This year’s Cavaliers became the first Cavs team in over three decades to make the second round of the playoffs without LeBron James on its roster. But as successful as the season was in Cleveland, there’s a sense that major changes could be around the corner.
The Cavs will have to make a decision on head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, whose future with the club is said to be in “serious jeopardy.”
They’ll have to figure out whether or not Donovan Mitchell will sign a long-term extension as he enters a contract year.
If Mitchell is unwilling to extend, he could very well end up in the trade block, whereas if he does re-up with the Cavs, it may be Darius Garland who becomes the offseason trade candidate.
Cleveland will also have to decide on whether Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley can coexist in the frontcourt going forward as Mobley becomes eligible for a rookie scale extension.
There has been speculation for months – or even years – that Mitchell won’t want to commit to a long-term future in Cleveland and will ultimately have to be traded, but that’s far from a sure thing. In fact, one report following the Cavs’ elimination from the postseason this week suggested there’s a “growing sentiment” Mitchell will sign an extension.
Still, in the latest episode ESPN’s Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link), Brian Windhorst advised listeners not to assume Mitchell has finalized a decision one way or the other yet.
“I hope to be very careful to not make too much into what the secondary chatter is about what Donovan’s going to do,” Windhorst said. “Because I have heard stuff – from what I would consider reliable sources – all over the board, which leads me to believe that the accurate answer or real answer may not be out there, and that Donovan is doing a great job of keeping everybody in a happy place.
“I will say this, the Cavs organization feels very optimistic he’s going to sign, and maybe that’s the way it’s going to go — I’m not here saying that it won’t. But there’s other people out there saying the opposite.”
Regardless of what happens with Mitchell, Windhorst and his ESPN colleagues Tim MacMahon and Tim Bontemps agreed during their discussion of the Cavs’ offseason that it probably doesn’t make sense to move forward with the team’s four core players, given the overlap between Mitchell’s and Garland’s skill sets, as well as Allen’s and Mobley’s.
While Mitchell will be the focus of the summer in Cleveland for many fans, the frontcourt issue looms large. Mobley had a solid series vs. Boston in the second round of the playoffs with Allen sidelined, and Allen was at his best earlier in the season when Mobley was on the shelf recovering from knee surgery. If the Cavs have to choose one of the two, it seems likely to be Mobley, who is younger, probably has a higher ceiling, and will be under team control for longer if he signs an extension this offseason.
“I would just say that while there’s extreme interest and excitement probably from certain fanbases to go to the trade machine and work out Donovan Mitchell trades, and maybe those will be needed in a month, we’ll see,” Windhorst said. “I would think the Cavs are going to be spending more time in this next month looking at possible Jarrett Allen trades, and what that could bring.”
As Bontemps observed in the Hoop Collective podcast, the Cavs seem unlikely to completely tear things down this offseason. Even if Mitchell doesn’t agree to an extension and ends up being traded, there’s still too much talent on the roster to bottom out, so in any trade discussions, the team would likely seek players who could step in and make an impact right away — or draft assets that could be flipped to acquire those sorts of players.
If the Cavs end up looking to move Allen and/or Garland, one obvious potential trade partner would be the Pelicans, who have been linked to Allen several times in the past and also have a need at point guard. A deal involving rumored trade candidate Brandon Ingram could be the sort of move that would better balance both rosters.
We want to know what you think. Does Bickerstaff need to go or has he earned another year at the helm in Cleveland? Will Mitchell sign an extension? If he doesn’t, what kind of trade should Cleveland be seeking? If he does, will Garland have to go? And what about the frontcourt? Should Allen be on the trade block this summer?
Head to the comment section to weigh in with your thoughts and predictions!
Draft Bronny, LeBron comes home and signs for the MLE.
If Dm would sign off on an ORL ext not only would it be a great fit but Orl has great pieces for Cle to make it happen. If I was him this would be my choice, Florida taxes don’t hurt
Lakers sit well here with Cle as well with good contracts in tow and an owner willing to be taken to the cleaners
Ofc Nyk and Okc can top but I don’t think either is interested in DM
Allen should be getting some big interest as well leaguewide this summer .
While history would tell us its extremely unlikely Cle deals Allen and 1 of their big G’s this offseason I still think it might happen. If Allen is on the market and Okc doesnt walk away with him theres something wrong going on in the midwest
If your the pelicans Brandon Ingram for Darius Garland is a steal.
