The Cleveland Cavaliers have been making waves over the past few days, as they stocked up and kept up in the Eastern Conference arms race by signing and trading for Peyton Watson. Watson had a stretch during the middle of last season in which he looked like a future star, and the Cavs are addressing a longstanding weakness of theirs at the three. And then on Thursday, they finalized the re-signing of James Harden to a three-year, $97 million contract.
Suffice to say, the Cavs look as though they got a lot better this offseason. But at the end of the day, their contending hopes will hinge on the performance of their superstar players, especially Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell is at least preparing himself to take on the responsibility of leading the Cavs deep into the playoffs, as he took to the gridiron to undergo some intense offseason workout.
Mitchell and the Cavs are indeed far from done making waves in the contending picture. They played at a 60-win pace with Harden on the roster last season following the trade deadline, and they added Watson, who looks like a star in the making. Moreover, they still have their talented frontcourt pair of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to get the job done on the interior.
It was concerning to see the Cavs fall flat on their face in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals. But with a few tweaks here and there, it’s not too difficult to envision a scenario where Cleveland is able to get over the hump and compete for the Larry O’Brien trophy for the first time in the post-LeBron James era.
The Cavs may have whiffed on bringing James back in free agency, but the front office deserves a ton of credit for finding ways to improve the roster despite having limited trade assets.