The Cleveland Cavaliers have limited flexibility this summer to make changes. Most of their draft picks are tied up from the Caris LeVert and Donovan Mitchell trades, and they have plenty of money committed such that they will almost certainly operate over the cap.
That’s the barrier they have to overcome entering an important offseason. They clearly did not have enough reliable rotation players for the playoffs this year, and their top goal has to be adding a forward who can space the court and potentially close games out alongside their four stars.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking for an upgrade in free agency
There are plenty of pending free agents that look like excellent fits, to the point that fans or even basketball websites start tossing around names that are purely pipe dreams. The Cavaliers will probably only have their Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception to go shopping in free agency, which means around $12 million to start a contract with.
That means there are a large number of players on the open market who are never going to sign in Cleveland. Let’s highlight three players that fans are talking about who are simply pipe dreams and will (almost certainly) not sign with the Cavs this summer.