Not sure about a steal as Ingram has a lengthy injury, of course Garland’s injury history isn’t any better but I’ve been saying for a while this is a great trade for both teams and both players.
He’s saying it would be a steal for the pelicans…
Either way it’s just a good trade. Garland is somewhat inconsistent but is a good distributor and Ingram is a three level scorer who can lock in on D when it matters.
Ingram is a midrange specialist he’s not a 3 level scorer and he also goes missing in the playoffs.
He averages 1.3 made threes per game from his 16 shot attempts last season. In the playoffs he shot 34.5% from the field it was terrible.
Plus you haven’t even thought about fit which is the most important aspect. Ingram doesn’t suit playing off Zion cause he doesn’t space the floor and he takes minutes away from the other quality young forwards they have like Trey Murphy and Herb Jones who both fit better with Zion.
What Zion needs long term is a point guard that’ll run the offence and help him get easier buckets instead of making him have to go 1v1 and battle away. Garland also helps space the floor better (he’s a career 38% from 3 on 6 attempts).
Maybe for Cleveland Ingram could be a good fit, as they have struggled to fill that SF position but I’d worry about floor spacing issues with Ingram Mobley and Allen all on the court.
I’d have a little more belief in Spida Ingram Mobley with better role players around them but do you really want to lose two good contracts in Garland and Allen to get Ingram (who then needs extending) and role players.
Hence why I say it’s a steal for the pelicans
Ingram shot .355 from deep this season and is .362 for his career. That’s slightly above average. He’s averaged as many as 6.2 attempts per game in prior seasons and was still effective. Hence he’s a three level scorer.
I’m aware of his fit with Zion, not that he can’t play with Ingram but he’s more expensive than other options and I agree that the Pelicans need a young PG. It’s not that CJ and Zion can’t run the offense as they did this season but it would let them have an opportunity to have CJ run the second unit and have a more effective bench.
Ingram’s also an immediate upgrade over Strus on defense and he can create his own shot which the Cavs sorely need as we all saw in this season’s playoffs when the offense stalled out because Mitchell was the only one capable of doing so.
Extending Ingram shouldn’t be a problem as Garland’s near $40M contract would be heading to New Orleans and LeVert won’t make $16M on his next contract. In your original post there no mention of Allen, if he’s included then now way. I think Garland and Ingram is a good straight swap.
35% on just under 4 attempts which was 1.3 made threes per game.
He might’ve BEEN a three level scorer but he’s not that shooter anymore.
DeRozan a known midrange specialist average 0.9 made threes shooting 33%.
Ingram would fit in great with baby alien. Allen could have taken a pain shot and played. Hopefully the weakling gets traded too. Ingram and Murphy and a first for Allen and garland. We shall see but Cleveland would be a fool to trade Mobley.
Lol @ internet tough guy who clearly has never experienced real pain.
Allen is soft. Needs to go
He had to be hurting pretty bad to miss playoff games. Speaking from experience painkillers or not it hurts to even breathe with bruised ribs.
CLE needs two off season plans. One if DM signs the extension, and one if he doesn’t. Because the two plans almost have to differ on their other most significant pieces, they need to know about DM as soon as possible. If he’s still uncertain by the start of the off season, then they almost have to assume he’s not extending and pursue that plan.
Resign Donovan to let everyone know. This team is still going to grow. Allen hurt was really the dagger. Mobley show some good progress. Garland could have been better. Disappointed in Okoro and LaVert. A little retool here at SF and bench. I still like Cavs. Have to sign DM …..
He has to extend in order to secure the bag now in case his injuries continue. Donovan’s game is dependent on his legs,and puts tremendous torque on his joints. If he doesn’t extend and then has a serious knee or ankle injury there goes the cash.
That said, he can couple that with a demand to go to a particular team, or a demand for a new coach, or whatever. But the Cavs have some pretty good leverage here.
Not really. At best for CLE, it’s a game of chicken between them and DM, where neither wants the status quo. But almost all the risk is on CLE. DM has a player option for 2025-26, so I don’t think he’s fearing injury. CLE, in addition to the risk of losing him for nothing at the end of the year, will have a difficult time implementing other major personnel moves until there is a resolution.
I think the difference between taking the extension now and just taking that player option is around $160M+. No way he risks losing a significant portion of that to injury.
Again, he’ll sign. The question is what else he wants and how that negotiation goes.