The Cleveland Cavaliers are on the brink of signing two pretty rough contracts. They have already extended Donovan Mitchell, a deal that looks like it could age very poorly, considering how expensive it is. And they are about to hand James Harden a new contract. If they overpay him – or his play just falls off – then that contract could look pretty rough, too.
If the Eastern Conference proves to be too competitive for the Cavs next year, they could be in serious danger of being the next team to blow it up. The writing seems to be on the wall. If Cleveland fails to make a meaningful run in the postseason next year, ownership may want to blow up the roster.
They are staring down significant second-apron decisions, and they have some big-time contracts on the books. Barring playoff success, major trades could be in order for the Cavaliers as soon as this trade deadline.
Cavaliers may have to consider blowing it up soon
Mitchell is a great player. He has the talent to be the best guy on a solid playoff team. But by the end of his current deal, he’s going to be making $75.5 million. That’s an insane amount of money.
Harden is probably going to want a two-year contract this summer. And depending on the price tag, that could wind up being a pretty rough deal, too.
Then, there’s the Evan Mobley situation. He still has four whole years on his current deal. But he’s making upwards of $61.4 million by the final season. And his offense still hasn’t significantly improved.
Those are three pretty massive contracts to have on the books, especially for a core that has yet to win a Conference Finals game together. They made it last year, but they weren’t even in the same atmosphere as the New York Knicks.
It’s been playoff disappointment after playoff disappointment for this Cavaliers core, and now, the second apron is catching up to them. At a certain point, it may be more worth it for them to completely blow things up.
They could try to keep adding. Keep shuffling around pieces. Re-sign guys and trade others. But at the end of the day, they have to be realistic with themselves.
Is a core of Mitchell, Harden, and Mobley good enough to beat this Knicks team? What about the Jaylen Brown and LeBron James Philadelphia 76ers? What about Jayson Tatum? Kawhi Leonard?
If the answer is no, then blowing it up may be the most logical option.
Add us as a preferred source on Google