Offseason Grades - Cleveland Cavaliers

[bondom34]

Next up in the Central, the Cavs.

K_Chile22's offseason grade:
Cleveland Cavaliers transactions

Front office
none.

Draft
Drafted Evan Mobley at #3.

Trades
Traded Taurean Prince, 2022 2nd rounder and cash for Ricky Rubio.
Traded Larry Nance Jr. for Lauri Markkanen (sign and traded)

Free agency
Re-signed Jarrett Allen, 5/$100M.
Sign and trade for Lauri Markkanen as above (4/$67.47M, final year $6M guaranteed)
Signed Tacko Fall, 1/$1.67M
Offseason Thoughts
Starting with the draft, I think they took the right guy, but there are plenty of people who had Suggs over Mobley, really, they couldn't mess up here unless they did something crazy. Think they did well in their draft-day trade to get Rubio who is much better than Prince and feels a need for them.

I don't like the other two moves at all. Who were they bidding against with Allen? Not sure anyone was approaching that kind of money with him. Felt like this was predetermined since the trade happened for absolutely no reason. Markkanen doesn't make much sense for them. A slight overpay financially and I would have rather seen them just take the FRP and DJJ from portland if Nance wanted out. Seems like a win-now move from a team that is not going to win now. Shades of what the pelicans did with AD except they don't have an AD.

Grade
D+. Not giving them much of a bump in the draft, they just picked one of the two clear-cut top guys that fell to them. Rubio deal was a slight plus, other things were negatives.
2022 Prediction
Exactly where they were last season. Don't see them moving up or down.
Offseason in gif form



Mamba4Goat's offseason grade:
Cleveland Cavaliers transactions

Front office
none.

Draft
Drafted Evan Mobley at #3.

Trades
Traded Taurean Prince, 2022 2nd rounder and cash for Ricky Rubio.
Traded Larry Nance Jr. for Lauri Markkanen (sign and traded)

Free agency
Re-signed Jarrett Allen, 5/$100M.
Sign and trade for Lauri Markkanen as above (4/$67.47M, final year $6M guaranteed)
Signed Tacko Fall, 1/$1.67M

Offseason Thoughts
They really lucked out with Houston not taking Mobley. He made way more sense than Green and in my non-expert opinion is the better prospect as well. Their major loss in the draft was missing out on a Collin Sexton trade though (albeit it's still possible!). Prince for Rubio is a win despite Sexland still being there and I actually like the flyer on Markkanen too. It doesn't make too much sense roster-construction-wise but it makes sense as an investment where you hope that he can finally live up to his potential.

Grade
A-
I still liked their offseason but docking them for holding onto Sexton for what may be too long still.

2022 Prediction
8-12
There's a chance that they make a playoff push but they seem like they're in the position to just miss it and inspire hope for their future.
Offseason in gif form


bondom34's offseason grade:

Cleveland Cavaliers transactions

Front office
none.

Draft
Drafted Evan Mobley at #3.

Trades
Traded Taurean Prince, 2022 2nd rounder and cash for Ricky Rubio.
Traded Larry Nance Jr. for Lauri Markkanen (sign and traded)

Free agency
Re-signed Jarrett Allen, 5/$100M.
Sign and trade for Lauri Markkanen as above (4/$67.47M, final year $6M guaranteed)
Signed Tacko Fall, 1/$1.67M
Signed Denzel Valentine, 2/partially guaranteed
Offseason Thoughts
Well let's start positive. Swapping Prince for Rubio at a pretty low price is decent for a backup guard who might be able to provide some defensive value, even if Rubio's fallen off some. I'm not sure the fit is totally needed (they're not short on lead guards), but he's a better player than Prince.

Now the rest. For the draft, repeating myself again I had Suggs at 2 but the Cavs had 2 guards and Mobley was more a consensus guy here so this is fine. Again BPA in general should be the guide and they've done this in the past but again as with how I felt with Houston at 2 I know I was generally the minority view.

But then the rest of the rest. When you draft a big man top 3 I'm just really struggling with then signing a player who looks like he's maybe going to be an average starter to $20M a year for 5 years who plays the same position.

To top this off they add another big (even if he's more a 4 than a 5, there has been talk of Mobley playing some 4 as well) at too much money in a sign and trade where they send off the better and not as highly paid player. The Markkanen contract is one that just immediately jumped out as too high, and last year partially guaranteed or not I don't see it either way. And yes I know they weren't a good 3 point shooting team but they also were a terrible defensive team so trying to plug one hole while ignoring/exacerbating another is confounding.

They still have no real wing players of note other than Okoro and a bunch of guys who are either smaller guards or just bigs. Oh and with the new contracts they likely have a hard time getting any real cap space in the future if they do show promise.

Grade
D-

2022 Prediction
Bottom 2 in the east, maybe bottom 3

Offseason in gif form

[K_chile22]

The range on these is impressive lol

[giberish]

I'm in rough agreement. The Rubio deal is good but not that important. I had the top-4 in the draft about equal (Cade/Green/Mobley/Suggs) so Mobley at #3 is a solid pick (as much as you can tell at this point).

