With LeBron James‘ potential 2018 free agency looming, the Cavaliers once again committed to carrying a league-high payroll in 2017/18. The club also acquired well-compensated veterans on multiyear deals – including George Hill and Jordan Clarkson – at the trade deadline, ensuring that even if this is James’ final year in Cleveland, team salary should remain well over the cap for at least one more season.
Here’s where things currently stand for the Cavaliers financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2018:
Guaranteed Salary
- Kevin Love ($24,119,025)
- George Hill ($19,000,000)
- Tristan Thompson ($17,469,565)
- J.R. Smith ($14,720,000)
- Jordan Clarkson ($12,500,000)
- Kyle Korver ($7,560,000)
- Cedi Osman ($2,775,000)
- Larry Nance Jr. ($2,272,391)
- Ante Zizic ($1,952,760)
- Total: $102,368,741
Player Options
- LeBron James ($35,607,968)
- Total: $35,607,968
Team Options
- Kendrick Perkins ($2,445,085)
- Total: $2,445,085
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Okaro White ($1,544,951)1
- Total: $1,544,951
Restricted Free Agents
- Rodney Hood ($3,472,887 qualifying offer / $7,160,592 cap hold): Bird rights
- Total: $7,160,592
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- No. 8 overall pick ($4,033,884)
- Jose Calderon ($1,499,698): Non-Bird rights
- Dahntay Jones ($1,499,698): Early Bird rights
- James Jones ($1,499,698): Bird rights
- Jeff Green ($1,499,698): Non-Bird rights
- Shawn Marion ($1,499,698): Non-Bird rights
- Deron Williams ($1,499,698): Non-Bird rights
- Total: $13,032,072
Projected Salary Cap: $101,000,000
Projected Cap Room: None
- Even without taking James into consideration, the Cavaliers have $102MM+ in guaranteed salaries, nudging them over the projected $101MM cap. As such, there’s virtually no chance Cleveland will have cap room this summer. If James returns, the team figures to be way over the tax line once again.
Footnotes:
- White’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after August 5.
Note: Rookie scale cap holds are estimates based on salary cap projections and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
What’s the point of keeping cap holds on guys like James Jones if they’re already over the cap no matter what?
Teams generally don’t renounce those guys until they have to. There’s usually not much benefit to it, but no real downside either, since their salary/tax bills aren’t affected by those holds.
Luke, thanks for always coming back into the comments to answer tough questions like these. You sure have a handle on salary cap stuff.
I enjoy wading through the cap stuff, so always happy to answer any questions related to that!
Whether LeBron returns or not, taking on Clarkson’s contract through 2020 (and giving the Lakers a 1st) for Nance was the second worst trade of the year (behind only the KI trade). Somehow, in 3 deals, Altman has managed to trade KI and the 25th pick (along with adding additional bad contract $$ going forward), in order to get Hill, Hood, Clarkson, Nance, Zizic and the 8th pick in the draft. He should probably cut his losses here and stop making trades.
GM knows and I know and you should too that LeBron is gone this summer.
He’s gone.
So you do everything in your power and you roll the dice to get whatever you can to win it all this year.
It may hurt you the next couple years but with LeBron on your team now, you do whatever you can, whatever it takes.
That’s exactly what happened.
The Cavs did not do everything they could though– they stiil have the better of their picks.
There is still no leave/stay decision made. Next year the Cavs will have what got them this far, plus a quality rookie (Alexander?), FA (Tolliver?), loose marble (Vucovic?), okay that’s me as GM I’m dreaming. But plausibly.
Or the Cavs could take a couple years to retool while James orders some outoftown coffee and cheesesteak.
It has been expensive, maybe, but worthy to get rid of Kyrie, that way they can move forward properly either with or without Lebron.
Kyrie wanted out. There’s not much you can do in that situation. You can’t even wait till the deadline as that locker room would become extremely toxic way before then.
Cavs arguably benefit if LeBron leaves. They’ll be bad enough next year to get a top pick. If they get RJ Barrett or Zion Williamson, add that to whoever they get this year, and probably another high pick after that, and they’re back in business when LeBron comes back in 3 years for the last few years of his career
Like I said last year, it’s going to take some bold moves to improve this team over the next 2 years, and they obviously have already shown they dont know how to, or dont want to, make those types of moves. LeBron likely is capable of at least getting them back to the ECF, which would be tough against certain teams, but he is better off in a situation where he has at least some help, and a real chance to win these next few years, while he can still play at this level
People say dumb things about James but that is possible.
The Cavs do not have any LT contracts. They all end in 2 years and the last years of Hill and Smith are not guaranteed after next year. They can reload big time, and James can say, Get the guys I want and I’ll be back.
He’s going to want smart teammates which he doesn’t really have right now.
I’m not just saying that because I just saw JRSmith not know what the score was. Aarrrrggghhh