Playing keep, trade or cut with the entire Cavs roster of players

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Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen of Team Cavs celebrate during the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. (Photo by Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports) /

Keep, trade or cut with Cavs roster: Players to Keep

Jarrett Allen, Moses Brown, Darius Garland, Kevin Love, Lauri Markkanen, Evan Mobley, Dean Wade

The core of the Cleveland Cavaliers is coming together, and it would take something monumental for the front office to break it up. Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are staying put, and in fact Garland is likely in line for something close to a maximum rookie extension.

You can probably also apply that to Kevin Love; he is a longtime veteran with the team and seemed to make a real connection with J.B. Bickerstaff, who got him to buy into his bench role and nearly win the Sixth Man of the Year award. It’s possible Love’s salary is used in a deal to bring in a perimeter player, such as Gordon Hayward, but it’s a longshot.

Lauri Markkanen is something of a swing player, a guy who could be included in trade offers as necessary but proved he can fit well with a variety of other frontcourt players. He has shooting gravity even if his shot wasn’t super accurate last season and he fights on defense and the glass; he could be the heir-apparent to the Kevin Love role. He is also on a substantial contract and could net something significant in a trade if the offer comes up. He’s the “last one in” to this category.

A few other players have a great chance to stick around. Dean Wade has proved himself to be an excellent role player, able to step in at multiple positions and even fit well with the starting lineup in place of Lauri Markkanen or Evan Mobley. He has a $1.9 million team option for next season that will likely be picked up.

Finally, Moses Brown was signed late in the year to provide center depth with injuries hitting the frontcourt. He is a free agent but his non-Bird rights might be enough to bring him back as a third center. His rebounding is a real asset and there is still some upside that he could put things together. The cost is negligible and it’s unlikely a significantly better center would be open to such a small role for a minimum contract.