As the calendar has flipped to 2025 it no longer makes sense to call the season "new" or to refer to it being "early" - we now know who the contenders and pretenders are across the league, and both the playoff picture and the lottery race are coming together.
It also means that players who were not signed this summer are less "free agents" looking for a landing spot and more those veterans and fringe players who shouldn't expect to be on a roster. Is that their goal? Almost certainly, but at this point in the season if they were a lock to be on a team they already would be.
The new salary cap landscape in the NBA is causing more and more teams to carry just 14 players on their roster, limiting the field of players. Now that 10-day contracts are allowed, however, teams may begin adding players to fill roles down the back half of the season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of those teams with only 14 players, although nearly all 14 of their players have been worthy of a rotation role and are a major piece of the team's dominant 31-4 start to the season.
Many of those players (and one coach) who are yet to find a roster used to be Cleveland Cavaliers themselves. Which former Cavs are still floating in the wind searching for a job as 2025 begins? And what are the odds they find an NBA team before 2025 is over? Let's look at six and their situation a bit more closely.
No. 6: Marcus Morris
Looking for a veteran combo forward who could play postseason minutes, the Cavaliers signed Marcus Morris to a contract late last season. He did indeed play minutes for them down the stretch of the season and in the playoffs - and was truly abysmal when he was on the court. His one lasting contribution was proving himself to be a reckless and emotional player who couldn't be trusted to treat opponents with respect.
Morris was briefly signed to a deal with the New York Knicks, then waived as they pulled off the multiple steps required of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade. They did not bring him back, and no other NBA team has been willing to take the plunge with a player as likely to shoot 1-for-6 and get into a fight as he is to go 3-for-4 and play solid defense.
Now 35 years old, it seems that Morris will need another last-ditch chance from a playoff team at the end of the year or his NBA career might be over.
New Home in 2025? Unlikely
No. 5: Isaiah Mobley
The Cleveland Cavaliers added the older brother of Evan Mobley and it seemed more than merely a favor to their budding star big man. Isaiah was a skilled center whose passing seemed like a real NBA skill, and he balled out in Summer League and in the G League. The possibility he could develop into an NBA rotation player was absolutely there.
That growth never came, however, and Mobley was not brought back on another two-way by the Cavaliers or another team. Already 25 years old and without a consistent jumper, the path to Mobley making an NBA team is narrow. A team that needs big man depth could sign him away from the Delaware Blue Coats for a 10-day sometime this year, but he will need to truly prove himself if given that chance to find a long-term home.
New Home in 2025? Very Unlikely
No. 4: JaVale McGee
The Cleveland Cavaliers traded for JaVale McGee prior to the 2020-21 season to be their backup center, then quite savvily flipped him to the Denver Nuggets for two seconds and Isaiah Hartenstein. They unfortunately didn't realize what they had in Hartenstein, but they knew what they had in McGee: an athletic, experienced big man who didn't bring much offensive skill to the court.
The 16-year NBA veteran is just days from his 37th birthday and spent last season with the Sacramento Kings, appearing in 46 games. All reports are that McGee is still open to continuing his NBA career, and if that is the case, it seems very possible a team adds him late this season to provide big man depth.
New Home in 2025? Good chance
No. 3: Mike Brown
The head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers not once but twice, Mike Brown becomes the only non-player to make our list. Brown had a job just days ago, but the Sacramento Kings cut him loose as a holiday treat. If a knee-jerk decision to fire their best coach in 20 years and to do so over the phone is a treat.
Brown is a really good coach, and if he wanted to immediately leap back into coaching as an assistant many teams would scoop him up right now - including the Cavaliers. More likely, he takes the rest of the season off -- on Sacramento's dime -- and interviews for both head-coaching and high-profile assistant jobs this summer.
New Home in 2025? Definitely
No. 2: Isaiah Thomas
Reaching far back into Cleveland's history, Isaiah Thomas came to the Cavaliers in the infamous Kyrie Irving trade that didn't work out for either side. He was suffering from a hip injury that he couldn't get right while in Cleveland, and he was traded later that season after appearing in just 15 games.
The diminutive guard has hung around on the fringes of the NBA for the past few seasons, including a comeback to the league last year where he appeared in six games for the Phoenix Suns. One of the types of players teams will look to sign late in the year is a proven veteran who can score buckets if put into the game, so it's possible he gets a call. More likely, the 35-year-old guard has played his last NBA minutes.
New Home in 2025? Probably Not
No. 1: Lamar Stevens
Perhaps the most interesting decision on this list is whether or not Lamar Stevens will join an NBA team in 2025.
The former Penn State Nittany Lion joined the Cleveland Cavaliers as an undrafted rookie and worked his way into the rotation. He has always been a strong, physical defender and an underrated 2-point finisher. Unfortunately for Stevens, forward-sized role players in the NBA need to be able to either pass or shoot, and those proved to be his two greatest weaknesses.
With that being said, Stevens played legitimate minutes for the (admittedly injury-riddled) Memphis Grizzlies down the stretch of last season, and he is an experienced player with forward size who could step in if called upon. Playoff teams with an open roster spot may very well give Stevens a look, especially since the 27-year-old is shooting devently well in the G League and putting up a ton of defensive impact stats.
In fact, it's not out of the question that the Cavaliers could be the team to give him a call.
New Home in 2025? Toss-up