NBA Analysts have it all wrong about the Cleveland Cavaliers offseason moves

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a disappointing exit in the playoffs after a historically great regular season.

Losing to the Indiana Pacers in five games, Cleveland wasted homecourt advantage and showed mental weakness in their third consecutive postseason shortcoming. The Cavs' league-leading offense fell apart, and the perimeter defense - or lack thereof - allowed the Pacers to eviscerate Cleveland on the arc.

At this point, the Cavaliers' regular season successes will mean nothing without postseason wins. In three playoff runs, the Cavs have only secured 11 wins. For a franchise touting contender status, the standing core has not even won enough accumulative postseason matchups to reach the Finals. Accomplishing that in one run will take constant growth and good injury luck - two things the Cavaliers are not consistently finding.

With another offseason refusing to trade any core four member, the Cavaliers seem to believe internal growth and marginal improvements are enough to take the next step forward. It seems that NBA analysts disagree, however.

The ALL NBA Podcast, hosted by Adam Mares and Tim Legler, recently took to X/Twitter to predict the estimated wins gained or lost by every team this offseason. According to their graph, the Cavaliers have gotten worse rather than better. The duo estimated the Cavs will have roughly six fewer wins next season than the 2024-25 64-win campaign, meanwhile rival teams such as the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks will see 4-6 more victories.

The Magic ranked highest with Legler and Mare believing the addition of Desmond Bane will elevate the young team to true contender status. As for the Cavaliers, the loss of Ty Jerome and additions of Lonzno Ball and Larry Nance, Jr. will make them significantly worse.

Legler is a premier basketball commentator and analyst, having enjoyed a long playing career himself. He is a level-headed, driven observer of the NBA and often provides key insight into what makes a player or franchise special. On this one, however, it is obvious the two hosts are way off base.

Cleveland won the offseason, but nobody is admitting it

In the offseason, the Cavaliers had one goal in mind: increase the backcourt defense and frontcourt depth. The first step was retaining Sam Merrill, a proven sharpshooter who has drastically improved his defense over the years with Cleveland. Following the Merrill deal, the Cavaliers traded Isaac Okoro to the Chicago Bulls for Lonzo Ball, one of the best defensive guards in the league and a high-end offensive playmaker.

Finally, the Cavs addressed the frontcourt needs with the return of fan favorite Larry Nance, Jr. The veteran talent offers a stretch big who can play at either frontcourt position. Fitting alongside either Evan Mobley or Jarrett Allen, Nance's versatility and experience is a noticeable improvement from the years of Tristan Thompson and Robin Lopez.

This summer, the only noteworthy departure was Ty Jerome. The breakout guard ended the season third in Sixth Man of the Year voting, beating teammate De'Andre Hunter who joined the team at the trade deadline. While Jerome gave the Cavaliers countless highlight scoring plays and a charismatic confidence on the court, his defensive shortcomings and questionable playmaking led the Cavs to believe in Ball as the right replacement.

Entering next season, the Cavaliers finally resolved their two biggest issues and retained their most important players in the process. Nance is a proven shooter and versatile defender who can elevate his teammates and play well under pressure. Lonzo has constantly been one of the league's best backcourt defenders and one of the smartest floor generals. Despite injury concerns, the Cavaliers' addition of Ball could unlock the backcourt's ultimate potential by giving Darius Garland an ideal backup.

In the postseason, the Cavaliers were entirely reliant on Garland's ability to orchestrate the offense. Cleveland stalled to a halt without him, as Donovan Mitchell and Jerome were unable to keep any offensive flow consistently. Jerome's tunnel vision on scoring and risking unnecessary contested shots brutalized his impact to the point of being benched by the end of the short-lived series. Mitchell, a prolific scorer, could not be sustain as the lone offensive engine.

Additionally, Hunter will have an entire offseason to assimilate to the Cavaliers after struggling to find his role halfway through the year. Before joining the Cavs, Hunter was one of the leading names for Sixth Man of the Year, and a full season with Cleveland should get the former Virginia Cavaliers forward back to prime form. The arrival of Nance will also allow Hunter to spend the majority of his playing time at the small forward position rather than moving up to the four so often.

It is reasonable to assume the Cleveland Cavaliers do not reach 64 wins again. In fact, the team may not want to do make such a hard push in the regular season, instead focusing on the playoffs and resting players at the slightest sign of injury. But, with Mobley's ascension to All-NBA honors, calculated offseason deals and signings and another year for Hunter, the Cavaliers got a lot better. The roster has a cohesive focus on positional and defensive versatility, and that cannot be ignored.