3 players still available for Cavs to sign in free agency

3 players still available for Cavs to sign in free agency: Kessler Edwards

Last season’s Brooklyn Nets team was a mess, and somehow they’ve trumped that this offseason. In the mayhem of a Kevin Durant trade request and Kyrie Irving “daring to be different” by choosing the money, the Nets made a rather curious decision: they rescinded the qualifying offer on second-year wing Kessler Edwards.

Edwards went 44th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, but I ranked him 25th heading into draft night and in a redraft he would have a good chance to go at the back end of the first round. He is 6’8″ with a smooth jumpshot and a do-it-all mentality on both ends of the court. Even when the shot wasn’t falling he found ways to help the Nets win, from crashing the glass to timely cuts to weakside shot-blocking.

The Nets didn’t land on a superstar in disguise, but they absolutely found a rotation wing in the middle of the second round. Instead of keeping him around to develop into their Joe Harris replacement, they cut him free while re-signing a backup center and trading a first-round pick for a washed-up 3-and-D wing. Nets GM Sean Marks appears to have lost his grip on a strategy and is just desperately trying to stay afloat.

The Nets may have a plan to bring Edwards back, but he is currently out on the open market and there is a very real chance that whatever return the Nets get in the Durant trade eliminates the spot for Edwards. If the Cavs do open up a spot, they should reach out to Edwards and his agent immediately.

Whether or not the Cavs are done on the free-agent market depends on whether they expand the Ricky Rubio deal into a sign-and-trade, and what the negotiations with Collin Sexton ultimately produce. If a spot does open up, the Cavs should go after a player who could fill minutes at small forward, the roster’s biggest remaining weakness and the most important position in the league.