LeBron James’ decision to join the Philadelphia 76ers instead of coming home and joining the Cleveland Cavaliers for what is presumably going to be his NBA swan song must not have been what the Cavs expected. The Cavs had the feel of a team that was just one piece away from getting over the hump, but now they will be scrambling to make what didn’t work last season work.
Ever since the Cavs brought in Donovan Mitchell in 2022, small forward has been a position of need for the team. James would have solved that quite nicely, and then some. But now that James has officially spurned them in free agency, Shams Charania of ESPN brought up two players Cleveland could potentially sign to bolster the squad on the wing.
“They also need help on the wing. Two players of interest: Jonathan Kuminga and Mario Hezonja,” Charania said.
“They also need help on the wing, two players of interest; Jonathan Kuminga, And Mario Hezonja.”
Shams Charania speaks on what the Cavs could do after missing out on LeBron James 👀
(via @ESPNNBA) pic.twitter.com/fHmPGqA3nQ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 25, 2026
Suffice to say, going from potentially bringing in James, a forward who does it all and remains an excellent team defender thanks to his basketball IQ, to signing Kuminga or Hezonja is not the best situation for the Cavs to be in.
Nonetheless, a team like the Cavs, which doesn’t have much options at small forward to begin with, cannot afford to be choosy. They need more defensive versatility on the wing after relying on their two-guards to play up a position for most of Mitchell’s tenure with the team, and both Kuminga and Hezonja bring size and strength to a Cavs wing corps in need of it.
Hezonja, in particular, emerges as an interesting wild card. He hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2019-20 season, but he’s been drawing rave reviews for his contributions in Europe.
Kuminga could end up being out of Cleveland’s price range since they’re deep in luxury tax payments, so Hezonja may end up being the Cavs’ prime target in the end.