The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the 2025 NBA Draft with two primary needs: find a guard who can shoot and handle the ball to prepare for the departure of Ty Jerome, Sam Merrill, or both; and secondly, to find a backup center to shore up the position behind Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.
Addressing both needs with only the 49th and 58th picks in the draft was unrealistic, but to their credit, the Cavaliers did manage to do the first. Second-round pick Tyrese Proctor may not be that Australian-born point guard from Duke, but he is a capable shooter and secondary playmaker who checks the box for that first need.
Now the Cavaliers need to find a backup center. Tristan Thompson certainly isn't going to cut it, as once he was suspended for taking performance-enhancing drugs (and presumably ceased taking them) he has falled precipitously off of a cliff as a capable NBA player. He is tough, he rebounds, but he is a liability on both ends of the court.
Last season, however, there was no other option. Dean Wade was often called upon to play smallball center, and that is a changeup pitch that head coach Kenny Atkinson can keep in his arsenal, but the Cavaliers need a backup big with real size to fill in when one of the team's two stars misses time, or to play a handful of minutes in the regular season to lower the minute totals for Allen and Mobley.
The Cavaliers need to sign a backup center
The difficulty facing the Cavaliers, of course, is that they are projected to be well above the second tax apron. That means that they are limited to minimum contracts to offer free agents, thus significantly tightening the pool of options.
Cleveland is a true title contender, the current favorite in the Eastern Conference, so veteran bigs excited to chase a ring could sign on at a discount. Would Kevon Looney be available if the Golden State Warriors elect not to bring him back? Will old friend Larry Nance Jr. be open to a reunion? NBA Finals participant Thomas Bryant could be on the market, as could Clippers center Drew Eubanks.
Many of those players likely hope to make more than the minimum, but as the salary cap goes up that minimum amount does as well. Longtime NBA vets can make $3.6 million on a minimum deal this season, which means holding out for $4 or $5 million on the market may not be worth it. If one of them wants to be on a good team and doesn't want to be caught standing when the music stops, signing early with the Cleveland Cavaliers would make a lot of sense.
Perhaps Cleveland will have its pick of the litter. Perhaps they will wait and see who is still available. Perhaps they strike quickly with one or two targets. However they decide to play the free agent game, the end result needs to be a veteran big man on the roster -- and his name had better not be Tristan Thompson.