Report: Cavs Front Office ‘Determined’ to Keep 3 Players on Its Roster

While the Cleveland Cavaliers are in the midst of a rebuilding program that’s already seen them trade some players away, apparently not everyone on the team is being made available to other teams. One report states that three specific players are not being shopped around.

Sam Amico of Amico Hoops indicated that three starters are being held back from any deals in order to serve as cornerstones of the new-look Cavaliers, who have begun this season with a 6-21 mark:

“It appears general manager Koby Altman and the front office are determined to keep three players — Collin Sexton, Kevin Love and yes, Tristan Thompson. The Cavs envision those three with, say, Duke stars Zion Williamson or R.J. Barrett next season and suddenly, Cleveland pro basketball will look a lot more interesting.”

Sexton was the team’s top draft pick back in June and has begun to display the skills the Cavaliers were seeking when they selected the 19-year-old with the eighth overall pick. Love is currently injured, but the 30-year-old power forward signed a four-year contract extension with the Cavs during the offseason worth $120 million.

Finally, Thompson, prior to his recent injury, was putting up numbers that had raised some discussion of the 27-year-old center possibly earning a berth in the NBA All-Star Game.

Right now, the Cavaliers have no way of knowing exactly what draft selection they’ll have in June. That may be something that ultimately precludes them from having the option of choosing between the two Duke University standouts, with other players also possibly emerging in the months ahead.

Now without either Love or Thompson in the lineup, the road gets longer for the Cavaliers. They’ll seek to rebound from Monday’s night’s loss in Milwaukee with the first of three home games on Wednesday night as they face the New York Knicks.