It seems that Cleveland’s NBA free agency has mostly come to a conclusion. Alongside acquiring a long-range shooting wing in Max Strus via sign and trade with the Miami Heat, the Cavaliers signed Georges Niang to a three-year deal, Ty Jerome to a two-year deal, and re-signed Caris LeVert for the next two seasons.
In the midst of their free agency moves, the Cavaliers also traded for Damian Jones from the Utah Jazz as a potential backup big man.
Cleveland’s moves brought four new faces to the Land and retained one of their best role players from last season. Both Strus and Niang were considered some of the best 3-point shooters available in the offseason, finally giving this Cavs squad real floor-stretching opportunities. Additionally, Cleveland’s moves did not cost the Cavaliers any of their existing rotational talent.
The Cavaliers are in the Central Division among the likes of the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, and Detroit Pistons. Of those teams, only the Bucks and Cavaliers reached the NBA Playoffs (the Bulls lost in the Play-In Tournament).
Out of all five teams, Cleveland’s moves improve their roster’s failures on team-friendly deals that do not take away future flexibility. Last season, the Cavaliers were only one smart roster move away from contending with the best in the Eastern Conference. This offseason addressed those moves more than once without breaking the bank.
Looking at the moves by their division rivals, it is clear the Cavaliers had the best free agency period and will be a serious force in the East next season.
How Cleveland had a better free agency than the Bucks.
While the Cavaliers earned the fourth seed in the East, they were still a tier below the Bucks, who finished in the first place spot, in contention for the NBA Finals. Both teams lost in the First Round despite their home-court advantage, but the Cavaliers seemed humiliated by the New York Knicks in their five-game defeat.
On offense, Cleveland’s biggest flaw was its lack of 3-point threats outside of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, and LeVert. With Strus and Niang filling that void, the Cavaliers seemingly had the best free agency period of their five-team division.
In Milwaukee, they are essentially running it back with no roster changes. The Bucks’ only major move in the offseason was firing Head Coach Mike Budenholzer and hiring Atlanta’s Assistant Coach Adrian Griffin.
It makes sense for the Bucks. They won a championship with their core in 2021. Though they lost to the Miami Heat, it came after an injury to Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game 1 of the series.
How did the Cavaliers outdo a recent championship team in free agency? While the Bucks core has had success together, last season began showing cracks in the foundation. Brook Lopez had a great season but will turn 36 years old by the end of next season. Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday are both over 30 years old as well, leaving Giannis as the only core player under thirty.
Accumulatively, the Bucks will likely owe around $140 million to those four players alone next year. Their massive cap sheet with an aging core leaves room for a competitor to overtake their reign in the Eastern Conference.
The Cavaliers remain one of the best young cores in the NBA, and their additions only improve their areas of doubt. Additionally, Cleveland is still under the NBA luxury tax threshold, giving them room to continue improving their roster during the season in either trades or the buyout market.
Why the Cavaliers did better than the Pistons in free agency
The Detroit Pistons did not spend free agency signing new talent. Their primary offseason addition was that of Ausar Thompson with the fifth overall selection in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Along with the Thompson twin, Detroit acquired Monte Morris in a trade with the Wizards and Joe Harris in a trade with Brooklyn. Both players will be valuable veteran leaders for a developing squad in the Pistons.
While Detroit has definitely improved this offseason, they are not in the position to begin competing for top placements in the East. Detroit improved in the areas they needed, giving both Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson mentors to develop their talents. Cunningham was the first overall pick in the 2021 draft, ahead of Evan Mobley. His career has shown a tremendous skill set as a tall guard, earning comparisons to Luka Doncic even before draft night.
Detroit’s free agency was nothing to detest. In truth, Detroit sneakily had a fairly successful offseason.
They are developing their youth, but these moves will only do this marginally. Neither Joe Harris nor Monte Morris is going to change the landscape of the Pistons into a winning culture to lead their core to playoff experience.
Comparatively, Cleveland’s moves take them into a higher tier of competition than they were in last season. The Cavaliers have a more dynamic squad going into opening night. The Pistons will likely end their season in a similar position to last year. This is not a horrible outcome for a rebuilding team, but it leaves them still watching from the outside during the Playoffs.
