Kenny Atkinson doesn’t need to spend his summer waiting around on LeBron James.
That was the real message in Cleveland, where James ended the free-agent suspense Friday by signing with Philadelphia, leaving the Cavs to keep moving with the roster they have. For Atkinson and his staff, the assignment is simple enough to say and hard enough to execute: coach the team in front of them.
That means turning attention away from the what-ifs and toward the pieces already in place. Cleveland also watched wing defenders Dean Wade and Keon Ellis leave in free agency while James’ decision lingered.
Wade is now with Philadelphia, and Ellis landed in Brooklyn. Both were among the Cavs’ best defenders, and both departures matter because they came while the team was waiting on James.
Wade’s path is the kind of development story the Cavs want to keep repeating. Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019, he took time to grow into a useful rotation player.
His career scoring average is only 5.3 points, but his impact came on the defensive end and in the way the team performed with him on the floor. The plus/minus numbers and other analytics backed that up, which is why former Cavs GM Mike Gansey, now running the Sixers, handed him a four-year, $38 million deal.
Ellis, meanwhile, drew a two-year, $18 million contract from Brooklyn. The average NBA salary is approaching $12 million.
Cleveland did add a veteran in 6-foot-6 Mario Hezonja, a former lottery pick who spent the past six seasons in Europe. Hezonja played for Real Madrid, one of the EuroLeague’s top teams, and was the MVP in the Spanish League.
He is 31 now, was taken No. 5 overall by Orlando in 2015, and played five NBA seasons with averages of 6.9 points and 42% shooting. The Cavs signed him to a minimum $2.8 million deal, and after watching his tape, he looks like someone who can fill a role.
Cleveland’s international scouts like him.
But the bigger internal push is on the younger group: Jaylon Tyson, Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Tyrese Proctor.
Tyson has the tools to become a defender in the Dean Wade mold, and he brings more scoring punch than Wade did. He averaged 13.2 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 49% overall and 45% from 3-point range. His playoff run was uneven, though it was only his second pro season.
Tomlin brings athleticism and the chance to become an above-average rebounder and defender if he develops the right mindset. That’s where the coaching staff comes in.
Proctor is more of a guard, but he remains an interesting piece.
Atkinson’s group has already shown it can help young players take steps forward. In its first two years on the job, this staff helped develop Tyson, Sam Merrill and Craig Porter Jr. That matters, because one of the reasons Koby Altman hired Atkinson was to grow young players.
There may still be another move coming. Bruce Brown has been mentioned in connection with the Cavs, and the 6-foot-4 veteran guard will turn 30 on Aug.
- In 2025-26 with Denver, he averaged 7.9 points while shooting 48% overall and 39% from 3-point range.
Cleveland already has veterans Max Strus and Dennis Schroder on the roster, though one of them could be moved because of the team’s salary cap situation.
Even without James, the Cavs still have Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, James Harden and Jarrett Allen. That group reached the Eastern Conference Finals.
Merrill and Tyson also emerged as productive role players, and Meleek Thomas turned heads in Summer League by averaging 28 points. The Arkansas guard could provide instant offense off the bench.
Now it comes back to the coaches: develop the young talent, mix it with the veterans, and make the roster work.
In Other News...
Cavaliers Linked To Another Two-Way Wing In Huge Summer Test
Clevelands summer has already been defined by keeping Donovan Mitchell in place on a four-year extension, and the front office still looks like it is searching for ways to sharpen the roster around him. One proposed path comes from Bleacher Reports Greg Swartz, who floated a four-team deal that would send a young two-way wing to the Cavaliers through a sign-and-trade framework involving Denver, Detroit and the Clippers.
The appeal is obvious for a team that has spent the offseason balancing present contention with long-term flexibility. If the pieces were to line up, Cleveland could imagine a starting group with Mitchell, James Harden if he returns, the incoming wing, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, giving the Cavs another versatile defender and a little more size on the perimeter. For now, it remains one of those speculative summer ideas that says as much about Clevelands ambitions as it does about the market around it. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers May Finally Have An Answer For Their Biggest Depth Problem
The Cavaliers spent much of last season searching for stability behind their starters, cycling through 41 different lineups while a once-reliable bench punch slipped badly. Their second unit went from seventh in the league in scoring to 21st, and the loss of Ty Jerome left a hole they never really filled, which made every cold stretch feel bigger for a team trying to stay in the Eastern Conference mix.
Now the hope is less about a single veteran fix and more about internal growth from a young group that has a chance to change the math. Jaylon Tyson, Sam Merrill, NaeQwan Tomlin, Tyrese Proctor, Craig Porter Jr. and Meleek Thomas are all expected to matter more, and if even a couple of them take the kind of step Cleveland is banking on, the Cavaliers might finally have a bench that can hold its own instead of merely surviving until the stars return. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers Just Found Another Way To Stay Dangerous In The East
Philadelphia keeps finding ways to make the math work, and this latest move is another reminder that the front office is not just chasing talent but also protecting its options. By moving Johni Broome and a second-round pick for cash considerations, the Sixers cleared the kind of room they needed to stay nimble after already reshaping the roster around LeBron James, Jaylen Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
For a team trying to stack top-end talent without boxing itself in, the cap sheet matters almost as much as the names on it. Staying below the first apron gives Philadelphia a cleaner path to keep building, and the Broome deal also helped create the roster flexibility needed to bring Caldwell-Pope in officially, a small transaction on paper that could loom larger once the season starts to unfold. [Read more 🡒]