We’re going into the third offseason with the new CBA that instituted stricter penalties for teams in the luxury tax and was built to incentivize star players to re-sign with their current teams. The league also seems more wide open than ever with a team like the Indiana Pacers — who weren’t expected to be a championship contender — one win away from an NBA Finals berth.
This has all created an environment ripe for trades. That is something that could be beneficial for a Cleveland Cavaliers team that needs a shake-up.
NBA insider Jake Fischer has dubbed this offseason “The Summer of Trades” based on conversations he’s had with executives who say that this will be a “crazy summer” with “a lot of movement.” That includes several “high-level players” available for trade who might’ve been free agents under previous cap environments.
Shams Charania of ESPN echoed something similar on the Pat McAfee Show earlier this week, saying that “this offseason might be the craziest ever.”
While that could be a little hyperbolic given the amount of star-studded movement we’ve seen in years like 2010, this is set up to be one with numerous transactions.
So, how does this affect the Cavs?
More transactions and chaos, for lack of a better word, should set up well for the Cavs. They aren’t far away — as seen by their 64-win season — but still have obvious holes based on how thoroughly the Pacers defeated them. Mainly, they need players who can thrive in a more physical playoff environment.
Role players are often moved to make salaries work in a bigger, blockbuster trade. If you’re going to trade for someone making over $40 million a year, you likely have to move multiple role players to absorb that salary. And if you’re moving a star player and starting a rebuild, you don’t need role players. You need young players and picks. For example, if you’re a team like the Phoenix Suns moving on from Kevin Durant, you likely wouldn’t want whatever mid-level exception-salaried role player that would need to be included in the trade to make it work financially.
This is where the Cavs could come in and swap out some of their role players under contract, like Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade, and grab a player that fits what they need more after attaching draft capital to them.
Koby Altman has a history of working well with deals like this. The trade that brought Jarrett Allen to Cleveland was a superstar move that fit this mold. It’s unreasonable to expect Altman to pull off a similarly valuable deal again, but the more star players moved means that there’s more opportunities for the type of role players they need to be available for what they can give up.
The Cavaliers will undoubtedly explore any option they have to upgrade their team, even if it means moving foundational pieces like Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen. However, trading players that skilled — albeit flawed — that make that much money is difficult. It’s not a move the Cavs can or should make just to shake things up.
Additionally, the Cavs will have to contend with the second apron and all of the restrictions that come with it.
Unless the perfect deal pops up, it’ll likely be better in the long run to try to rejigger spots six through nine in the rotation with pieces that complement their core better.
We’ll see how Altman and the rest of the front office handle what could be a wild offseason.