It seemed improbable even six weeks ago that the Cavs might bring back all four of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen — plus almost the entire supporting cast from the first Cleveland team to win a playoff series (unconvincingly, but still!) without LeBron James since 1993.
But Mitchell is now under contract for three more seasons — a coup for the Cavs even if his extension is not as long as they might have dreamed. The Mitchell-Garland fit has proven more awkward than expected, and there were rumblings Mitchell's return might spur Garland's camp to push for a trade. Those rumblings — and Garland's trade market — have quieted.
And that's fine. Garland is just 24. I'd bet on a nice bounce-back after a plague of injuries derailed him last season. There is a very good team in here somewhere, even if maximizing it — for now — might require Kenny Atkinson, the Cavs' new head coach, to stagger minutes pretty strictly between the team's two foundational guards and its two key bigs. The Cavs have the depth to pull that off, though they are still searching for that archetypal 3-and-D wing. (They'd have interest in one of Dorian Finney-Smith and Cameron Johnson in Brooklyn, sources said, but they have only one future first-round pick — their 2031 pick — available to trade.)
In an ideal world, the Cavs would wait out the juggernauts above them — and rise up when Boston and New York might shed key players to avoid the second apron. But the Cavs, too, might face a financial crunch if Mobley and Allen join the star guards on hefty new deals in 2026-27.
Still, Cleveland has age on its side. For this to really work, Garland has to reassert himself as an All-Star candidate and Mobley has to blow up into something more than that — with enough of a perimeter game to thrive next to Allen.
by NewAltWhoThis
4 Comments
Im definitley open to moving that 2031 first round pick. Im just not sure if cam johnson is a player worth giving it up for.
If Kenny knows what he’s doing and our young players keep developing we have a bright future in Cleveland. I just want good vibes and a fun team
It only seemed improbable to people who have no idea how the NBA works. I have been saying months this was the most likely result.
Pretty much my thoughts exactly.  This is a very young team that has had long hot streaks where they’ve looked unstoppable, even under JB’s “offense”, but got hit bad by injuries.  Don’t discount the impact of a better offensive system and another year of development and gelling together better.
Obviously a solid wing would be an upgrade, but there aren’t many to go around, the trades we’ve seen so far wouldn’t have made sense for us, and we only have the MLE for free agency.
Run it back.  I want to see designed plays for Don and Darius to play off each other instead of them taking turns bringing it up the court and calling that an “offense”.