CLEVELAND, Ohio — After years of rebuilding following LeBron James’ departure, the Cavs are unexpectedly being viewed as a legitimate Finals contender — not necessarily because of any moves they’ve made, but because of a perfect storm of circumstances affecting their competition.
On this week’s Terry’s Talkin’ podcast, cleveland.com columnist Terry Pluto revealed that oddsmakers in Las Vegas now consider Cleveland the favorite to emerge from the Eastern Conference next season. The reason? A combination of devastating injuries to star players on rival teams and the restrictive financial environment created by the NBA’s new “second apron” salary cap rules.
“We’re in a new era in two ways,” Pluto explained. “At least in the Eastern Conference, it is the era of the Achilles injury and the era of the second apron.”
In a shocking sequence of events, three of the East’s premier talents suffered Achilles tears during the playoffs, effectively removing them from competition for much of next season.
“And it is pretty remarkable in the playoffs, the big-name stars that blew their Achilles,” Pluto said. “Tyrese Haliburton was the last one... Jayson Tatum blew his Achilles when he was playing the Knicks and the playoffs. And then Damian Lillard blew his Achilles when he was playing the Pacers.”
These aren’t minor injuries with quick recovery timelines. As Pluto noted, “When you’re talking about Achilles injuries, you’re looking at eight to 12 months of a rehab. Kevin Durant took 18 months.”
The Celtics, Pacers, and Bucks are now facing uncertain futures without their respective stars for significant portions of next season. This alone would improve the Cavs’ standing, but it’s only half the story.
The other major factor is the NBA’s new “second apron” salary cap restriction, which severely limits the financial flexibility of teams exceeding certain spending thresholds. This isn’t just about paying luxury tax—it fundamentally restricts what moves teams can make.
“The problem with, quote, being in a second apron isn’t just that it costs you zillions of dollars to sign a free agent,” Pluto explained. “What it does is it limits the moves you can make. It really restricts what type of free agents you can sign. It’s almost like you almost stuck just signing guys on minimum contracts.”
We’re already seeing the consequences of these restrictions. The 2024 champion Celtics, desperate to avoid the second apron penalties, just traded veteran guard Jrue Holiday to Portland despite his crucial role in their title run. Holiday, at 36 years old with three years and $100 million remaining on his contract, was simply too expensive to keep under the new rules.
Other contenders are facing similar dilemmas. The Bucks are rumored to be considering trading Giannis Antetokounmpo, which would completely reshape the East. The 76ers have little financial flexibility despite Joel Embiid’s prime years ticking away.
For the Cavaliers, who have been “pulling at the apron strings” as Pluto put it, there’s an opportunity to capitalize on this moment. With a core of young stars already under contract and steadily improving, Cleveland may be able to make minor adjustments rather than the massive overhauls required by their competitors.
This new landscape places tremendous importance on player development—an area where new head coach Kenny Atkinson excels. “He was brought in here as a guy to develop players. That’s his reputation,” Pluto said.
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_Note: Artificial intelligence was used to help generate this story from Terry’s Talkin’, a weekly cleveland.com sports podcast. Visitors to cleveland.com have asked for more text stories based on website podcast discussions._