Cavs get positive B+ in Hoops Habit Free Agency Grades

Why the Cavs’ grade is too high

It’s possible that this negotiation approach from the Cavs will backfire on them. Collin Sexton is a very talented player who is worth more than $13 million per season, even in a bench role. He is an underrated off-ball shooter, he has legitimate scoring and finishing chops, and he is a great culture guy with fearless competitive fire.

If the reason the Cavs aren’t offering more money to Sexton is that they are backed up against the luxury tax, (1) billionare Dan Gilbert doesn’t get credit for cheaping out, and (2) the Cavs don’t have that space because they traded for Caris LeVert, a larger, worse version of Sexton. If he takes the qualifying offer and leaves for nothing next offseason, it will be a tough look for this front office.

There are other potential downturns for this grade as well. The Cavs yet again ignored the small forward position in free agency. Perhaps that is because no one worth the spot was willing to sign for the Taxpayer MLE, but they had the full MLE to offer and didn’t use it to avoid the luxury tax.

The Cavs seem to be working to stay under the tax this season and preserve max cap space for next season. That might change now that LeBron James has signed an extension, but those limitations have prevented them from making any major moves.

Finally, the one substantial player addition they did have was Ricky Rubio, who is an aging point guard coming off of yet another major knee injury. If he misses this entire year, or comes back and is a shell of his former self, the Cavs will have spent their one big bullet on a player who doesn’t fit their timeline and doesn’t have much left to offer.

In the end, all of their free agents were good values, but the biggest free agent was Collin Sexton and he is still unsigned. His future with the team and Rubio’s recovery are the two driving forces that will determine if this free agency period was a success or not.