The Cleveland Cavaliers don’t need to worry about a major shake-up this summer. That doesn’t mean big offseason changes can’t happen; they could voluntarily decide to move on from J.B. Bickerstaff and hire another coach, or trade one of their core players, but that’s an adventure they would choose.
Their core players are all under contract for next season. That includes the entire starting lineup in addition to Ricky Rubio, Lamar Stevens, Dean Wade and Cedi Osman (the final two being non-guaranteed). The Cavs can instead look to adding one of more players in NBA free agency to make this group better, rather than replacing what they have now; Caris LeVert is the only rotation player set to hit free agency.
The Cavaliers should look to upgrade in free agency
The largest position of need for the Cavaliers is at small forward. Isaac Okoro is a hard worker and an incredible defender against guards, but his offensive game is limited and he doesn’t have the size to defend big wings and forwards. He’s a 1.5 starting at the 3. Upgrading that position is an important part of the path ahead.
There are other needs to address, from a stretch big to a wing to replace LeVert’s role. How do the Cavs allocate their limited resources this summer? They will almost certainly operate over the cap, leaving the full Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (MLE) and perhaps the Bi-Annual Exception (BAE) in addition to trades.
Let’s look at three players at three different price points the Cavs could pursue in free agency, all with an unintentional connecting theme.