Cavs Free Agency Primer 2024 (or, To Dream the Impossible Dream)

It’s a quiet Sunday evening. The Free agency negotiation period started around 6 PM, and things have been eerily quiet. There have been some minor deals: KCP to the Magic, Drummond to the Sixers, Chris Paul is a Spur… But for the most part, teams are keeping their powder dry. For the Cavs, it seems like they don’t have much up their sleeve for free agency. The Cavs are about 5.5 million below the first Salary Cap Tax apron, due to cap holds on Isaac Okoro ($11.8 million qualifying offer) and Jaylon Tyson ($3.3 million). If the Cavs were somehow able to shed Okoro’s deal without taking on extra salary, they’d have the full $8.64 non-taxpayer Midlevel exception to use on free agency. Depending on how that shakes out, they might be able to use the non-taxpayer mid-level exception at $5.34 million.

The Cavs are in an odd spot. They don’t have much room to work with below the tax apron, and they have some roster holes: most specifically they could really use a long 3/4 and a big who can shoot, and thereby play with Allen or Mobley. Commenter, Jason, recently summed up the Cavs’ depth chart nicely.

12 spots taken:
PG: Garland, Porter
Combo Guard: Mitchell, Jerome
SG: Merrill
Wing: Strus, LeVert, Tyson
F: Wade, Niang
PF/C: E Mobley
C: Allen

Free Agents:
Wing: Okoro (RFA), Bates (RFA)
F: Morris, Nance (2W)
PF/C: I. Mobley (2W)
C: TT, Jones

This doesn’t leave a lot of room to add dudes, if you think Okoro and Bates will be re-signed. The Cavs could probably squeeze one more two-way if they decided to cut Isaiah Mobley, but I doubt they will. What they should be looking to do is some maneuvering to grab some rotation players at a lower price and possibly move off the Niang contract. But since Georges is good friends with Donovan Mitchell, I doubt that happens, and if it does, it will be after the ink is dry on Mitchell’s contract extension.

It would also be nice to have one or two other roster spots to carry depth at the big man spot now the the Cavs have a ton of guards. Attaching Ty Jerome’s $2.5 million to any deal, shouldn’t be that hard of a sell. If the Cavs didn’t have so many guards, it would be nice to see if Ty could give them anything.

To add anyone of substance, the Cavs either need to cut bait on Okoro, or accept that they’ll be hard capped at a little over $8.6 million if they add someone with the MLE. With those parameters, it’s likely that if the Cavs are to do more than rest on their laurels, they’ll likely need to make a trade. Here’s some deals to consider if the Cavs were to trade for someone – deals a risk averse Koby Altman would loathe, but just let me tilt at windmills for a while I dream of the Cavs doing something meaningful in free agency.

Trade Madness

Trade 1: Send Isaac to Detroit. I get it. Why would you send Isaac back to J.B.? What did Ice ever do to deserve that fate. On the other hand, Bickerstaff may value him more than many other players and on Detroit, Ice might finally be able to develop an offensive game. I’d love to trade Isaac for Beef Stew – a player who can shoot, rebound, and run the floor with Evan Mobley or Jarrett Allen. In this deal, Ice gets a nice pay bump and the Cavs get a back-up 4/5. They also get off Okoro who is not worth what they’ll pay him. See the end of this article for a list of guys who can brick threes at a third of the price.

Why would the Pistons do this when they have like $50 million in cap room, and could just give Okoro an RFA offer? Well, cause they want to pay a salary for Okoro that’s reasonable. But in all honesty, they probably wouldn’t do it. But one can dream.

Trade 2: the Darius Garland dump. I know the Spurs just agreed to terms with Chris Paul, but let’s not pretend he can play more than 15 a night. Garland and CP3 would be a perfect one-two punch for San Antonio, and Garland could absolutely use the tutoring. The Cavs get a couple picks back in this “four quarters for a dollar” trade, but I don’t love this one either.

Trade 3: the Brandon Ingram Soul Sale. The Cavs could find lots of suitors for Jarrett Allen, considering that he’s a bargain for a borderline all-star starting center, who’s making $20 mil per the next two seasons. In this trade, Koby Altman wakes up early and goes down to the crossroads to see a man in a suit and tie. Koby challenges the devil to a battle of cap knowledge and loses. The Cavs get Brandon Ingram and an economically impossible future when his contract demands explode in a year, and Herb Jones who is a real, honest-to-god stopper against long 3s and 4s. Koby must give up his soul or  include an Ingram extension which is not something that should make any of us comfortable. Watching him mope through the playoffs sends more than a couple Cavs fans to Hell.

