It seems like the front office was at least considering making a drastic change to this core.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a second-apron team, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still drastically reshape their roster. They were reportedly trying to do so by swinging for Kevin Durant before the Phoenix Suns sent him to the Houston Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the 10th pick in this upcoming draft, and five second-round picks.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Cavs were one of the many “wild-card suitors” that checked in on Durant. This backs up what Brian Windhorst hinted at in his 5 Good Minutes with Windy segment earlier this week.
Shams and Windhorst are two of the best in the business at reporting things like this. However, the mechanics of a deal that would’ve landed Durant in Cleveland are hard to envision.
Both Phoenix and Cleveland are second-apron teams. That places numerous restrictions on any deal between them. Given Durant’s salary, the Cavs would’ve had to get under the second apron — which they’re currently over by nearly $12.9 million with 11 of the 15 roster spots filled — and then would’ve been hard-capped at the first apron if they had aggregated contracts to trade for Durant.
That, and the feud between owners Dan Gilbert and Matt Ishbia, were likely roadblocks preventing a deal like this from ever getting off the ground.
This does show us that this front office could be aggressive in trying to upgrade and reshape this team after their disappointing second-round loss to the Indiana Pacers. It seems like they are willing to think outside the box and explore every avenue available to them to do so. We’ll see if this results in any major or minor moves this offseason.