The Allen and Lauri deals don't look as good. IMO Mobley will be a 5 who plays spot minutes at the 4 relatively soon. Having another center-only guy making $20M/yr long-term is an issue. Given how many teams feel that centers should be great or cheap the trade market for Allen in a year or two when the Cavs decide Mobely should be mostly a center could be really tough. A smaller or at least shorter deal would have been better for Cleveland.

Meanwhile I just don't see Lauri as worth either the contract or the trade value that gave for him.. Nance is a better player, and more able to slide out to SF minutes if they look to go big. Or if they really wanted a 3-point shooting SF, why not try and bring in Washington to get Kuzma or Bertrans instead. IMO both are better value then Lauri on his current deal (both can also slide to SF a little for a better position fit as well). I expect they would have been at least able to keep Portland's pick and probably get another (protected) 1st - or at least a couple good 2nds - from Washington rather then giving up a pick as well.

[toooskies]

It feels like the Cavs are one move away from having an offseason that at least makes sense. Whether that's a trade down from #3 to take Kuminga and/or Wagner or a Sexton swap for a bigger wing or finding a SF to compete for the starting job on the MLE or a blockbuster trade for Simmons. But they went into the offseason having some of the worst SF play in the league last year and came out of the offseason somehow worse at the position with Prince and Nance gone-- no one on the roster to guard bigger 3s...

[gom]

I like drafting Mobley, though I agree that it would have been hard to get this wrong with so much talent available.

I also agree that there was a bit of disjointment with the signing of Allen and Markkanen. And I had Nance over Markkanen too. It would have been nice if the FO had turned Sexton into more draft capital, but the cavs are right not to take discounted offers.

Might be underwhelming but I had the general impression last season the cavs played well below their potential. I'm looking for them to make the playoffs at another team's expense.

A "B" I think is fair. Half a grade up for signing Tacko Fall: B+.

[Ballerhogger]

Can the cavs make any news with lauri and sextion , rubio. they have decent squad if they play up to their potential.... IF. Going give them a B. I Like mobely pick overall this could be fun team.

[jbk1234]

It feels like the Cavs are one move away from having an offseason that at least makes sense. Whether that's a trade down from #3 to take Kuminga and/or Wagner or a Sexton swap for a bigger wing or finding a SF to compete for the starting job on the MLE or a blockbuster trade for Simmons. But they went into the offseason having some of the worst SF play in the league last year and came out of the offseason somehow worse at the position with Prince and Nance gone-- no one on the roster to guard bigger 3s...

I'm glad they didn't reach based on need tbh. We're not going to be relying upon the health of Love or Nance this season so that helps. We still need Windler to be a lot healthier than he's been his first two years in the NBA and that's not good. Wade can play some 3 off the bench as well as Cedi. But those two need to start hitting their open 3s or start updating their resumes.

Basically, with Lauri starting and Love getting 10-15 minutes off the bench, the Cavs are going to look for spacing out of the 4 position to help offset the absence of spacing provided by their wings. But they absolutely have to improve their three point defense or it's going to be another long season. With Allen starting and Mobley coming off the bench EVERYONE needs to be going over picks and forcing action inside the arc.

We're either very fortunate, or very unfortunate, that the West coast trip is right out of the gate. Sometimes you can outhustle better teams early on and steal a couple wins. If we survive that trip, we can surprise some folks. But we're still overly reliant on internal growth, and ideally, that's not where you want to be.

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[LivingLegend]

I like all of the individual players on the Cavs as their own entities, but I really question the roster construction. It felt like a off-season where they threw a lot of crap at the wall and hope something sticks.

I still have no idea how they are going to play Love, Mobley, Allen and Lauri. It's a really talented PF/C rotation I'm just not sure how the mins get shared.

This entire off-season with all of the moves and draft picks made me feel like there was a big trade coming that would center up the entire rotation. That move never happened so the roster construction is still a jumbled mess. Talent everywhere, but what's the plan for it all working together?

[toooskies]

I like all of the individual players on the Cavs as their own entities, but I really question the roster construction. It felt like a off-season where they threw a lot of crap at the wall and hope something sticks.

I still have no idea how they are going to play Love, Mobley, Allen and Lauri. It's a really talented PF/C rotation I'm just not sure how the mins get shared.

This entire off-season with all of the moves and draft picks made me feel like there was a big trade coming that would center up the entire rotation. That move never happened so the roster construction is still a jumbled mess. Talent everywhere, but what's the plan for it all working together?

After the draft: "Are we re-signing Allen? Well, at least we have a plan if someone makes him an offer."
After re-signing Allen: "I guess Mobley will start at the 4?"
After trading for Markkanen: "??"
After not moving/trading Love all off-season: "?????"

[mg]

As far as talent acquisition is concerned I would give them an A- grade. Losing local kid Nance hurts but overall they added a ton of skill in Mobley, Markannen, Rubio, and even the Euro PG. They really needed an infusion of talent on that roster. With that said they will need to make at least one more move in the future to make all the parts/pieces fit. In the meantime they can keep developing the young kids on the roster. Having a vet PG like Rubio should help in that regard. The EC has really improved so I see them as a lottery team regardless of what they would've done this past offseason. If Mobley does become their future 'franchise player' they have a few seasons to put the correct puzzle pieces around him while he develops.