There are other deals out there for Allen but most would require three teams. The Cavs could go after Jerami Grant who is a good scorer on a bad team, but Portland doesn’t make sense for Allen, so a third team would be necessary.

Trade 4: What Could Have Been. I know this is a pipe dream, and I thought it might happen, but all indications are that LeBron will find a way to re-up and play with Bronny in L.A. I personally think Bronny will develop into a good NBA player and that he had a run of bad luck at USC. But who knows? This is what the Darius Garland exit ramp in L.A. would look like: Darius and Georges for the King and Bronny. Of course, we all know that’s not happening.

Trade 5: A Balky Knee to be Named Later. Eli loves the idea of trading for Zach LaVine. If you look at how the Celtics built a championship roster, they bought low on guys like the Zinger and Al Horford. LaVine might be a guy worth taking on if you think he can return to his all-star form. When he played with an elite point guard, LaVine thrived, and a Garland, LaVine, Mitchell back-court is a deadly perimeter trio. Unfortunately I don’t trust the Cavs’ training staff to manage Lavine’s knee, Zach’s best offensive days are behind him, and his best defensive days never were.

Trade 6: Cavulturing DFS. With the trade of Mikal Bridges to the Knicks, Brooklyn has to be in rebuild mode, right? This moves gives the Nets some salary relief this year and next, and gives the Cavs a playable 3/4. I’d love to see the Cavs be able to grab Cam Johnson from the Nets while the buzzards are circling, but I don’t see it happening. This is the best they could do.

Trade 7: Let’s get Weird. Darius goes to La-La-Land. The Big Finnish goes back to Cleveland, and The Cavs commit to playing three huge dudes all the time. One of a thousand issues with this trade is that it leaves the Cavs are suddenly thin at guard. Well, that, and Lauri would have to give the Cavs a wink-wink deal on re-signing next summer.

The Mighty Mid-Level

If the Cavs are able to somehow preserve their mid-level, there are a few players that would make sense for them to target.Jalen Smith: a collective eyebrow went up around the association when Indy decided not to tender a qualifying offer to Jalen Smith, a 23-year-old big with a nice shooting touch, and impressive output. My thought is that the Pacers are looking for a sign-and-trade move here, and the RFA process would not make it easy. But if things fall through for Jalen, a nice two year mid-level would look nice. He is the perfect guy to put with Mobley or Allen, but I doubt he wants to lose his Bird rights.

Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe were seemingly squeezed out by all the depth in OKC and didn’t get qualifying offers, but they put up good numbers, especially from downtown in rotation minutes in OKC, and are just hitting 25. Both are probably absolutely worth a mid-level and would cost you a hell of a lot less than Okoro.

Saddiq Bey is another player who did not get a qualifying offer after an ACL tear last year. He is expected to be a back by January, and could definitely be a buy low option for Cleveland.

Gary Harris: the Magic added KCP, likely making Harris the odd man out. He shot 37% last year from deep, and he’s a solid defender. I’m not sure he moves the needle much.

Kyle Anderson: Slo-mo will likely have to take a significant pay cut to return the cash strapped T-Wolves after making $11 million last year. Anderson has a painfully slow release on his deep ball, and can only occassionally hit from the corners (22% from deep last season), but has hovered near 40 some years. Still, he does everything else well and can play four positions.

Robert Covington: RoCo will be 34 this year, but is aging like Jeff Green. He shot 33% from deep, can still guard three positions and the full mid-level is probably the best he can hope for in free agency.

Gary Trent Jr.: Sure the Raps could probably re-sign him at over the mid-level. Sure, he’s just 25 and a solid shooter and defender, but somewhere the money has to run out. Could GTJ play a couple seasons on a make-good deal to get a bigger pay-day down the road? Someone like him, Tyus Jones, or Buddy Hield are going to be left out in the cold by free agency. The Cavs need to be ready to pounce when the options become available.

Caleb Martin opted out of his deal, and you’d think the bump to the full mid-level would be in his sights. I can’t say I think he’s worth it.

