The Cavaliers may have missed their shot at a reunion with LeBron James, but they still have a path to reshape the roster before the offseason runs out.
Cleveland has already dipped below the second apron and appears determined to stay there, which means any meaningful upgrade has to be handled carefully. That’s where Denver’s situation opens a door. The Nuggets pushed themselves into the second apron to keep Spencer Jones in restricted free agency, and that financial squeeze could create the kind of deal the Cavaliers need.
A three-team trade is the cleanest way to make it work, especially with the Hornets sitting as one of the few teams left with cap space. Cleveland’s Dennis Schröder has emerged as a realistic trade candidate thanks to his mid-sized salary and league-wide value, and Charlotte has already shown interest.
In this framework, the Hornets become the landing spot for Schröder and Craig Porter, Jr., while Sam Merrill goes to Denver. Cleveland, meanwhile, would bring back Christian Braun’s $21.5 million contract and 23-year-old big man DaRon Holmes II.
The Nuggets would also send two future second-round picks to Charlotte to compensate for taking on the extra salary, including Schröder through a TPE. For Denver, moving Merrill would create $15.8 million in salary cap relief. For Cleveland, the deal would trim another $1.5 million by moving Porter, giving the team a little more breathing room as it tries to keep future moves alive.
On the basketball side, Braun checks a major box. At 6-foot-6, he gives the Cavaliers another big wing with two-way versatility.
He signed a five-year, $125 million deal with Denver, and even if that number looks rich, the skill set is exactly what Cleveland needs. Braun has shot 36.5 percent from three over his four-year career, and he’s also been one of the Nuggets’ best defensive stoppers.
Holmes adds a different kind of value. He missed his rookie season because of injury, but his 2025-26 campaign showed he can be a low-cost backup big who can play either the four or the five. He’s not a perfect answer behind Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, but he does give Cleveland another body and another option for spot minutes.
The salary math matters just as much as the talent. After this trade, the Cavaliers would be roughly $27 million below the first apron.
That becomes important if Cleveland keeps pushing for a Kuminga-for-Strus sign-and-trade, because finishing that kind of move would hard cap the team at the first apron. If that happens, James Harden’s new deal would need to come in at a steep first-year discount.
That’s the balancing act for Cleveland: add size, add depth, and keep enough flexibility to keep the rest of the offseason alive. If the Cavaliers want real change without breaking up the core, this kind of layered trade may be the best route they have left. Braun and Holmes would not solve everything, but they would address needs the roster has ignored for years.
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 🡒]