainly be Darius Garland, who made his first All-Star team last season in just his third year in the league. The slight point guard leveled up as a passer this past season and capably took on a greater scoring load. His accurate perimeter shot will allow him to play off-ball when and if the Cavs get another capable on-ball scorer as well, which helps unlock team-building options.
Barring the truly unexpected, both of these players are locked in as Cavaliers for years to come.
Cavs trade tiers: Only in a blockbuster
Jarrett Allen, Collin Sexton
Jarrett Allen also made his first All-Star team this past season, proving himself in a larger role as one of the best big men in the league. Defensively he was a force in the paint, deterring opponents and smoothly pairing with Evan Mobley to destroy opponents inside the arc. On offense he not only was an elite lob threat, he flashed a series of floaters and post moves to allow him to finish plays in a myriad of ways.
That doesn’t mean he is untouchable, however, in large part because he is locked in at center, the league’s most replaceable position. As Mobley develops his frame he will be able to play more at the 5; a scenario where a truly top-flight wing comes available and the Cavs can flip Allen to bring them in has to be considered. That drops Allen down just a bit into Tier 2.
The hardest player to place on the roster was Collin Sexton, who technically is not even under contract this summer as he hits restricted free agency. On the one hand, the team was uncomfortable paying him a lucrative salary last fall, and the time since has only decreased his value as Darius Garland took off and Sexton played just 11 games due to a knee injury.
Yet Sexton averaged 24.3 points per game as recently as 2020-21, and no matter what the context scoring is valuable in this league. That may lead the Cavs to overvalue bringing back / keeping Sexton. Yet it also means that Sexton will likely command a substantial salary on the open market in a sign-and-trade. If another team wants to trade for Sexton the cost involved in matching his salary almost certainly will mean a significant deal is going down.
Cavs trade tiers: Would need a significant return
Caris LeVert. Lauri Markkanen, Kevin Love, Dean Wade
2022 First-Round Pick; Future firsts
This is the heart of where the Cavs will likely draw from to make deals this summer. These players are talented enough to be surefire parts of the rotation, but not so important to what the team is doing to make them off-limits.
Kevin Love and Dean Wade are unlikely trade pieces but could factor into certain kinds of deals. Love’s contract is north of $30 million and will be difficult to match up with incoming salary, but perhaps just the right kind of trade for another high-cost player makes Love movable. Wade is at the other end of the spectrum, making just $1.9 million on a non-guaranteed deal. He has proven his worth to the team, and it will be difficult to get back a valuable player for such a small salary slot.
Caris LeVert and Lauri Markkanen, on the other hand, are on the exact kind of mid-tier salaries that make them ideal candidates for a trade. LeVert makes $18.8 million next season in the final year of his deal, and if the Cavs re-sign Collin Sexton or draft a shooting guard then paying LeVert past next season becomes difficult; moving him now could recoup some of the value lost at the trade deadline when the front office brought him in.
Markkanen was a much more successful member of the Cavs last season, starting at the 3 in the popular “Tower City” lineup. Yet his size does bring limitations to the lineup and the Cavs probably need to find more of a combo forward to start at the 3 to truly lift their ceiling; could Markkanen be moved in such a deal?
Finally, the Cavs have the 14th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft they could absolutely trade on or after draft night, and access to two or three picks down the road to use in deals. If the Cavs are serious about pushing chips in now, their first-round picks would be possibilities in significant trades.
Cavs trade tiers: Salary matching or sweeteners
Lamar Stevens, Dylan Windler, Cedi Osman, Isaac Okoro
Second-round picks
The players near the back of the Cavs’ roster fit into a few different categories, but none are likely to fetch a major return in a trade. Isaac Okoro is a distressed asset as a recent Top-5 pick who hasn’t developed enough as an offensive player to make teams think he still has star-upside; the Cavs continue to communicate they’re looking elsewhere for long-term help at the 2. Cedi Osman is a reliable-enough wing, but at the end of next season they will almost certainly not put Osman in their playoff rotation, making him expendable.
Lamar Stevens and Dylan Windler are even lower on the totem pole. The team values Stevens’ strength and defensive effort, but on a team flush with frontcourt players there is likely little room for him to find consistent playing time; perhaps another team needs what he brings enough to make an offer. Windler still has fans in the organization and around the league, but he has to prove he can stay healthy and make an impact this season, either in Cleveland or somewhere else.
The Cavs also have two second-round picks in this year’s draft, 39th and 56th, and a few extras over the next several years. Those could be sweeteners in a deal, just as their premium second-rounder from Houston this year that was used in the Caris LeVert deal.
The Cavs have a lot of options on the trade market, from big-game hunting to trading up the draft board to adding a reliable veteran on the wing. The above can serve as a helpful primer to how the team likely views its players and picks and what role they might play in potential trades.