The Cleveland Cavs have some big decisions to make this summer as they look to bounce back from their Eastern Conference Finals loss to the New York Knicks. That sweep made it clear that the Cavs still have a ways to go before they are ready to contend for a championship for the first time in the post-LeBron James era.
Recently, Jake Fischer reported on the latest regarding Cleveland’s priorities entering the summer.
“The most pressing piece of roster business in Cleveland, outside of the Cavaliers ironing out a future agreement with James Harden, will come down to its decisions on Dean Wade and Keon Ellis as they seek to move out of the second apron,” reported Fischer on Marc Stein’s Substack.
Fischer also reported that “Wade increasingly projects as one of the league’s more attractive unrestricted free agents … one expected to contend for a healthy portion of some team’s full $15 million midlevel exception,” while Ellis might have seen his value decrease after falling out of Kenny Atkinson’s rotation in the playoffs amid a largely disappointing stint in Cleveland.
Fischer also spoke on the latest regarding speculation about what Evan Mobley’s feature may be in Cleveland.
“All indications are that Evan Mobley, as I covered in a notebook jointly assembled on May 29 below with our publisher, will not join the list of marquee players discussed in trades this summer,” he reported.
Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints had previously reported that Wade might be out the door this year as he looks to get paid in free agency, where his size and shooting ability will make him a valuable commodity for essentially any team in the modern NBA.
Overall, it’s looking like the Cavs will bring back largely the same core next season.