The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering a very important season. After making it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals last year (and losing to the New York Knicks in four games), they made a big-swing move for Peyton Watson. But now, the Cavs are trapped. This is the core they’re rolling with, and if they want to make a significant change to the roster, they would almost certainly be forced to trade one of their top guys.
A quick look at Cleveland’s book reveals a team on which only one guy outside of the starting five makes more than $4 million: Sam Merrill. Trading Merrill and a minimum-contract player would be the Cavs’ best pathway toward improvement, and that’s not a lot of salary to work with in a deal.
Trading Max Strus was the Cavs’ big play. Their best path toward improvement. Now, if Cleveland wants to shake up its roster, it’s going to have to trade one of its top players, and that would mean breaking up the team’s core.
Cavaliers have fully committed to this core
The Cavaliers have placed a firm bet on their current core. They believe in the guys they have on the roster. They believe they are good enough to compete for a championship.
At his best, Donovan Mitchell is one of the best shot creators and scorers in the NBA. In the playoffs, he constantly ups his game, playing at another level in order to help his team win.
James Harden will need to prove his worth in the postseason – and he’s usually struggled in that spot. Evan Mobley will have to improve on offense, Jarrett Allen will have to stay valuable, and Watson will have to make a leap on the offensive end.
If all of those things happen, the Cavaliers should have a legitimate shot to make a run in the playoffs. However, if any of those things go wrong, the Cavs could be staring down another disappointing season.
If that happens, then Cleveland could get stuck, and its only way out could end up being trading a member of the top five. And at that point, they would be breaking up a team they believe in.
Not having significant contracts to trade is a dangerous place to be in. Merrill could be a trade chip. So could the Cavs’ minimum guys. But trading Merrill would be a huge hit to the Cavaliers’ three-point shooting, and trading minimum guys isn’t enough to make a substantial improvement.
So, if the Cavs struggle, they could have to make a tough decision: Keep pushing forward with the same roster or make a serious shake-up
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