The Cleveland Cavaliers seemed to have a clear path to the NBA Finals this season.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, and they’re now back to the drawing board.
The Cavs are a second-apron team, and as such, they will face some severe limitations in spending money and adding firepower to their team.
To add insult to injury, Evan Mobley will now make 30% of the salary cap after winning Defensive Player of the Year, as opposed to 25% as was initially projected.
That means that they will have to make some sacrifices and move on from some of their key players.
According to Dan Favale of Bleacher Report, Isaac Okoro would be the most logical candidate.
However, given the nature of his contract, the team will most likely have to give up on Dean Wade instead:
“Isaac Okoro seems like the odd man out. Offloading his $11 million salary into some team’s non-taxpayer mid-level exception would also help slash Cleveland’s tax bill. However, teams aren’t interested in swallowing the final two years and $22.8 million of his deal so far. That makes someone like Dean Wade (non-guaranteed) a safer pick. This is instead a bet on Okoro’s market shifting once other matters are settled, or on the Cavs sweetening a deal to get him off the ledger,” Favale wrote.
Okoro never panned out as the lottery pick he was.
While he’s a great defensive player, this is a make-or-miss league, and he’s been an offensive liability way too many times in the past.
Wade, on the other hand, is a solid 3-and-D role player who can be a perfect fit and a plug-and-play player on multiple teams.
He can play and guard both forward spots and knock down shots from beyond the arc.
He’s also one of the few players on the roster who can hold his ground against long and athletic wings.
On the downside, he’s also struggled with injuries in the past.
The Cavs need to have some tough conversations, and replicating this year’s success will be easier said than done.
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