There are two general paths that the Cleveland Cavaliers can take in free agency this summer, and the road forks on the contract of one single player. For NBA teams operating over the salary cap (set at $122 million for the 2022-23 NBA season) they can use an “exception” to sign a player even without cap space.
There are a handful of low-value exceptions, but the two primary ones are the mid-level exceptions. These open up a salary slot for teams to sign players, either using the entire amount on one player or dividing it between multiple players. The smaller one, the “Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception” or “Taxpayer MLE,” will be worth $6.34 million, and the “Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level” or just “MLE” is worth $10.26 million.
What’s the difference? Teams using the standard MLE are “hard-capped” at the tax apron; that means that if the Cavs (or any team) use the MLE, they cannot have a team salary of more than $155.2 million for any reason. Using the smaller Taxpayer MLE gives a team flexibility to spend over that tax apron number.
The Cavs have a path to making a strong swing in NBA Free Agency. If they use the full Mid-Level Exception, which players should they look to sign?
What does this mean for the Cavs? It means that if they hand out enough money to their own free agents, they won’t have enough room under that tax apron to use the full MLE, and will have to stick to the smaller amount to improve their team. The swing factor here is therefore Collin Sexton. The players available for the full MLE are a step above those available at the much smaller Taxpayer MLE. If the Cavs let Collin Sexton walk, or he signs the qualifying offer, they can use the larger amount. If he comes back on a substantial deal, they likely need to stick to the smaller one.
Let’s assume for the moment that the Cavs head down Path A; Sexton’s contract is either on some other team’s books or at a low enough amount that the full Mid-Level Exception is available to the Cavaliers. Which players could they target this summer to improve the team? Here are three players from a pair of successful Western Conference teams that the Cavs should reach out to.
3 players the Cavs can sign with the Mid-Level Exception: Tyus Jones
The Cavs thrived last season with two high-level point guards on the team. Ricky Rubio came aboard via trade over the summer and proved to be a revelation in the rotation. As the Cavs discovered later in the season after Rubio went down with an ACL tear, having 48 minutes of solid point guard play is incredibly valuable for a team.
Even more so, the Cavs struck gold by playing both Rubio and Darius Garland on the court at the same time. Rubio had enough size to defend shooting guards, and Garland’s off-ball movement and shooting allowed the two to conduct beautiful music on offense.
Rubio is now on the Indiana Pacers after his contract was used as matching salary in the Caris LeVert deal at the NBA Trade Deadline. His return to the Cavs is certainly possible, but he likely won’t be ready for much of the season. If the Cavs instead want to recreate that impact but with a player who can be ready on Day 1, then Tyus Jones is a name to watch.
Jones has been one of the league’s best backup point guards during his time with the Memphis Grizzlies and hits unrestricted free agency this summer. One of the strategic ways that the Grizzlies deployed Jones was on the court with star point guard Ja Morant; Jones also thrived filling in for Morant when he was injured, seeming to be at his best when he received a large number of minutes.
The Grizzlies will be motivated to bring him back, but they also want to leverage their cap space to go after another star, whether this summer or next. Jones may also want to find a place where he can be the starting point guard, but there aren’t a ton of opportunities like that around the league. Cleveland offers a large role, likely the opportunity to close a lot of games, and an up-and-coming team he can help take to the next level. The Cavs at least have to make the call.
3 players the Cavs can sign with the Mid-Level Exception: Otto Porter Jr.
The Golden State Warriors are in the NBA Finals because of their star players, particularly Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, but also because of a deep roster of players who can all be used in the gauntlet of the playoffs. A few of them are players the Warriors “bought low” on this past summer and who have gained value in a significant way.
Otto Porter Jr. is one such player, a guy who signed a rookie-maximum contract at one point in his career but then was knocked down by multiple injuries. He’s by no means the healthiest player in the league now, but he has shown that when available he does the things well that winning teams need in their rotation.
Porter is a career 39.8 percent 3-point shooter; he hit 37 percent of his perimeter shots this past season, and 42.5 percent in the playoffs thus far. At 6’8″ he can play either forward position and is a good enough rebounder to survive as a smallball 5 at times, although on the Cavs that would be the unlikeliest of scenarios.
The Cavs need a traditional small forward on the roster, either to start in place of Lauri Markkanen or to back him up. Having Porter, Dean Wade and Kevin Love as the backup frontcourt players would give them a stout rotation and protect them from injury absences on the starting line. Porter is the kind of player every team can use, but the Cavs especially should be aggressive in adding a true 3-and-D forward.
3 players the Cavs can sign with the Mid-Level Exception: Gary Payton II
The story has been repeated a million times over the course of the season and especially during the playoffs, but prior to this past season the Golden State Warriors were deciding how to use their 15th and final roster spot. Did they go for a veteran in Avery Bradley, an unproven option in Gary Payton II, or leave it open for luxury tax savings?
The Warriors’ front office went with Payton, and the rest is history. He has been a huge part of their success this season, and whether you call him “The Mitten” or “The Gauntlet” or “The Glove 2.0” his defense and ability to generate turnovers has been legendary, and he has been an asset offensively as well.
Payton averaged 1.4 steals per game in just 17.6 minutes; that translates to 2.8 steals per 36 minutes. That 2.8 number led all players this season (minimum 1,000 minutes played) and ranked seventh among all players the last 20 years. He is a disruptive, thieving machine on defense. He can defend multiple positions, he rebounds well and his cutting and willingness to shoot from outside make him a wildly valuable player overall.
He could start for the Cavs at the 2, and between Payton and Isaac Okoro the Cavs would have a high-level defender at the 2 for the entire game. If the Cavs do retain Sexton or add another guard he can defend up the positional spectrum as well, and his cutting around Garland or Evan Mobley‘s passing would be lethal.
Any of these three players would be a great addition to what the Cavs are building, but each is likely going to cost the full midlevel exception. If the Cavs do have access to it this summer they should go after a player they know can handle the crucible of the playoffs, setting the stage to compete on that level for the first time in years.