Grading The Cleveland Cavaliers' Offseason

Let's grade the Cleveland Cavaliers' offseason as they prepare for the 2024-25 NBA campaign.

May 11, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) celebrates in the second quarter of game three of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs against the Boston Celtics at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

The 2024-25 NBA season is right around the corner, and at this point, the Cleveland Cavaliers will probably be heading into the year with their current roster.

So, how did the Cavaliers do this offseason?

It was certainly an uneventful summer for Cleveland in terms of adding other pieces, because, well, the Cavs didn't really add anyone.

Yes, the Cavaliers drafted Jaylon Tyson, and yes, they brought in international wing Luke Travers (who the team drafted in 2022), but they didn't sign any free agents and they didn't make any trades.

They did, however, sign Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to contract extensions, and they retained Isaac Okoro in free agency. They also hired a new head coach in Kenny Atkinson.

Essentially, Cleveland is doubling down on its core, which isn't a bad idea given how impressive the quartet of Mitchell, Mobley, Allen and Darius Garland has looked for stretches.

That being said, the Cavs had numerous holes that they did not fill this offseason. They needed a reliable No. 3 scorer. They needed a larger wing defender. They needed more floor spacing.

They didn't patch any of those gaps, unless Tyson can somehow fill one or more of those roles (which seems unlikely during his rookie campaign).

As a result, the Cavaliers are still far behind the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference, and they may also be on lagging behind teams like the New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers. A legitimate argument can be made that the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic could be better than Cleveland this coming season, as well.

Think about it: there is a chance that the Cavs could end up being the seventh-best team in the East, particularly if Mobley doesn't take another step forward and/or if Garland doesn't rebound after a lackluster 2023-24 campaign.

To be fair to the Cavaliers, they were ravaged by injuries last season, with none of Mitchell, Garland and Mobley playing 60 games. All of that, and they still managed to go 48-34 and finish with the No. 4 seed.

Cleveland is clearly banking on Mobley and Garland showing significant improvement next season. If Garland in particular doesn't take a big step or if the Cavs struggle early on, he could end up being a trade candidate before the February deadline.

But if both players succeed? Suddenly, the Cavaliers have one of the better starting lineups in the conference and could ultimately finish with a top three or four seed.

Does Cleveland have a legitimate chance of making a title push next season? Probably not. Not so long as the Celtics are healthy, anyway. But if the Cavs can see progression from their young stars, they could at least make things interesting and give the fan base comfort that they are headed in the right direction.

Grade: B.

I like that the Cavaliers extended their players, but completely ignoring their significant roster issues could come back to bite them.