Cleveland won’t find a better player with its $12.2MM mid-level exception, according to Fedor, so it makes sense for the Cavs to bring back LeVert and then use the exception to add another rotation piece.
A short-term contract might work for both the Cavaliers and one of their free agents, Caris LeVert, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer opines. LeVert settled into the role of sixth man as the season went along and he wants to re-sign.
Following the NCAA’s early entrant withdrawal deadline Wednesday night, Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com updated his top-100 prospects list, adding 17 players based on who remains eligible.
Three players at three different positions — Duke center Dereck Lively II, Metropolitans 92 wing Bilal Coulibaly, and Santa Clara guard Brandin Podziemski — have seen their stock go up over the past few months.
Lively, who was ranked No. 25 on ESPN’s list on May 20, is up to No. 12 overall and goes 14th overall in Givony’s updated 2023 mock draft with Jeremy Woo of ESPN (Insider link). Lively is picked 12th overall in Jonathan Wasserman’s latest mock for Bleacher Report.
A former top high school recruit, Lively had a very narrow offensive role for the Blue Devils, attempting just 3.4 field goals (65.8 FG%) per game and averaging 5.2 points in 34 contests (27 starts, 20.6 minutes). However, he’s an active 7’1″ center who averaged 2.4 blocks as well, making him one of the top rim protectors in a class without many true big men beyond Victor Wembanyama. Lively also impressed during his pro day, per ESPN and Bleacher Report.
Coulibaly is Wembanyama’s teammate with French club Metropolitans 92, and he’s one of the youngest early entrants. Coulibaly, who turns 19 in late July, is considered a strong athlete who has two-way potential, according to Wasserman, who says there are rumors the guard/forward might have a lottery promise, with teams in the late lottery showing interest (he has Coulibaly going 13th to the Raptors).
Coulibaly’s range might be a bit wider than that though — he goes 21st in ESPN’s mock and is ranked No. 22 on their board. Woo writes that Coulibaly has shown flashes, but it’s a small sample size and he has improved his stock by helping the team win in France’s LNB Pro A, as opposed to private and public workouts for college prospects. Coulibaly was No. 26 on ESPN’s list when he declared as an early entrant in April, so he has improved either way.
Lastly, Podziemski was No. 39 on ESPN when he declared in late March (No. 20 at Bleacher Report). He’s up to No. 27 overall at ESPN now thanks to a strong combine appearance, while Wasserman reports that the Rockets (No. 20) like the combo guard’s “creativity, shot-making and playmaking.” Wasserman says Podziemski could go as early as the late teens.
Here are a few more draft notes:
Ricky Rubio has at least one more season left on his contract with the Cavaliers, and he’s thinking about finishing his career in Spain once his NBA commitment is complete, writes Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.
“I am starting to consider my return,” Rubio said in an appearance Sunday on the La Sotana podcast. “Going home. To Barcelona. Close to home.”
The 32-year-old guard is under contract for $6.1MM next season, but he has only a $4.25MM guarantee on his $6.4MM salary for 2024/25. Cleveland will have to terminate the contract by June of 2024 if the team decides not to pay him the full amount.
Rubio had a limited role for the Cavs this season after his year-long rehab following an ACL tear. He wasn’t able to play until January and then appeared in 33 games, averaging 5.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 17.2 minutes per night.
Rubio was a star in Europe for six years before coming to the NBA. He helped Barcelona capture the EuroLeague championship in 2010 and the Liga ACB title in 2011.
He has played 12 years in the NBA with the Timberwolves, Jazz, Suns and Cavaliers.
Forward Nathan Mensah has workouts coming up with the Hornets, Grizzlies, Pistons, Bucks and Cavaliers, Adam Zagoria tweets. Mensah averaged 6.0 points and 5.9 rebounds for San Diego State last season during its run to the title game.
We have more draft-related info:
Former Warriors guard Nico Mannion, who has spent the past two seasons in Europe, is expected to play for the Bucks‘ Summer League team this July, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com.
The No. 48 pick in the 2020 draft, Mannion spent just one season in Golden State, logging limited minutes in 30 games, before returning to his home country of Italy to play for Virtus Bologna. The former Arizona Wildcat is still just 22 years old, so there’s plenty of time for him to take another shot at the NBA.