Mo Bamba: the big guy hunts blocks and threes, two things the Cavs need. The mid-level might be too low for him, and at 25 Mo will have his pick of teams if he has to play for it. But the dude shot 39% last year on decent volume and has a monster block rate. He’d be an interesting long term Allen replacement. I’m just saying.

Luke Kennard can shoot and he’s 6-5. He can’t do much else, but he’s taller than Merrill. The Grizz decided not to pick up his $14.8 million option, and are rumored to be working on a new deal. But if that falls through? The Cavs should swoop.

Dario Saric shot 38% from deep for the Dubs last year, just turned 30, and Atkinson knows him from his Golden State days. He’s an ok rebounder who is better on offense than defense. Seems like a solid backup stretch 4.

Mr. Stock, Delon Wright was a guy I wanted from Washington last year, and he ended up being a buyout guy for Miami. At 6-5 Wright can play three positions, doesn’t turn the ball over,  and put up decent stock numbers. He was was super streaky as a shooter, but he did have a monster game against Boston in the first round. He doesn’t shoot over 40%, but neither does LeVert who’ll probably command four times as much money.

Utah’s Kris Dunn is a defense first guard, who is 6-4, shoots judiciously from deep when open, and has fantastic stock rates. He’s put up solid EPM in every season except one in Portland, but he can’t stick anywhere. He’d be a fantastic addition if LeVert gets moved.

Point Guard Jordan McLaughlin shot 47% from deep for Minnesota in 11 minutes a game, at a good attempt rate with an EPM of +0.9 (79th percentile). He’s just 6-1, but if something were to happen to Mitchell or Garland in terms of getting moved in the offseason, McLaughlin should get a look.

Spencer Dinwiddie has never been a negative EPM player in his career. A career 33% shooter from deep, What Spencer for Hire lacks in three point accuracy, he makes up for in volume. He also doesn’t turn the ball over. If one of LeVert, Garland, or Mitchell leaves, he could be a nice option. He’s played well for Atkinson before, and I believe the Cavs can pay him in crypto.

Bargain Hunting

Someone has to be this year’s Derrick Jones Jr., the 6-5 wing who can guard four positions, hit open threes, and run the floor. Dallas grabbed DJJ with a salary barely above the minimum and he started most games in the playoffs of a finals run. With that in mind, the Cavs need to make a run at a bargain free agent for the minimum or a lower salary who other teams might be sleeping on.

Precious Achiuwa was the odd man out in New York with the ascendence of Hartenstein, but at 24, he’s just entering his prime and has a lot more experience than the Damian Joneses of the world. Precious probably will go for more than a minimum, but 4-5 mil for a third big? That might do it. Plus the Gollum memes on the Live Thread would be lit.

Goga Bitadze: I said the Cavs should’ve signed him last year when they had injuries, but they didn’t. Goga sets good screens, rebounds, shoots, and complains to the refs like nobody’s business. The Georgian center had a 63 TS% last year and four stocks per/75. He’s also a solid passer. Half the mid-level seems like a bargain.

Tristan Vukcevic: the Wizards put the 20-year-old Vukcevic on waivers after a 10 game stint where TV put up an EPM of -0.7. While that might not seem good, it’s 64th percentile in the league, and for a 20-year-old big who can shoot (28% from deep)? That’s worth taking a flyer on.

James Wiseman: Detroit didn’t tender the 2020 No. 2 pick. He’s a big body. At the very least see if you can develop James in the GL. He needs reps.

Svi Myhailiuk didn’t play much for Boston, but when he played, he played at replacement level, and did so the season before for the Knicks and Hornets. He would be worth a flyer on a minimum deal even if it’s as a floor stretcher. He’s 6-8 and could be a dude who could contribute as he enters his prime at 26. Maybe a cheaper Luke Kennard?

Cedi Osman: he’s a free agent. He plays fast, he has some size. He deserves a shot with a coach that knows what he’s doing on offense. Right?

Dennis Smith Jr.: the former lottery flameout for the Mavs has made a name for himself as a defensive focused point guard. He’s not a good shooter at 28% from deep, but he’s an absolute pest in the mold of Gary Payton II, with a dEPM of +3, which is insane for a guard. If the Cavs could get him on the cheap, it would be a steal.

And with that I’ll bid my fellow Sancho Pazas goodnight with the comfort of knowing the Cavs have no intention of adding any of these guys.