The Cleveland Cavaliers have failed to add key depth year after year, but the Phoenix Suns have flipped the script in just one day.
Since constructing the formidable frontcourt duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, Cleveland has constantly had one of the best defenses across the league. Most recently, Mobley achieved what he was only a few votes away from in his second season - winning Defensive Player of the Year. Alongside his DPOY victory, Mobley earned his first All-NBA selection, making Second Team, while his co-star Donovan Mitchell achieved First Team honors.
For all of the Cavs' regular season success, though, they have shown little progress in the postseason and consistently fail to address key areas of need in the depth chart. Since trading for Mitchell in 2022, the Cavaliers have attempted to build a reliable wing rotation and find a solid backup center. Though Cleveland finally found an ideal 3-and-D wing in De'Andre Hunter, the best the front office has been able to manage for the frontcourt is Tristan Thompson for two seasons.
Cleveland's starting frontcourt is one of their best attributes but also biggest weaknesses. The Cavs' bigs are highly-skilled, versatile players but lack the physicality and grit many franchises prioritize to dominate the rebounding battle. Both Mobley and Allen center their offensive games around finesse more than brute strength. Neither one has a dominant post offense, instead leaning into timely cuts to the basket for a lob or quick pass inside.
Phoenix proved the Cavaliers are too complacent
While the Cavaliers cannot find a reliable backup big, the Suns entirely rebuilt their frontcourt rotation in a single day. As Phoenix surveyed the NBA landscape for a Kevin Durant trade, they prioritized adding a starting-caliber center in return. Though they failed to find a veteran center in the Houston Rockets deal, Phoenix's further aggression on draft night proved the Cavs' frontcourt problems are self-made.
In the Durant trade, Phoenix acquired the 10th overall selection in the draft, adding seven-footer Khaman Maluach. Within one hour, the Suns traded for Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets to reinvent their frontcourt from non-existent to young, promising and imposing. Williams, though struggling with poor injury luck, is a physical center who can improve the Suns' interior defense instantly. Maluach enters the NBA after a promising collegiate year as a fearsome interior presence.
In just one day, the Suns did what the Cavaliers have been unable to do while facing more restrictions than Cleveland has to manage. Phoenix started the offseason in the second apron and one of the worst contracts in the league with Bradley Beal's $53.6 million price tag and no-trade clause. Instead of sitting silently and accepting a poor fate, Phoenix has doubled down on their team and built a competent roster.
Phoenix may still be imperfect and need further growth, but in under 24 hours, the Suns addressed their greatest need and reshaped it into a strength. The Cavs have done nothing to address it and took two years to answer their need for a real 3-and-D combo forward. Something has to change, or the Cavaliers are setting themselves up for another embarrassment in the second round.
Cleveland's belief in the core has been worthwhile, but the front office has failed to support and properly complement those same young stars. Until the Cavaliers invest in frontcourt depth and show aggression, they are unlikely to show significant improvement in the roster or final season result.
The Phoenix Suns' aggression in addressing their top needs should serve as an embarrassing indictment of the Cleveland Cavaliers' offseason complacency.