The Cleveland Cavaliers better like what they have on their roster, because they are going to have a hard time switching up on the fly if they don't. Bobby Marks of ESPN reminded everyone of that fact in his latest article for the major sports outlet.
Marks wrote in his NBA trade guide for 2025-26: "The Cavaliers are the only team over the second apron. Cleveland is not allowed to send cash in a trade, use more than 100% of the traded player exception or aggregate contracts sent out if the post-transaction leaves it over the second apron. "
Koby Altman and the front office are certainly well aware of the circumstances they have gotten themselves into. Altman did not sounds like a man who would be rushing to break up what he has in Cleveland with any serious urgency.
However, if the need for a franchise-altering trade, or even one around the edges, midway through the season does arrive, the Cavaliers will need a very calculated decision. That can be taken quite literally when it comes to the numbers that will need to be considered in any trade plans the team may have in the upcoming campaign.
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Flexibility is not an element the Cavaliers will get to enjoy during their upcoming NBA season. Without getting under the second apron, every decision that is made on the trade market would come with a great deal of pressure to be absolutely done right beyond a shred of doubt.
The real question is: Will the Cavaliers even need to make an in-season trade?
Cleveland has covered their bases pretty comfortably when it comes to every aspect of their roster. Their biggest challenge is health, but the overall construction of what they have to work with is the stuff other teams can only dream of.
The Cavaliers are coming off a 64-win season. A depleted Eastern Conference is unlikely to challenge them to the point of needing major overhaul during the regular season. If Cleveland are going to make changes, that should be expected for the 2026 offseason.
There could be a trade that emerges which would help the Cavaliers extend their hold over the East. That would be more akin to the type of deal that Altman may want to execute during the season. In that case, the team president would need to utilize his draft capital wisely to pry away the needed talent without gutting the team for a potential retool in the future.
Life over the second apron was never going to be easy for the Cavaliers. The part of this equation that would make it simple, though, would be to just win, a lot.