However, it’s worth noting that Mannion wouldn’t be able to sign outright with the Bucks or another team, since the Warriors have tendered him a two-way qualifying offer in each of the last two offseasons, ensuring they still have his rights as a restricted free agent. If Golden State reissues that QO this summer, Mannion would once again be an RFA, giving the Warriors the ability to control his NBA free agency.
Here’s more from around the Central:
Two of the biggest winners on draft lottery night last week were the Hornets and Pacers. Charlotte moved up two spots from the pre-lottery standings to claim the No. 2 overall pick. The Pacers, meanwhile, stayed put in the lottery, but because San Antonio leapfrogged Houston in the first round, Indiana moved up 18 spots from No. 50 to No. 32 in the second round due to a convoluted set of trade criteria.
The Hornets and Pacers have something else in common: Charlotte and Indiana are the only teams that control more than three picks in the 2023 NBA draft. In fact, the two clubs own five selections apiece, accounting for 10 of the 58 total picks in this year’s event.
Nine additional teams each have three 2023 picks, joining the Hornets and Pacers to control nearly two-thirds of the draft — those 11 teams hold 37 of this year’s 58 picks, leaving the other 19 clubs to divvy up the remaining 21 selections.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, three teams don’t own any 2023 draft picks. The Bulls, Knicks, and Sixers will sit out this year’s event unless they acquire a pick via trade.
To present a clearer picture of which teams are most – and least – stocked with picks for the 2023 NBA draft, we’ve rounded up all 58 selections by team in the space below. Let’s dive in…
After LeBron James left for Los Angles in the summer of 2018, the Cavaliers were the NBA’s worst team over the following three seasons, going a combined 60-159 (.274 win percentage). In 2021/22, Cleveland got off to a great start, sitting at 35-21 — just one game back of the top seed in the East — on February 11.
Unfortunately, season-ending knee injuries to Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio had limited the Cavs’ backcourt depth, which was further tested when Darius Garland and Caris LeVert (whom the team acquired at last year’s trade deadline) battled their own health problems. Lauri Markkanen and Jarrett Allen missed significant time as well, and the Cavs went just 9-17 to close the season, ultimately losing both of their play-in games.
By all accounts, it was still a wildly successful season, but the way it ended understandably left a sour taste in the Cavs’ mouths. They likely would have made the playoffs had they been healthy, but injuries are part of the game.
Instead of returning the same group, the Cavs wanted to accelerate their timeline. It seemed like a foregone conclusion last summer that Donovan Mitchell would eventually end up with his native New York, but instead the Jazz shocked the NBA world by sending him to Cleveland in exchange for Markkanen, Sexton (via sign-and-trade), No. 14 overall pick Ochai Agbaji, the Cavaliers’ unprotected first-round picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029, and the right to swap first-round picks with the Cavaliers in both 2026 and 2028.
Mitchell had an excellent debut season with the Cavs, averaging a career-high 28.3 points per game while scoring more efficiently than ever before, ultimately finishing sixth in MVP voting and earning an All-NBA (Second Team) spot for the first time in his career. Behind the league’s top-ranked defense and an improved offense, the Cavs increased their win total by seven games, going 51-31 and entering the playoffs as the East’s No. 4 seed.
However, Cleveland was thoroughly outplayed in its first-round series against New York, losing in five games. The Cavs actually still hold the best postseason defensive rating out of 16 playoff teams despite the series being lopsided, but a playoff-worst offense and defensive rebounding were major issues.
Cleveland doesn’t control its 2023 first-round pick (No. 26 overall), which will be sent to Indiana as part of the trade for LeVert. In fact, the Cavs don’t currently have any future tradable first-round picks due to the Mitchell deal, though they technically could give up swap rights in 2024.
As such, the players on the Cavs’ roster are the primary assets the team controls. The team’s four best players — Mitchell, Garland, Mobley and Allen — are unlikely to be on the move, as they were the core of the team’s first 50-win season without James since ’92/93.
It’s noteworthy that Allen and Mobley struggled in the postseason, getting outplayed by the Knicks’ frontcourt. It turned out to be a bad matchup for the Cavs.
As previously mentioned, one weakness the Cavs had throughout the season was defensive rebounding. They ranked 20th in the league with a 71.5% defensive rebounding percentage. That figure dropped to 60.6% in the playoffs — a figure 7.9% lower than Indiana’s bottom mark during the regular season. The Knicks, meanwhile, held a 31.8% offensive rebounding percentage in the regular season, the second-best rate in the NBA — that number rose to 34.8% in the playoffs, the top mark among the 16 postseason teams.
