The Cleveland Cavaliers are still trying to figure out what went wrong in their disastrous five-game loss to the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The loss brought an abrupt end to what had otherwise been a historic season for the Cavs, who are still looking to make their first Conference Finals appearance in the post-LeBron James era.
The loss to the Pacers opened up unexpected questions about whether the Cavs would look to make any big moves this offseason, and recently, Cavs insider Chris Fedor took to the Wine and Gold podcast to shed some light on Cleveland’s mindset.
“I think the two untouchables are Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley,” Fedor said, per Cleveland.com. “I have been getting the sense that the Cavs would be more willing to entertain and at least consider possibilities for Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland than they have in the past.”
Both Garland and Allen underperformed in the Cavs’ playoff loss to the Pacers, although it should be noted that Garland was clearly not operating at 100%, having rushed back from a toe injury that caused him to miss two games in the previous round as well as the first two games of the Pacers series.
A big offseason for the Cavs
The Cavs likely did not expect this to be a highly consequential offseason for the future direction of the franchise after dominating the regular season this year, but that’s exactly the position they now find themselves in as they watch the Eastern Conference Finals from home.
As Fedor mentioned, it’s highly unlikely that the Cavs would consider parting with either Mitchell or Mobley, each of whom played at a star level this year. However, it’s worth wondering if the redundancy between Mitchell and Garland or Mobley and Allen could be traded in for some better depth on the wing, which is the one true weak point on the Cavs’ roster currently.
In any case, the Cavs will have some big decisions to make over the next few months.
