The Cleveland Cavaliers head into the 2026-27 season with a familiar problem hanging over everything: a strong regular-season group that still has to prove it can turn that into a real playoff breakthrough.
That frustration has been building for a while. Cleveland climbed to the top of the East, then fell apart in the 2025 playoffs.
In 2026, the Cavs reached the Eastern Conference Finals but got swept by the eventual champion New York Knicks without putting up much resistance. So even with the schedule now out for 2026-27, the bigger question isn’t whether this team can win games in the regular season.
It’s whether it can finally do something with them in April.
The offseason offered a chance for a major reset, but it didn’t break the Cavs’ way. LeBron James was on the market and had already signaled he was leaving the Los Angeles Lakers, which naturally stirred hopes of a return to Cleveland. Instead, he chose the Philadelphia 76ers, where he’ll join a super team in the city of Brotherly Love.
So now the Cavs are left to mostly run it back. James Harden still needs a new contract, though that appears to be only a matter of time. Cleveland can’t afford to lose him, and the expectation is that he’ll be back.
That leaves the Cavs with another solid team on paper, but one that still has to answer the same old postseason question. Before they get there, though, they have 82 games to build the habits they’ll need.
One of the biggest roster questions remains the small forward spot. Since 2022, that position has been a rotating cast of Isaac Okoro, Max Strus, De'Andre Hunter, and Jaylon Tyson.
Right now, Strus looks like the best option to open the year there. He brings spacing, toughness, and the kind of steady locker-room presence Cleveland values.
Still, the fit isn’t perfect. A wing spot that keeps changing hands is usually a bad sign for a team trying to contend, and Mitchell and Harden together in the backcourt give opponents a clear target defensively when the playoffs arrive. Cleveland needs more stability there.
That’s where Mario Hezonja comes in. He last played in the NBA in the 2019-20 season, so he’s been away from the league for six years.
That alone makes him a wild card. Hezonja hasn’t suddenly become a star in Europe, but he has been productive enough to matter.
Last season, he averaged nearly 15 points per game across 66 combined appearances in the EuroLeague and Liga ACB, and since the 2020-21 season he’s hit 36.8 percent of his threes on solid volume.
At 6'6″ with a 6'10” wingspan, Hezonja has the size Cleveland wants on the wing, along with the shooting to fit next to its best players. He won’t open the year as the starter at small forward, but the expectation is that he can play well enough to earn that job by midseason under Kenny Atkinson.
Evan Mobley is another player central to what Cleveland becomes. There’s been some talk that his development has plateaued, but he’s only 25, and the Cavs’ long-term ceiling still depends heavily on him.
Over the past few seasons, he’s lived in that 15-to-18-point range while pulling down eight to nine rebounds a night. With Mitchell in place, and with Harden or Darius Garland also needing touches, Mobley has usually been more of a secondary scorer.
That may need to change. Cleveland’s playoff issues suggest the team should try a different approach, and putting more offensive responsibility on Mobley could give them more versatility.
He’s also a willing passer, nearly averaging four assists per game last season, so involving him more shouldn’t bog things down. The prediction here is a career-best 20 and 10 season.
The trade market may not offer much more help. Cleveland has been active the past two deadlines.
In 2025, it added Hunter for more wing depth. In 2026, it moved Lonzo Ball’s salary, sent Hunter out for Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis, and then made a blockbuster deal involving Harden and Darius Garland.
But now the options look thinner. If Hezonja proves to be the answer at small forward, the smartest move might be to keep the group intact. Cleveland doesn’t need to avoid the second apron, and after shedding salary in the trade that sent Schroder to the Charlotte Hornets for Tre Mann, it should be able to re-sign Harden without crossing that line.
So for the first time in three years, the Cavs are expected to stand pat at the deadline and trust continuity to carry them. In the Central Division, that may be enough.
The Detroit Pistons won it by eight games last season, but they’re expected to take a step back with Tobias Harris gone and Jalen Duren still in free agency. The Indiana Pacers should also be better with Tyrese Haliburton healthy, though they’ll be managing his workload early, which could lead to a slow start.
With Harden on the floor, Cleveland played at a 60-win pace last regular season, going 19-7. That should be enough to put the Cavaliers on top of the division again.
In Other News...
Cavaliers Just Got Pulled Into A Wild Kevin Durant Trade Idea
Kevin Durant trade chatter has a way of pulling half the league into the conversation, and Cleveland is the latest team to get dragged into the mix. The Houston Rockets are reportedly exploring options and do not appear to be treating Durant as untouchable, which has opened the door to all kinds of speculative framework around what a blockbuster deal might look like. For the Cavaliers, it is the kind of rumor that instantly commands attention because it ties their name to one of the most recognizable stars in the sport.
The latest four-team concept floating around would involve Cleveland, Houston and other clubs in a shuffle of major pieces, with the whole thing still firmly in the hypothetical stage. Nothing has been confirmed by the teams, and these kinds of talks can disappear just as quickly as they surface, but they do show how aggressively the market is already spinning around Durant. For a Cavs team always looking to measure itself against the leagues top-tier talent, even the rumor alone is enough to make people pause and imagine the possibilities. [Read more 🡒]
Dennis Schroder Opens Up On Cavaliers Backcourt Squeeze
Dennis Schroders brief stop in Cleveland came at a strange intersection of timing and depth-chart math. Acquired before the Cavaliers flipped Darius Garland for James Harden in early 2026, the veteran guard found himself backing up Donovan Mitchell and Harden, a role that fit his reputation as a dependable second-unit point guard but left little room for anything bigger.
Schroder moved on in the 2026 offseason and has since landed with the Charlotte Hornets, where he is set to compete for a more meaningful role under coach Charles Lee. For Cleveland, it was another reminder of how quickly the backcourt picture changed, and for Schroder, it opened the door to a situation that looks more aligned with the kind of workload he wants. [Read more 🡒]
Former Cavaliers Coach Lands Role That Could Haunt Cleveland Fans
John Beilein is back on an NBA staff, and this time his next stop comes with a familiar face for Cavaliers fans to remember. The Orlando Magic announced the longtime college and pro coach has taken a Senior Coaching Consultant role, and Beilein confirmed the move on his personal Twitter account as he prepares to assist head coach Sean Sweeney next season.
For Cleveland, the hire is bound to stir up some old memories from Beileins brief run with the Cavaliers in 2019-20, a stretch that ended before it ever truly got off the ground. His return to the league adds another layer to an offseason already full of movement around the East, and it gives the Cavs one more former link to watch as Orlando shapes its staff for the year ahead. [Read more 🡒]