The Cleveland Cavaliers have played 25 games of their schedule, just shy of one-third of the way to the end of the season. While they certainly expect to play basketball past Game 82, the reality is that the season is already racing toward its completion, and the Cavs’ front office has to start balancing its attention between the present and the future.
The future is the 2023 offseason, and the Cavs will join most teams in having multiple players hit free agency. While the actual negotiations with most cannot happen until after the season, the front office has to make decisions now. What holes will open in the summer that can be addressed at the trade deadline? Should the team move on from a pending free agent rather than either paying up or losing them in the offseason?
The Cleveland Cavaliers have a number of pending free agents who improving or harming their stock. Which Cavs are up, and which are down?
Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of the front office for a moment and look at the pending free agents on the roster. How have they performed thus far this season? Let’s sort them into two buckets: Stock Up, and Stock Down.
Which soon-to-be free agents have improved their standing and future earnings by their play thus far, and which ones have tarnished their path forward? There is still plenty of time for these players to change their outlook, but as a snapshot of the present, who is up and who is down among the Cavs’ free-agent class?
Stock up for Cavs’ pending free agents
We will start with the positive: which players have seen their stock improve since the start of the season?
Kevin Love finally had a bounce-back year in 2021-22, finishing second in Sixth Man of the Year voting as one of the best per-minute players in the league. Playing a bench role behind Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley was perfect for the veteran big, and he stayed generally healthy for the entire season.
This season has proven that last year was not a fluke but rather the new reality for Kevin Love. He is one of the best high-volume 3-point shooters at the big positions, and his rebounding, passing and scoring are all incredibly valuable. He’s a mess defensively, but in the right ecosystem he can still be very impactful. He won’t make as much on his next deal as he is now, but compared to where things stood he has stabilized his value.
Lamar Stevens has also helped his stock tremendously. Coming into the year he looked to be the odd man out rotationally, and that’s what happened early on. Then he was suddenly elevated into the starting lineup and stepped up to the task, and he probably doubled his annual salary expectations for next season as a result. He’ll probably entertain offers at the TaxPayer Mid-Level if the Cavs let him hit free agency (his contract has a team option for next year).
Mamadi Diakite is on a two-way contract but has flashed some significant skill and athleticism with Cleveland, even starting in their surprise beatdown of the Philadelphia 76ers late last month. He’ll get a full contract, with the Cavs or another team, if he continues playing at that level. Finally, Robin Lopez should earn another contract next summer after showing he can still play, even in a small role.
Stock down for Cavs’ pending free agents
At the other end of the spectrum, which of the Cavs’ upcoming free agents has seen his stock decrease since the start of the season?
The most depressing player to mention here is Dylan Windler, a player who still has potential buried somewhere inside of his gossamer frame. It has been one injury after another to start his career, and he is on the shelf yet again; he is yet to appear in a game this year. Windler will probably get a non-guaranteed training camp deal next summer with a team and will need to prove himself healthy to stick around in the league.
The more prominent name to list here is Caris LeVert. The wing has had a few monster games, including dropping 41 points in Boston against the Celtics, but overall the concerns about his production and fit with this team have been borne out this year. The Cavs ended up moving LeVert to the bench, and he has been a relatively inefficient player thus far this year.
Caris LeVert‘s best shot at a big payday was going to be re-signing with the Cavs, the team that traded a first-round pick to add him in February. It is becoming increasingly unlikely the Cavaliers will hand out a big contract to LeVert given the expense across the rest of the roster and the presence of two other on-ball players in Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell. Whether LeVert takes a pay cut to stay in Cleveland or signs with another team, he will be making less than he hoped for coming into the year.
Finally, Raul Neto probably needed to score more and shoot better this season to ensure himself a contract next season. The Cavs may not need him, especially if Ricky Rubio looks fully healthy, and could go for youth at the spot with Sharife Cooper or another option. If players like Eric Bledsoe and Avery Bradley couldn’t find work this season, Neto may be in a similar boat next summer.