The Cleveland Cavaliers are facing a now-or-never moment during this Eastern Conference Finals. Due to boasting a luxuriously expensive roster, the Cavs will be under intense fiscal pressure to break up that roster (to an extent) this coming offseason. In other words, this could be the last chance for this group of core players to seriously shoot for a title. They are eight wins away from an NBA championship right now, but no one knows what the Cavaliers' roster will look like in a couple of months.
NBA insider Marc Stein talked about this on Monday during the All NBA Podcast. "They're the only second-apron team in the league," Stein said. "So they're going to have to do something to loosen that up [this summer]."
Cavaliers' expensive roster likely can't stay together this summer
Stein said that when the Cavs traded for James Harden at the deadline, the rest of the league immediately assumed Harden would get a new multi-year deal following the 2026-27 season (Harden, who turns 37 in August, has a $42.7 million player option this summer).
If and when Harden signs that new deal with Cleveland, it should be for a lower annual cap hit than the $39.4 million he made this year (per Stein), but the Cavaliers lack financial flexibility in general. They also don't have a lot of draft ammo with which to make trades.
Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley are making a combined $100.2 million next season. Jarrett Allen, Max Strus, Dennis Schröder, and Sam Merrill are making a combined $68.6 million next season. Then you factor in Harden's new deal.
One avenue to cap space could be an Allen trade. Stein noted that teams have been interested in trading for Allen for a "long time".
Stein also suggested that if the Cavs lose 4-1 or 4-0 to the New York Knicks in the ECF, they'll be right back in the place of being criticized heavily for their expensive yet ultimately ineffective roster, a place that Cleveland would've remained in had they lost to the Detroit Pistons in the second round.
Cavs getting dominated in ECF could destroy what they've just built
Would a shellacking at the hands of the Knicks also re-open LeBron James free-agency rumors that have just been squashed? And what would a poor showing in the ECF do for Donovan Mitchell's chances of signing an extension with Cleveland this summer?
There are a lot of money questions surrounding the Cavs during this series -- more than usual. Of course, they'll have to ignore all of that noise and focus on basketball to vanquish a Knicks team that feels like one of destiny. A Game 1 win on the road for Cleveland would do much to make the entire city of New York question that supposed destiny.
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