Cleveland still has room to add another free-agent.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have two roster spots still open that they can only fill through free agency with minimum-contract players due to the second apron. Based on how they’ve handled the last few years, they’ll likely enter next season with one roster spot left open.
Their rotations are mostly set as they have good depth at every position group. With that in mind, the last player that they target likely won’t get much playing time. They would be there just for insurance.
Let’s go through each position group.
Guards
Here’s a list of the remaining guards:
- Malcolm Brogdon
- Seth Curry
- Markelle Fultz
- Monte Morris
- Victor Oladipo
- Cameron Payne
- Elfrid Payton
- Gary Payton III
- Ben Simmons
- Russell Westbrook
The guards’ list has some intriguing options with Brogdon and Westbrook still being NBA-caliber rotation players. The issue is that Cleveland already has a log-jam at that spot with Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Lonzo Ball, Sam Merrill, Craig Porter Jr., and Tyrese Proctor already on the team.
Even though there are concerns about whether Porter or Proctor can give you productive NBA minutes this season, it’d be difficult to justify adding another guard to that mix unless you really didn’t think Porter could fill in if one of the top three guards is out of the lineup.
We’ll find out what the front office thinks of the back-end of their guard rotation based on how they choose to fill out their last roster spots.
Wings
The unsigned wings are below.
- Malik Beasley (pending federal gambling investigation)
- Alec Burks
- Amir Coffey
- Talen Horton-Tucker
This wings list is uninspiring. Beasley is the best player in that group. He averaged 16.3 points and 2.6 rebounds while being a key contributor in the Detroit Pistons’ resurgence last season. But there’s a reason why he’s still available.
Beasley is under investigation for gambling. This makes it difficult to predict whether he will play next season.
There isn’t much else to pick from. Burks is a name that Cavs’ fans would remember, however, he isn’t the player he was even a few years ago. Now, Burks is only playable if the outside shot is falling. The shot was there last season when he was with the Miami Heat (42.5%), but even at that, he wasn’t an incredibly impactful role player.
You could talk yourself into Amir Coffey. A 6’7” wing who can shoot over 40% from three is enticing. However, there’s also a reason why he’s still on the market.
If forced to pick one of these, I’d choose Coffey even though he’d likely prefer to go somewhere he could get more minutes than he can in Cleveland.
Bigs
Here’s a list of the remaining bigs.
- Precious Achiuwa
- Chris Boucher
- Thomas Bryant
- Taj Gibson
- Al Horford
- DeAndre Jordan
- Alex Len
- Kevin Love (pending buyout)
- Trey Lyles
- Tristan Thompson
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking the Cavs still need a prototypical center. While there’s some validity to that claim, I still don’t think it’s ever going to be a pressing issue when you have both Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen on the roster.
Dean Wade and Larry Nance Jr. aren’t centers, but they can give spot minutes there if either Mobley or Allen is injured. That isn’t ideal, but neither is relying on DeAndre Jordan or Alex Len in 2026. Would playing either Jordan or Len put you in a better position than just trying to get by with Wade and Nance at center? If the answer is no, then there’s really no point in targeting a center specifically.
A possible Kevin Love reunion would be fun. He could fill the Tristan Thompson role from last season, but he still needs to secure a buyout from the Utah Jazz and wasn’t too helpful on the court for Miami last season.
The Cavs are in a good spot with their roster. Even though there are a few decent players still available, I’m not sure if any of them crack Cleveland’s top nine rotation spots if the team is fully healthy.
We’ll see if the front office looks to add anyone before the start of training camp in just over two months.