[toooskies]

As far as talent acquisition is concerned I would give them an A- grade. Losing local kid Nance hurts but overall they added a ton of skill in Mobley, Markannen, Rubio, and even the Euro PG. They really needed an infusion of talent on that roster. With that said they will need to make at least one more move in the future to make all the parts/pieces fit. In the meantime they can keep developing the young kids on the roster. Having a vet PG like Rubio should help in that regard. The EC has really improved so I see them as a lottery team regardless of what they would've done this past offseason. If Mobley does become their future 'franchise player' they have a few seasons to put the correct puzzle pieces around him while he develops.

I mean, you do have enough solid and different frontcourt players that you can let Mobley develop into what he should be instead of what the Cavs need him to be and still have a good complement to him. But I don't know why you sign Allen and Markkanen to 5 and 4 year neutral-at-best contracts if one of them should be backing up the untradeable franchise player in a year or two. Markkanen in particular, since Love could already be the stretch 4 next to him.

[Revenged25]

As far as talent acquisition is concerned I would give them an A- grade. Losing local kid Nance hurts but overall they added a ton of skill in Mobley, Markannen, Rubio, and even the Euro PG. They really needed an infusion of talent on that roster. With that said they will need to make at least one more move in the future to make all the parts/pieces fit. In the meantime they can keep developing the young kids on the roster. Having a vet PG like Rubio should help in that regard. The EC has really improved so I see them as a lottery team regardless of what they would've done this past offseason. If Mobley does become their future 'franchise player' they have a few seasons to put the correct puzzle pieces around him while he develops.

I mean, you do have enough solid and different frontcourt players that you can let Mobley develop into what he should be instead of what the Cavs need him to be and still have a good complement to him. But I don't know why you sign Allen and Markkanen to 5 and 4 year neutral-at-best contracts if one of them should be backing up the untradeable franchise player in a year or two. Markkanen in particular, since Love could already be the stretch 4 next to him.

Not that Lauri has been the healthiest, but you can't really rely on Love right now until he proves otherwise. Love will probably end up getting bought out after the deadline anyways.

[toooskies]

As far as talent acquisition is concerned I would give them an A- grade. Losing local kid Nance hurts but overall they added a ton of skill in Mobley, Markannen, Rubio, and even the Euro PG. They really needed an infusion of talent on that roster. With that said they will need to make at least one more move in the future to make all the parts/pieces fit. In the meantime they can keep developing the young kids on the roster. Having a vet PG like Rubio should help in that regard. The EC has really improved so I see them as a lottery team regardless of what they would've done this past offseason. If Mobley does become their future 'franchise player' they have a few seasons to put the correct puzzle pieces around him while he develops.

I mean, you do have enough solid and different frontcourt players that you can let Mobley develop into what he should be instead of what the Cavs need him to be and still have a good complement to him. But I don't know why you sign Allen and Markkanen to 5 and 4 year neutral-at-best contracts if one of them should be backing up the untradeable franchise player in a year or two. Markkanen in particular, since Love could already be the stretch 4 next to him.

Not that Lauri has been the healthiest, but you can't really rely on Love right now until he proves otherwise. Love will probably end up getting bought out after the deadline anyways.

You wouldn't be relying on Love, you would only be looking to see what a Love/Mobley offense looks like. You can get a gauge on that in ~25 games.

[basketballwacko2]

The Cavs should be trying to maximize value of Colin Sexton and if they can find a way trade Levin Love. That may not be possible but if they could do that and not make their situation worse I'd give them an A-

[Mr Loggins]

On the latest Simmons pod, Lowe and Simmons said they both were secretly in love with Cleveland’s roster. Jackie McMullan then said when she was talking to Steph Curry, the one guy he couldn’t stop talking about was Darius Garland and that he (Steph) thinks Garland is going to be an absolute stud.

in the “FWIW” category



Overall I give them a B/B-.

Mobley: no brainer, but it wouldn’t be the first time a team got cute and biffed a no brained.

Rubio: good move. Solid vet PG who fits the team and good trade contract

Markannen: the most controversial. I’m coming around on the idea that to develop this team you need shooting. A frontline of Allen/Mobley and Markannen is doable, and 2 years from now it’s going to be a very tradeable contract

[jbk1234]

I'd like to know what actual offers the Heat made for Sexton before grading this offseason. I'd like know all the offers that were made for him tbh. I get turning down those Knicks packages as they were really weak, but I think the Cavs may have pulled a Morey and convinced themselves that other teams would get desperate.

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[Mamba4Goat]

I did not expect to be this much higher on their offseason than most.

[Revenged25]

I'd like to know what actual offers the Heat made for Sexton before grading this offseason. I'd like know all the offers that were made for him tbh. I get turning down those Knicks packages as they were really weak, but I think the Cavs may have pulled a Morey and convinced themselves that other teams would get desperate.

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I think the Cavs rightfully realized that any offer based around Tyler Herro being the main selling point was a weak offer.