The Cleveland Cavaliers’ front office had a clear vision this offseason and it was to improve a young, talented roster and get them over the hump and into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference. Through the beginning days of free agency, it seems that they have done just that.
They brought back Caris LeVert on a team-friendly deal. They swapped out Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens and brought in Max Strus and Georges Niang. They signed Ty Jerome as insurance for the backup point guard spot if Ricky Rubio continues to decline. They traded for a capable backup big in Damian Jones, who can actually play a few minutes a night and not fight mascots all day and ride the bench (sorry Robin Lopez).
All in all, it seems that the Cavs have filled their weaknesses and are set up to be elite contenders in the East next season. Here are three reasons why.
Reason No. 1: They kept their core four intact
After their unexpected playoff failure, there was a lot of talk about whether or not the Cavs should break up their core four of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. There were even more rumblings about trading Allen after he admitted that the lights were too bright for him in the playoffs.
Ultimately, however, the Cavs did not break up their core four and that is a good thing. They have only spent one year together and had a flawed roster around them.
While they all suffered performance dips in the postseason, they were huge parts of the Cavaliers’ success this now-past regular season. They don’t have the No. 1 defense in the league without the presence of Mobley and Allen in the paint. They don’t reach 51 wins and a top four seed without the efficient offense from Garland and Mitchell. They don’t end their five-year playoff drought without this core. They are all under the age of 30 and have the chance to be something special.
Kudos to Koby Altman for giving them another chance to compete and grow together and not overreacting to the team’s five-game loss to the New York Knicks.
Reason No. 2: The Cavs’ shooting got A LOT better
The main weakness on the Cavs roster was their lack of shooting, and that reared its ugly head in the playoffs. Cleveland shot 33 percent from three-point range against the Knicks, including an ugly 13-of-56 from there in Games 3 and 4 at Madison Square Garden. That is 23 percent.
Sure, the two greatest players of all time wore the number 23, but that is not a number you want to shoot from three. If you are going to have two non-shooting bigs in Mobley and Allen on the court, you need to have a sharpshooter next to them.
Fortunately, the Cavaliers brought in Max Strus and Georges Niang to fix that problem. Yes, they traded fan favorites Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens, but neither of those guys had the playoff experience or shooting ability of Strus and Niang.
Strus is a 37 percent three-point shooter for his career and Niang is at 40 percent for his. The two have also combined for 89 playoff games, bringing their playoff experience to a young Cavs team that could use some. Strus and Niang also combined to hit 351 threes last season. As a team last season, the Cavs made 950 threes, which was 19th in the league.
If one were to swap Osman and Stevens with Strus and Niang last season, the Cavs would have hit 1,155 total threes. That would have been good enough for fifth in the NBA.
Strus and Niang drastically improve the shooting of the Cavs and the numbers back it up. The Wine and Gold may have had to give a combined $89 million to those two guys, but they needed to add another dimension to their compact offense.
Reason No. 3: Eastern Conference uncertainty
The Cavaliers were able to surprise many and finish fourth in the East last season. This coming year, they have a chance to finish even higher. There is a lot of uncertainty at the top of the East right now and with an improved roster, the Cavs should be able to capitalize.
The Boston Celtics are still the clear number one in the conference despite trading Marcus Smart, as they still have two all NBA guys in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and just got Kristaps Porzingis. After the Celtics is where it gets murky.
The Philadelphia 76ers have to deal with James Harden’s third trade request in the past two seasons, and might be worse next year with the bag of chips they are going to receive from the LA Clippers, if the Clippers were to eventually be where Harden lands. Yes, Philly still has Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, but that may not be enough to remain at the top of the East as they do not have enough to replace Harden’s production.
From there, the Milwaukee Bucks did bring back their core, but Khris Middleton has injury concerns, and the roster is only getting older. The Miami Heat are at the center of Damian Lillard trade rumors, but they have not gotten him yet and who knows how good they will actually be next season even if they do. Their roster won’t have a lot of depth and they will have to heavily rely on Lillard, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo with not a lot of options after them.
That leaves the Cavs, who have a new-look roster and have filled their weaknesses. If their new additions pan out, and their core four continues their high level of play, they might be a top two team in the East next season.
Cleveland had a very successful free agency period that saw them add to a roster instead of tearing it apart. They have largely improved and have the looks of an elite contender in the Eastern Conference next season.
Expectations are high in the Land, but the Cavs seem up for it.