The Cleveland Cavaliers could use another backup center.
Some NBA teams, even good ones, have needs to address in their regular rotation. That is absolutely not the case for the Cavaliers, who have four stars surrounded by an ideal complement of role players. Can you squint and think they need another forward-sized 3-and-D player? Sure, but Dean Wade and Max Strus are filling the role quite admirably.
In fact, the Cavaliers have players in small roles who could absolutely play more, and even players like Craig Porter Jr. who are outside of the rotation but "deserve" to be playing, and would be on a team with less depth. At nearly every position the Cavaliers go two and three deep, with plenty of versatility to mix-and-match players as needed.
The Cavaliers need a backup center
As we highlighted recently, the one real weakness on the team is at backup center. When both Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are healthy and available they fill up all 48 minutes of center play and then some. Ideally, the Cavs won't need another big because their star center tandem is crushing skulls in the playoffs.
Over the rest of the regular season, however, there will be nights when Allen or Mobley are unavailable; Mobley has missed a couple of games this season due to minor injuries, but thankfully Allen has been healthy not just for those games but all 35 thus far. That has mitigated the issue that they have with Tristan Thompson being below replacement level as a big man this season - and presumably for the remainder of his career.
What if Mobley were to hurt his ankle again and miss two weeks this time? Can the Cavaliers trust Thompson to play 12-14 minutes per game multiple nights in a row? What if Allen gets sick during that stretch - there is no chance the Cavaliers can survive with Thompson playing 30 minutes, and then what do they do for the other 18? They don't even have a true center on a two-way deal, with power forward JT Thor the closest option.
The Cavaliers need another center, and it's possible they look to the buyout market for a veteran option. Another tack, however, is to recognize that while they are ready to win now, they are also a relatively young team looking to contend for multiple seasons. Could they get a young big into the organization to develop?
The perfect option may be hitting the market this week.
The Cavaliers could sign Branden Carlson
Branden Carlson is a rookie center already on his second team. After he was picked up by the Toronto Raptors on a two-way deal after going undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft, the Utah product was waived so that they could retain long-term project big Ulrich Chomche and also sign Jamison Battle. Given that Battle has been a rotation 3-and-D wing from the jump, that wasn't necessarily a bad move, but it was certainly surprising given how well Carlson played in Summer League and the preseason.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, ever the opportunists, swooped in and signed Carlson to a non-guaranteed deal. He has played a small role for the best team in the Western Conference, but in the G League he has shown his full skillset: 14 points, eight rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 2.2 3-pointers on 40.6 percent shooting.
The seven-footer has real 3-and-rim potential, and while he is already 25 years old that may make him ready sooner even if his upside isn't sky-high. He looks like a player ready to grow inside of an NBA development system and be ready for rotation minutes soon.
The difficulty for the Thunder is that they are likewise in contender mode, and Carlson's non-guaranteed contract would allow them to waive him and sign a different player. The deadline to waive a player is Tuesday of this week, so they have to decide now.
The Thunder have a lot more roster versatility at the center position, from Isaiah Hartenstein to the rehabbing Chet Holmgren to Kenrich Williams and Jaylin Williams. They have even palyed games with the smaller Jalen Williams at the 5. There is no path to Carlson on the Thunder, at least not anytime soon.
If waived, the Cavs could claim him and insert him as their 15th player. He could develop under the same coaching staff that has helped Allen and Mobley to blossom, play big minutes for the Cleveland Charge, and be available if either big man misses time for the parent club.
Carlson has all the tools to be a solid backup big in the NBA, and if given the chance, the Cavaliers should sign him this week.