After losing Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals to New York on Saturday, the Cavaliers are one game away from being eliminated from the playoffs and having to answer some difficult questions about their roster, which was the NBA’s most expensive in 2025/26.
Those questions will involve Donovan Mitchell, who will be extension-eligible this offseason as he enters the final guaranteed season of his current contract, and James Harden, who holds a player option for 2026/27 but is reportedly considered likely to negotiate a multiyear deal with Cleveland.
They’ll also likely involve the frontcourt duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, who will get more expensive than ever next season as Allen’s new three-year, $90MM+ extension takes effect. Mobley and Allen will earn a combined $78.1MM in ’26/27 and that figure will continue to increase over the following two years.
Could a Giannis Antetokounmpo pursuit be part of the Cavaliers’ offseason plans? Jake Fischer reported earlier this month that people around the league viewed Cleveland as a possible landing spot for the Bucks star if the Cavs experienced a disappointing playoff run.
According to Fischer, when the Cavs and Bucks talked about Antetokounmpo prior to February’s trade deadline, Milwaukee asked for Mobley and all of Cleveland’s available draft capital. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, meanwhile, previously reported that when the Bucks discussed Giannis at the deadline, they were more interested in packages that would net them a young cornerstone like Mobley than ones heavy on draft picks.
However, two league sources tell Joe Vardon of The Athletic that the Cavaliers have conveyed no interest to this point in a trade involving Mobley and Antetokounmpo.
While Mobley still hasn’t shown he’s capable of consistently providing the sort of elite offensive production that made Antetokounmpo a two-time MVP, the Cavaliers big man is a former Defensive Player of the Year who is nearly seven years younger than Giannis and has a slightly more team-friendly cap hit. He’s also under contract through 2030, whereas Antetokounmpo could opt for free agency as soon as 2027.
Still, given the Cavaliers’ position relative to the tax and aprons, it will be extremely difficult for the club to make meaningful upgrades this summer without a move that involves at least one of their four highest-paid players (Mobley, Mitchell, Harden, and Allen). And unless they’re able to achieve a feat that no team in NBA history has accomplished by coming back from a 3-0 deficit, they’ll fall short of the NBA Finals, which would signal that upgrades are necessary to seriously contend for a championship.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the Cavs will rethink their stance on trading Mobley for Antetokounmpo in the coming weeks, but it could make them even more open to major roster changes than they were at the deadline, when they swapped Darius Garland for Harden.
The Cavaliers are foolish. Trading for James Harden does not lead to postseason success. At this point the Cavs should be hoping not to get swept because if that happens, there may be some uncomfortable conversations with the front office and Donovan Mitchell. A must for Cleveland is trading one of Mobley and Allen. Both of their contracts are terrible
While yes it does look like harden cannot play defense at all but Mobley and Allen’s contracts are not bad
Cavs should either run it back with someone taking a pay cut and LeBron coming home or they should risk a Giannis trade to go all in
Considering they’ve shown no interest in trying to win the ECF they should’ve made that trade. They also need to kick Harden down the damn road and reconsider that multi year deal that was being reported. He’s washed.