Of course, not all of that is on Allen and Mobley. Rebounding is a team effort, and wing Josh Hart was a wrecking ball on the offensive glass for New York. It did expose Cleveland’s lack of depth up front (and in general) as an issue though, with Allen and Mobley looking worn down from playing more minutes against a stronger, deeper and more physical Knicks frontline.
President of basketball operations Koby Altman said the Cavs have no intention of overreacting to the playoff loss by breaking up their frontcourt duo, which makes sense, as they were the anchors of the defense. But I do wonder about the long-term fit of Mobley and Allen on offense.
Neither Mobley nor Allen is a threat to shoot from behind the arc at this point, which hurts the team’s spacing. The lane being constantly congested was a major issue in the playoffs, as Mitchell Robinson could just patrol the paint, which is what he prefers to do and is very good at.
That said, the biggest question mark facing the Cavs entering the 2023 offseason is the same as it was entering the 2022/23 season: Finding the right fit at small forward. Caris LeVert filled in at multiple positions throughout the season, including small forward, and he is the team’s biggest free agent. But forward isn’t his natural position, and the Cavs need more depth at other spots as well.
My expectation is the Cavs will look to either extend or re-sign LeVert to a contract perhaps in the range of $45MM over three years. He has said he “absolutely” wants to return and Altman called retaining LeVert a priority.
I also think they’ll guarantee Cedi Osman‘s $6.7MM salary for ’23/24 and pick up their $1.9MM team option on Lamar Stevens. That would give the Cavs 10 players under standard contracts for a total of about $140MM (assuming a $15MM cap hit for LeVert), pushing them over the projected $134MM salary cap.
As long as LeVert’s first-year salary isn’t too expensive, the Cavs could renounce their other cap holds and have the ability to sign a free agent (or two) using their mid-level exception and fill out the roster with minimum contracts without going into the luxury tax, which is projected to be $162MM. They could possibly use their $4.5MM bi-annual exception as well, but it would be a tight squeeze.
If the Cavs can’t shore up their wing depth with the mid-level — there aren’t a ton of great options at that price — I wonder if they might pivot and look to improve their depth at guard or center. Dennis Schröder and Gabe Vincent are unrestricted free agent point guards, while Naz Reid could be an interesting addition at backup center. Reid would bring some floor spacing and a pump-and-drive element that Mobley and Allen don’t currently possess.
In addition to external help, the Cavs will look for internal development, including from wing Isaac Okoro, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension. They’ll also be hoping for a bounce-back season and better health from forward Dean Wade, who never looked right after injuring his shoulder in December and was limited to 44 regular season games.
Veteran guard Rubio was another player who didn’t look like his old self in ’22/23 as he returned from a torn ACL. He’ll be several more months removed from that surgery by the time next season rolls around, so the Cavs will be hoping he’ll be able to find the form he displayed in his first year with the team in ’21/22.
Guaranteed Salary
Darius Garland ($33,500,000)
Dead/Retained Salary
Player Options
Team Options
Non-Guaranteed Salary
Restricted Free Agents
Two-Way Free Agents
Draft Picks
Extension-Eligible Players
Note: These are players who are either already eligible for an extension or will become eligible before the 2023/24 season begins. LeVert is only eligible until June 30.
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
Note: The cap holds for Davis, Rondo, and Goodwin remain on the Cavaliers’ books from prior seasons because they haven’t been renounced. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
Cap Exceptions Available
Note: The Cavaliers would lose access to the full mid-level exception and the bi-annual exception if their team salary surpasses the tax apron.
After finishing outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, the Bulls face some major decisions with the pricier players on their roster, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic writes in a new mailbag.
Mayberry believes Chicago may look to finally dismantle its roster following two trade deadlines and one offseason of extreme inactivity. Veteran center Nikola Vucevic is an unrestricted free agent this summer, while 33-year-old small forward DeMar DeRozan will become extension-eligible during the offseason.
There are a variety of approaches the Bulls could take in dealing with long-injured point guard Lonzo Ball, still not back after undergoing three major knee surgeries. Ball has two years and $41.8MM remaining on his deal with Chicago, and it already appears possible he will miss most or all of 2023/24.
The futures of Bulls role players Andre Drummond and Coby White are also addressed in the piece.
There’s more out of the Central Division: