The 2023 offseason is one where the Cleveland Cavaliers have to take steps to keep building on their 2022-23 campaign.
For the Cavaliers, this now-past season was a success, to some extent, as the squad won 51 games. It was the first time Cleveland made the playoffs without LeBron James on the roster since 1997-98, and Cleveland would secure the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. There was plenty of reason to look forward to the postseason as a fan of the Wine and Gold.
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, the deep run the team and fan base was hoping for would not happen. Thefifth-seeded New York Knicks had their way with the Cavs, as they dispatched the Wine and Gold in just five games, and ended the Cavs’ season on their home floor.
Cleveland was out-muscled on the glass, and their key quartet of players in Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen were inconsistent. Allen and Mitchell had a particularly underwhelming last three contests, but it’s not as if the bench should be absolved of blame, nor J.B. Bickerstaff.
It’s time for the Cavaliers to look ahead, though, and this offseason, Cleveland has to prioritize adding perimeter shooting and/or wing help, feasibly a backup big and perhaps a third lead guard for the rotation. The Cavs have to have more playable depth, for both the 2023-24 regular season, and hopefully, a noteworthy playoff run to follow in the next go-around.
With that said, here, we’ll take a glance at two realistic expectations for the Cavaliers for the 2023 offseason, which is going to be a crucial one.
The first pertains to an obvious need.
Realistic expectation No. 1 for Cavs offseason: Wing and/or shooting needs are addressed
The Cavs have to add shooting this offseason, that’s apparent. Cleveland has to help open up space for its primary creators, and for Mobley.
Rumored potential free agency targets such as seemingly Yuta Watanabe, Grant Williams, Terrence Ross and Naz Reid could be meaningful shooters for Cleveland to bring in. From there, rumored possible trade targets seem to be Royce O’Neale, Dorian Finney-Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Doug McDermott, among others.
Needless to say, it’s clear the Cavaliers have to have an infusion of shooting, and that’s likely to come externally, at least one would assume, to aid Garland, Mitchell and Mobley. That’d make the Cavaliers more multiple as well within their offense, and it could make a difference in maximizing their stars.
Further, whether or not Cleveland re-signs Caris LeVert, which would seem to be a good possibility, the Cavaliers have to help sure up their wing outlook and their starting 3 spot. And them doing so externally would appear to be a reasonable expectation.
Granted, re-signing Danny Green wouldn’t hurt shooting efforts, either, especially if he can have a productive offseason, and come into next season fully ready to go health-wise in a rotational role. Green can still be a meaningful veteran contributor to have, provided next season he can find a rhythm fairly early on.
Realistic expectation No. 2: Allen trade suggestions are there, but he’s not dealt
For the second realistic expectation for Cleveland’s offseason, it pertains to the Allen discourse.
As we previously mentioned, and as many have pointed out for the past month-plus since their first round exit, Allen did not play well enough in the Knicks series.
He wasn’t active enough offensively, was seemingly deterred to some degree as a finisher and diving threat, and in the last few games of the series, was not nearly as effective as he typically is on the glass. In the last two games, Allen had just eight total rebounds, and had a five in Game 3, a game when he registered only six points. In Game 5, he had four points and attempted just six shots in 36 minutes.
Point being, Allen did not have the series one was looking for. He wasn’t the only one, however, to reiterate.
Allen and Mobley’s defensive workload is also something to keep in mind, and that defensive duo was outstanding on that end of the floor this season, when Cleveland had the No. 1 defense. Cleveland’s primary issue was on offense in the playoffs, too.
To that point, though, have spurred on the Allen trade suggestions. Allen has meant so much to the Cavaliers defensively with his rim protection, activity, and strides taken to be more viable in switchout situations.
The trade suggestions are there about the offensive end. Allen is still a non-shooter, and while there definitely have been flashes, he’s even seemed hesitant to let looks go from the mid-range when open, and it’s fair to question if he and Mobley can be a pairing for extended stretches in the playoffs.
Now, if Mobley can level up offensively, and he takes strides as a shooter and/or if his handle improves, that could alleviate the concerns with Allen.
In the mean time, time will tell on that front, and throughout the offseason, even with the Cavaliers seemingly adamant currently about Allen being a core player, the trade suggestions from various outlets will likely be prevalent. If Allen as a trade chip can possibly facilitate a deal for a quality starting wing on Cleveland’s timeline, the Cavs should probably consider it.