The Cavaliers’ search for a fallback plan after missing on LeBron James has quickly turned into a question of how much flexibility they really have left.
For now, Cleveland has a move lined up. The Cavs agreed to a one-year, $2.8 million deal with EuroLeague swingman Mario Hezonja shortly after James chose to join the Philadelphia 76ers, and sources say the team is working through the steps needed to get him released from his Real Madrid contract. There’s no concern about the agreement falling apart, and the expectation is that Hezonja will be part of the nightly rotation, giving the Cavs the frontcourt depth they lost when Dean Wade left for Philadelphia in free agency.
That expected addition would put Cleveland at 13 players under contract, leaving two open spots. One of those is reserved for James Harden, the team’s midseason trade pickup, who is expected to sign a multi-year deal.
The bigger issue is what comes next. With Wade and Keon Ellis gone and James headed to Philly, the Cavs sit about $18 million below the luxury tax line and $25 million from the first apron. That sounds like room to work, but Harden’s deal is likely to push them back into tax territory and make them an apron team again.
And once that happens, the menu shrinks fast.
Tax teams lose access to the full nontaxpayer mid-level exception, which is worth about $15 million annually. Cleveland would instead be limited to the taxpayer mid-level, around $6 million a year. That’s why the search for Plan B has become so narrow.
Sources say the Cavs have shown interest in DeMar DeRozan, Peyton Watson and Jonathan Kuminga. DeRozan, who was waived by Sacramento a little more than three weeks ago, has emerged as a low-cost target for teams that missed on James. There’s even an argument that he’s the best free agent still available.
Kuminga and Watson are a different kind of problem. Both are looking for money Cleveland can’t simply hand out.
Kuminga, 23, is said to be seeking an annual salary in the $15-20 million range. That would require a sign-and-trade with Atlanta, likely involving either Max Strus or Dennis Schroder. The Hawks are already carrying 17 players and are very close to the luxury tax, so they would have to be willing participants - and they’d have to want what Cleveland, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Clippers or Milwaukee Bucks could offer.
There’s another route, but it’s not a clean one. The Cavs could try to move Strus or Schroder in a separate salary-dump deal, though that would probably mean attaching an asset such as future draft capital or a young player like Tyrese Proctor, Nae’Qwan Tomlin or Meleek Thomas. That’s a tough sell for a team with championship hopes and an owner willing to spend, especially with both Strus and Schroder projected to be in the rotation every night.
Cleveland has stayed in contact with Kuminga’s camp throughout the week, trying to figure out whether there’s a real path to a deal and what the cost would be in salary and roster pieces. Any sign-and-trade under the Cavs’ current cap setup would trigger a hard cap at the first apron.
Kuminga’s Cleveland ties are already there. He worked out for the Cavs before the 2021 draft, trained in the city last summer and previously played for Kenny Atkinson when Atkinson was an assistant with the Golden State Warriors.
Watson, meanwhile, is a restricted free agent represented by Rich Paul of Klutch Sports. Multiple reports say the cap-strapped Denver Nuggets have offered him about $70 million over four years, a number Cleveland can’t match. No team can, since no one with cap space is left.
Watson has not accepted that offer, and the belief is that he wants something closer to $20-25 million per year. He is also reportedly considering his one-year, $6.5 million qualifying offer, which would let him play this season and reach unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2027.
Denver still hasn’t locked in a final decision, and sources say the Nuggets are weighing every option. But restricted free agency is designed to protect the incumbent team, and Denver using that leverage would not be a surprise.
One source said the Nuggets want a first-round pick and a rotational player in any sign-and-trade involving Watson. That said, Denver is above the second apron, and taking a player from Cleveland or another team in a sign-and-trade would create a second-apron hard cap for the Nuggets. For the Cavs, any player on the current roster who gets close to Watson’s price tag is someone they’d rather keep.
So Cleveland still has paths to improve, just not many easy ones. Another two-way wing would make sense, and the Cavs have looked into plenty of them. But with the roster coming off an Eastern Conference finals appearance, the real question is how much they want to alter what they already have.
In Other News...
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The arrangement is expected to be short-term, with some deals likely lasting only a season or carrying mutual opt-outs after next year, which makes the whole setup feel more like a bridge than a destination. It also fits into the NBAs broader push toward a centralized local streaming platform later in the decade, but for now the immediate question is how quickly Clevelands viewing habits could change if the agreement gets finalized. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers Face A Costly Wing Decision They Cant Dodge
The Cavaliers are still weighing whether Jonathan Kuminga is the kind of wing gamble worth making, and the appeal is easy to see. He brings the athleticism and versatility Cleveland has been trying to add on the perimeter, and his recent uptick with the Hawks only sharpened the case that he can still grow into a more impactful two-way piece.
The obstacle is just as clear: Kuminga is believed to be seeking a salary in the $20 million-plus range, a number Cleveland may not be eager to meet. If the front office decides to keep pushing, the path likely runs through a sign-and-trade, which would force the Cavaliers to decide how much they are willing to reshape the roster for a player with both upside and a familiar connection to Kenny Atkinson. [Read more 🡒]