The Cavaliers are trying to line everything up for a championship run, and that makes the money matters impossible to ignore. With 13 contracts on the books, the real question isn’t just who matters most on the floor - it’s which deals give Cleveland the best bang for the buck.
At the very bottom of the value list sits Evan Mobley, and that says more about the size of the deal than the player. Four years and $222 million guaranteed is a massive commitment, even if Cleveland knows exactly what it’s buying.
Mobley is a two-way force who changes games with his length and size, and his 3-point shot is still trending upward. The problem is simple: the biggest contracts usually come with the least efficient value.
Donovan Mitchell lands just above him at No. 12, which again is about the price tag, not the production. He’s already shown he can play at an MVP-caliber level, but a deal that will pay him close to $70 million per season is a huge bite out of the payroll. Mitchell is set to make $247 million over the next four campaigns, with an option for 2030-31, and he’ll keep carrying the offense in Cleveland.
Khalifa Diop checks in at No. 11.
The rookie 2022 second-round pick got the bag, and that’s the reason he’s this low. His contract is worth one year and $1.37 million, with the rest not guaranteed until after the season.
Cheap is cheap, but Cleveland also has to weigh what kind of impact he can provide while taking up a roster spot at a position of need.
Craig Porter Jr. comes next at No. 10, and this is the kind of deal teams love to have. He’s due $2.4 million this year after doing what was asked of him for three straight seasons without locking down consistent minutes. That may continue, but he still gives Cleveland a change-of-pace guard who can jump-start the offense, and he remains one of the team’s best passers.
Nae’Qwan Tomlin lands at No. 9.
He’s making the same $2.4 million this season and will hit free agency when the year is over. The bench energy he brings stands out, and he’s improved every offseason since arriving in Cleveland.
This third stint could give him another chance to matter.
James Harden is next at No. 8 on a deal that is actually pretty reasonable in the context of this roster. He waited to sign his three-year, $97 million contract so Cleveland could avoid the aprons, and that matters.
He’s 37 now, and paying someone more than $30 million in his age-39 season in 2028-29 carries obvious risk. Still, Harden projects as a major help to the offense and a veteran voice for a team trying to get all the way through.
Tyrese Proctor slots in at No. 7.
The second-year guard is guaranteed just for this season at $2.1 million, with team options for the next two years. He already showed he can make shots at Duke and during his rookie year with the Cavs, and while his role isn’t locked in, there should be plenty of guard minutes available.
For a late second-round pick, that’s strong value.
Jarrett Allen is No. 6, and it’s easy to see why he’s still one of the better investments on the roster. He’s set to make $90 million over the next three seasons, and the argument here is that he might be worth even more on the open market right now.
Allen has spent 5.5 seasons in Cleveland, been a steady leader, and delivered plenty of wins for the franchise. With the exception of the “Lights Were Too Bright” comments from the 2023 first round, he’s been a rock.
Shoutout to the Fro.
At No. 5 is Meleek Thomas, and the early returns are loud. The No. 34 overall pick out of Arkansas already looks like a steal after dominating Summer League and showing real upside as a big guard. He’ll make $6.3 million over three years, which is a very friendly first contract for a player who could get real run right away.
Mario Hezonja takes the No. 4 spot, and he’s been one of the nicest surprises on the roster. Everything about him seems to fit.
His game suggests a player who has long dominated in Europe, and he’s also come across as an easy guy to root for and learn from. His guarantee date is a month away, but it looks all but certain he’ll see the full $2.4 million.
Peyton Watson comes in at No. 3, and this one feels like a major win for Cleveland. After being acquired by the Cavaliers, he signed a four-year, $88 million deal, though the final year is not fully guaranteed.
He has $62 million locked in over the next three seasons, plus an option for year four. If he becomes the two-way breakout player he looks capable of being, this contract could end up looking like a bargain.
Jaylon Tyson is No. 2.
He’s due $3.6 million this coming season thanks to a team option for next year, and that comes after a year in which he was one of the NBA’s most improved players. He showed against the Sixers what he can handle, and he should be one of the first names off the bench every night.
And at No. 1, it’s Sam Merrill. A four-year, $39 million deal looks like a steal for a player who keeps getting better.
Cleveland went 37-15 with him in the lineup last season, and he’s become one of the most impactful shooters in the league. He finds space when the team needs it, takes charges against bigger players, and says he’ll play “Any position they ask me to.”
That’s the kind of glue guy teams spend years trying to find. Cleveland found one, and paid him like it.
In Other News...
Evan Mobley Debate Just Got Uncomfortable For The Cavs
A speculative Evan Mobley-for-Matas Buzelis trade idea has surfaced in the kind of offseason chatter that always lands a little harder when it involves a cornerstone player. For Cleveland, the premise is uncomfortable because Mobley remains one of the leagues most valuable young defenders, the sort of player who changes the floor on that end even when the offense is still evolving. For Chicago, Buzelis is the more theoretical piece, a young forward whose appeal rests on the belief that his scoring upside can keep growing into something bigger.
The debate gets interesting because both sides can talk themselves into the basketball fit, even if the idea lives entirely in hypotheticals. Cleveland would be weighing whether to move off a proven defensive anchor for a higher-variance offensive swing, while the Bulls would be asking how much patience they have for Buzelis to reach his ceiling. Nothing about this points to real negotiations, but it is the kind of thought experiment that exposes just how delicate the balance is when a team starts wondering whether its best long-term answer is already in hand. [Read more 🡒]
Three Young Cavs Suddenly Have A Real Shot To Matter
Craig Porter Jr., Tyrese Proctor and reserve forward Jaylon Tyson are all at a stage where the Cavaliers can still reasonably imagine more coming from them. For a team trying to keep building around established pieces, young depth matters, and Cleveland has a few players who fit the kind of long-view conversation coaches and front offices like to have in-season. The appeal here is not just age, but the chance that each can sharpen a specific part of his game enough to stop being a developmental name and start becoming a dependable rotation option.
Proctor has already drawn some attention from Kenny Atkinson, who recently pointed to the guards physical development as part of his progress, and that only adds to the sense that his timeline is moving in the right direction. Porter and Tyson, meanwhile, are still in the category of players whose next step could come from simple but important growth, including greater shooting aggression and more consistency. None of it is finished, but for Cleveland, the possibility that a few young players might meaningfully matter by 2026-27 is the kind of internal upside that can shape a roster more than any outside rumor. [Read more 🡒]
LeBrons Latest Health Concern Changes Clevelands Biggest What-If
LeBron James latest health update has added another layer to the long-running conversation about what might have been in Cleveland. After leaving for Philadelphia for what is expected to be the final two seasons of his career, James is now dealing with chronic arthritis in his left foot and lower-back issues, according to an ESPN report. It is the kind of news that resonates far beyond his current team, because for Cavaliers fans it brings back the familiar mix of admiration and regret that has followed every twist in his late-career arc.
James reportedly monitors the problems daily as part of his training, and last season he missed about a month because of sciatica. For Philadelphia, the concern is obvious: availability always shapes everything around a player at this stage, from rhythm to lineup stability to the larger ceiling of the season. For Cleveland, it only sharpens the old question of how different things might have looked if this version of James, with all the wear and tear that comes with the miles, had been part of the present instead of another teams future. [Read more 🡒]