The Cleveland Cavaliers don’t have max cap space this summer. They don’t have a stack of first-round picks to trade. They don’t have young players to pass out in a deal that are both valuable to other teams and not vital to the Cavs’ rotation. In other words, they can’t go big-game hunting unless they get really creative.
One way to try to upgrade the team with such limited assets is to try to “buy low” on players who have tarnished their own value. Some teams will choose to avoid the PR nightmare or fan backlash it would be to sign these players, for a variety of reasons. Could the Cavs strike gold by buying low on these radioactive free agents? Let’s take a look.
Radioactive Free Agent No. 4: Meyers Leonard, Milwaukee Bucks
Meyers Leonard was never the high-end starter that his draft position suggested, going No. 11 in the 2012 NBA Draft and carving out a niche as a bench big with the Portland Trail Blazers, spacing the floor with his 3-point shot but never bringing enough defensively to make the starting lineup. That changed with the Miami Heat in 2019-20, when he started 49 games and was on the team that made the NBA Finals in the Bubble.
Then Leonard began battling injuries, and while he was sidelined he used an anti-Semitic slur on a Twitch video game live stream. What that sparked for Leonard was a two-year process of stepping away from the league and spending time educating himself, getting to know Jewish leaders and apologizing for his words and actions.
Whether or not you believe him, he seems sincere and has taken the steps you would reasonably expect someone to take in that situation (contrast Leonard’s path with that of Kyrie Irving and you see what on-court talent and star power can bring you). The Cavs need a stretch big, and Leonard would be an interesting flier on the minimum to see if he can fill a small but valuable role for the team.
Radioactive Free Agent No. 3: Jonathan Isaac, Orlando Magic
Jonathan Isaac is radioactive in two ways, and not simply because the number of X-rays he has taken over the years may have changed his molecular structure. The first is the most obvious and the most meaningful: he can’t stay healthy. Isaac has played in just 11 games over the past three seasons, and only 34 games the season before that.
Despite an insane amount of talent and a truly special skillset, Isaac isn’t worth much to teams if he’s in street clothes. His combination of shot-blocking, steal-swiping and finishing touch are electric when he is on the court; how much can any team expect him to be?
Isaac is on a partially-guaranteed contract for a total of $16 million this season. If the Orlando Magic tire of paying him to much for him to never see the court, and especially if they find another way to use their cap space, they could waive or trade Isaac. If he is made available, he’s worth the Cavaliers looking at as an option to be their third-big in the nastiest defensive rotation you’ve ever seen on a team.
The other reason Isaac is a bit radioactive is that he seems to be the kind of rational and brave human being who takes his personal faith and actually applies it to his life, rather than simply allowing public opinion to dictate it. Unfortunately for Isaac and any team to acquire him, the politics of the NBA and much of their fan base runs counter to Isaac in a few ways, and if he were to change teams activists would probably highlight that. It has never seemed to harm Isaac’s relationship with his teammates and he seems like the kind of high-integrity player any team would want, but it’s something that may ding his value in the eyes of some teams.
Radioactive Free Agent No. 2: Dillon Brooks, Memphis Grizzlies
For NBA teams with the Full Mid-Level Exception available this offseason who need to find a starting small forward, their options are limited to just one or two players. One of those players is Dillon Brooks, who would likely be commanding more money than that if it wasn’t for his self-destructive tendencies on the court and at the microphone.
Brooks is one of the league’s better perimeter defenders, with the speed and agility to check point guards but the length and strength to take on combo forwards. Only a few players in the league could have stayed in front of Kyrie Irving and then switched onto Kevin Durant without missing a beat (RIP Brooklyn Nets), and Brooks is undeniably one of those players.
Yet he also has never adjusted well to going from the No. 1 option in college to a third or fourth option in the NBA, and his shot selection and overdeveloped confidence in his own jump shot have shot the Memphis Grizzlies in the foot. Add in his propensity to go too far in his physicality on the court and cause injuries, plus the fact that he runs his mouth constantly for a player who hasn’t proven anything in the NBA Playoffs yet in his career, and he’s a problem the Memphis Grizzlies are washing their hands of this offseason.
If Brooks is available for the MLE, the Cavaliers have to think it through. He’ll have a better and more mature infrastructure in Cleveland and he would come in being told exactly where in the hierarchy he stands. It’s certainly not an easy decision, but where else are they getting such a player?
Radioactive Free Agent No. 1: Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets
Finally, we come to the most radioactive of them all. Miles Bridges sat out all of last season after he was arrested for domestic abuse allegations. He originally faced three domestic violence-related charges but ultimately pleaded no contest to one felony charge in November. His sentence did not include jail time but came with a list of requirements, including drug testing, community services and counseling.
The NBA suspended Bridges for 30 games, which overlapped with his year away from the league with no pay that the league admitted it orchestrated as well. For some, Bridges will have appropriately served his NBA punishment by the time he retakes the court; for others, his actions will be forever inexcusable.
The result for Bridges and NBA teams is that he is a highly toxic player to sign to a major NBA contract. The Charlotte Hornets hold his restricted free agent rights; will they sign him to a middle-of-the-road contract (not the max he would have signed last summer, but something more than his qualifying offer) or will they renounce him and let another team take on the burden of signing him?
This isn’t a suggestion that the Cavaliers should sign Miles Bridges. They might decide they don’t want him as a part of their team culture, or that the shockwaves through their fan base may not be worth it. They also might not be able to if another team, be it Charlotte or someone else, decides they are comfortable offering him more than the MLE. If he is as radioactive as he seems, however, it may be a possibility that the Cavs consider and could accomplish committing even $12 million a year to Bridges.
The on-court fit with Bridges is undeniable, but the off-court situation dominates his story right now. As with all four of these players, the Cavaliers can’t only evaluate each for their on-court fit, but they have to count the cost off-the-court as well.