The Pistons made the moves they needed, but so did the Cavaliers.
While the Pistons are building toward their future and doing so successfully, a once great dynastic team is stuck in NBA limbo once again after this year’s free agency.
How the Cavaliers outdid Chicago in free agency
Cavaliers fans may remember last year’s Chicago Bulls best by Donovan Mitchell’s franchise record-setting 71-point performance. In a four-game season series, the Cavaliers came out victorious each time.
As mentioned earlier, the Bulls ended their season short in the Play-In Tournament after finishing the season as the tenth seed with a 40-42 record.
Entering free agency, it seemed Chicago might look to make major shifts either to enter a rebuild or go all-in. Unfortunately for Windy City, the only real decisions were to re-sign Nikola Vucevic and Coby White. Vucevic had found himself in a number of trade rumors throughout last season, seemingly not fitting what the Bulls needed.
It is hard to be excited about next season for the Chicago Bulls.
By staying silent in free agency, the Bulls are leaving themselves in the same spot as last year. No questions were answered, and the lack of moves might only raise new ones. Similar to the Bucks, the Bulls’ core is not a young and upcoming threat.
They are outside of any real window for contention but do not have a future foundation to celebrate. Unfortunately, fans of one of the NBA’s most historic franchises are gearing up for another season of mediocrity.
Sandwiched between the Bulls and Cavaliers is the team representing the only midwestern state that can contend with Ohio for the number of corn fields along an interstate. They might have had the best free agency outside of Cleveland. Maybe it’s something about the corn.
Why Cleveland outdid Indiana in free agency
In eras past, the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers faced one another time and time again in the Playoffs. Indiana fell to the 2018 LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers in game seven of the first round.
Both teams have since entered a rebuild, and both teams have one of the best young point guards in the NBA. Tyrese Haliburton has changed the trajectory for the Pacers after being traded from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Domantas Sabonis. This offseason, Indiana signed Haliburton to the full rookie scale extension worth up to $205 million over the next five years.
After Haliburton’s first year with Indiana, the team is rightfully looking to build around the fascinating guard.
Entering free agency, the Pacers had plenty of cap space to spend. Their first major move brought Bruce Brown, Jr. of the 2023 NBA Championship Denver Nuggets team to Indianapolis on a two-year, $45 million contract. The massive sticker price may seem alarming, but the Pacers have a team option for the second year. With Brown joining the team, they have a winning player to pair with Haliburton.
Secondly, Indiana sent future second-round picks to New York for Obi Toppin from the Knicks in an unexpected trade. Placing two proven talents next to Haliburton sets the Pacers up for one of their best seasons in recent memory. While they are not a sudden title favorite, Indiana quickly rose up the ranks of the Eastern Conference, getting themselves out of the lowest rung of Central Division teams.
With little to no expectations this offseason, each move by Indiana is only a benefit and plus for their future. Both Brown and Toppin are young players who are still growing more and more valuable as time goes on.
In comparison to their expectations, Cleveland and Indiana may be relatively equal. Indiana was expected to offer a large contract to somebody since they had to spend it somewhere, and they used it wonderfully. In fact, Bruce Brown may be a better player in total than Max Strus. Georges Niang might not have as versatile of an offensive and defensive skill set as Toppin.
Where the Cavaliers have the edge is their overall potential going into next season.
Cleveland is set up for another nearly guaranteed postseason campaign without entering into the luxury tax. Their current team can still be improved upon without a trade. Georges Niang was signed using a majority of Cleveland’s Mid-Level Exception, leaving more than $3 million still available. Additionally, the Cavaliers will have their $4.5 million Bi-Annual Exception at their disposal during the regular season.
With numerous All-Star level players, improving significantly and keeping financial flexibility is a near miracle offseason. The Cavaliers may find themselves to be one of the cheapest contenders across the entire Association after this free agency. That cannot be understated, and it is what sets them apart from the Pacers in terms of free agency success. Undoubtedly, this bodes well for a team expecting to extend Evan Mobley for the most money and years they possibly can.