The Cleveland Cavaliers have not had this momentous of an offseason in a very long time.
There were some major decisions to make during the second run with LeBron James, when the team annually had to try and maintain a contender around the best player in the world. The summer of 2017, when Kyrie Irving was demanding a trade and LeBron was a year away from free agency was certainly a big one; this summer may rival it in terms of long-term stakes.
The team has offered a maximum extension to star guard Donovan Mitchell and all of the current reporting is that he is expected to accept it. From there the question moves to the best way to maximize the roster around him. The Cavaliers have one of the most talented "Top 4s" in the league, but they seem to be performing at a level less than the sum of their parts.
The Cavaliers may not shake things up...yet
While calls to break up the core of Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are both prolific and loud, the Cavs are at least posturing that they plan to keep the group together. There's a certain logic to that approach; they just hired Kenny Atkinson, known as a creative and skilled offensive coach, and giving him time to try and maximize this group before the Cavaliers break them up might make some sense.
On the other hand, there is a lot of tape screaming that the fit between those four is not ideal. Trading one of those players is certainly on the table for this summer, as is moving on from other players aroudn them to try and fit the puzzle pieces of this roster together.
Which players appear to be heading out this summer, either in free agency or via trade? Let's look at five such players, starting with a signing last season that was questionable at the time and did not age well.