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Cavaliers offseason primer: NBA free agency, the second apron, top scenarios
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- Cavaliers offseason primer: NBA free agency, the second apron, top scenarios
Perhaps the biggest question for the Cleveland Cavaliers entering the offseason is whether they'll pull off a major shakeup to the roster or lean into their current "core four" and internal development.
If it's the latter, it'll be a bet on themselves, in a way. If it's the former, it'll be the only way the Cavs can find any real level of flexibility to reconstruct the roster. Otherwise, they might be watching the top free agents sign elsewhere while they look inward for their own hopeful progression as a title contender.
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President of basketball operations Koby Altman, in an end-of-the-season news conference with local reporters that spanned a wide range of topics, indicated an interest in keeping that "core four" of Donovan Mitchell , Evan Mobley , Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen together. All four are signed long term.
That decision will drive the Cavs' future plans, both short-term and long-term.
How can the Cavaliers handle the NBA's second apron luxury tax
Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman fields questions about the team’s disappointing second-round exit in the NBA playoffs after going 64-18 in the 2024-2025 regular season during a press conference at Cleveland Clinic Courts on Monday, May 19, 2025, in Independence, Ohio.
The most crucial situation to understand when it comes to how the Cavs can operate this summer involves the NBA's second apron luxury tax, and the penalties that come with it.
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If the Cavs keep the core four together, they're likely headed for the second apron, which is the closest thing the league has to a hard cap. It allows teams to keep spending above the luxury tax line, but it comes with severe consequences and extremely limited flexibility in how teams can add to the roster.
The first apron luxury tax is projected to be $195.9 million for next season. The second apron, which some teams actively try to avoid at all costs, is projected to be $207.8 million. Crossing each threshold comes with its own set of penalties.
As currently constructed, the Cavs are projected to be more than $27 million over the luxury tax line with only 10 players under contract. Even with only league-minimum players to round out the roster, they're projected to be at least $15 million over the second apron .
Unless they do some maneuvering first with some heavy-hitting trades, that means they can't sign outside free agents over the league minimum salary, they can't make trades that aggregate multiple salaries, they can't take on even one additional dollar than they deal away and they can't sign and trade their own free agents.
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In a more applied sense, it means the Cavs can't do much beyond signing league-minimum free agents unless they trade away someone like Allen, for example. That deal would need to effectively be a full salary dump, and all it does it really give the Cavs flexibility to pull off other trades or possibly sign someone else to fill the spot left by Allen in the first place.
The De'Andre Hunter trade at the deadline , combined with the bonuses that came with Mobley winning Defensive Player of the Year , virtually guaranteed the Cavs would have to act as a second apron team for the first time. They were likely headed there anyway, but those two actions pushed them over the top with little doubt.
Can the Cavs re-sign Ty Jerome , Sam Merrill ?
The Cavs do have some avenues to re-signing some of their own free agents , which primarily means Ty Jerome and Sam Merrill, among others, via Early Bird Rights and other contract loopholes.
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For example, the Cavs can offer Jerome 105% of the average NBA salary, which is projected to be around $14.3 million . That maximum offer comes at a key number, considering the mid-level exception that non-second-apron teams would try to use to sign Jerome is projected to be $14.1 million. Plus, Jerome knows he can excel in Kenny Atkinson's offensive system, and the Cavs offer him a chance to win a title.
A few teams, though, can beat the Cavs' maximum offer without using the MLE, and the Detroit Pistons represent the most logical non-Cleveland fit. Jerome is also familiar with former Cleveland and current Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Jerome could also potentially be offered a starting role outside of Cleveland.
It makes Jerome and Merrill, in similar situations, priorities for the Cavs in an effort to simply bring back as many rotational players as they can. It'll be a difficult task, and it'll be costly.
It doesn't necessarily point to an owner not wanting to spend whatever is possible to win. It's acknowledging the NBA's second apron rules are set to make it extremely difficult to build a team or fill out a competitive roster. Life in the second apron is both tough and restrictive.
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In what is expected to be a light free agent class, Jerome is arguably a top-15 free agent option.
Giannis Antetokounmpo trade possibilities
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) is defended by Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason on Feb. 25, 2025, in Houston, Texas.
One of the biggest potential storylines to watch this summer is whether the Milwaukee Bucks trade superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo .
For the Cavs to be involved, it would take a major move or two to even make it possible. Some have floated the idea of swapping Mobley for Antetokounmpo, with the Cavs dealing a star on the rise for an established superstar to pair with Mitchell.
That would be a surprising move considering the Cavs have long held extremely high expectations for Mobley, and they saw in 2024-25 him begin to grow into them.
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But Antetokounmpo's projected salary for next season is $54.1 million. Mobley's is now $46.4 million after factoring in his DPOY bonus. The Cavs would first have to shed considerable salary to get out from under the NBA's luxury tax aprons, which potentially means a scenario in which they lose Allen and Mobley to add Antetokounmpo. It's a difficult tightrope to balance, and it could require several significant moves to first retool the roster.
The Cavs seem much more likely to keep the core four intact than go down a path of such serious construction.
Ranking the top NBA free agents in 2025: Are James Harden , LeBron James available?
If the Cavs keep their key contributors in Cleveland, they'll have to watch other teams retool as title contenders.
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Many of t he top free agents , though, are expected to remain where they are or be traded, taking them off the open market.
Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden is expected to pick up his player option and then be traded, which could create an interesting domino effect depending on the landing spot.
LeBron James is largely expected to exercise his player option or decline it and re-sign a multi-year deal to keep playing with his son, Bronny , in L.A. Of course, somehow working out a way to return to Cleveland this summer would be a seismic shift for the East, as James remains one of the game's premier players, even at 40 years old. But that seems far-fetched at the moment.
Julius Randle , Kyrie Irving player options
Shaq’s OGs guard Kyrie Irving (11) of the Dallas Mavericks controls the ball against Chuck’s Global Stars forward Victor Wembanyama (1) of the San Antonio Spurs during the 2025 NBA All Star Game on Feb. 16, 2025, in San Francisco, California.
Julius Randle and the Timberwolves are in the Western Conference Finals. He has a player option as well, and it'd make some sense to exercise it with Minnesota four wins away from the Finals with Anthony Edwards signed as a superstar.
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Kyrie Irving also has a player option and could hasten his exit from Dallas . He's coming off an ACL tear, so perhaps he will wait one year to hit free agency again, but he's one of the best guards in the league, and Dallas likely isn't the best spot for him anymore. It's possible Irving ends up as the best player who's actually, fully available as a free agent.
What does Myles Turner do in free agency?
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) during Game 5 of a second-round playoff series May 13, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Myles Turner is a major reason why the Pacers ran the Cavs out of the building in an Eastern Conference semifinal.
He's in a great spot with the Pacers, although he could walk in free agency.
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Considering he's helped Indiana to back-to-back trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, he could simply return to the Pacers. It's also possible his play in the playoffs has earned him a hefty paycheck elsewhere.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Cavs free agents, offseason targets, cap situation in 2025
