The Cleveland Cavaliers kept the core of their roster together during the offseason, extending the contracts of guard Donovan Mitchell and big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
However, The Athletic’s Joe Vardon isn’t sold on the continuity for the Cavs lasting all season. He predicted that one of Cleveland’s “core four,” likely Allen or Darius Garland, will get traded during the 2024-25 season.
“Cavs will trade one of their ‘core four’: And it won’t be Donovan Mitchell,” Vardon wrote. “Look, the Cavs are entering this season with their rotation pieces entirely unchanged. This is a good team and an expensive one, but there is ample evidence the pieces do not fit together for greatness. Perhaps new coach Kenny Atkinson makes them fit better, but if he can’t, a trade will materialize to move either Jarrett Allen or Darius Garland to give Cleveland a different, perhaps more dynamic, look heading into the playoffs.”
The Cavs have made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, but there are some inherent flaws on the team’s roster.
First off, Garland and Mitchell are both smaller guards, which can hurt the Cavs defensively against bigger teams like the Boston Celtics in a playoff series. Boston knocked the Cavs out of the playoffs in five games last season, although Mitchell missed multiple games in the series and Allen didn’t play at all.
In the frontcourt, Allen and Mobley are less than a perfect fit.
Neither player is known for his ability to stretch the floor, which can limit the Cavs’ spacing at times on offense. Mobley did hit a career-high 37.3 percent from deep last season on 1.2 attempts per game, but he’s not taking enough shots from beyond the arc for opposing defenses to be worried about him.
That could lead to the Cavs looking to make a trade for a better fit around Mitchell on the roster.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst recently called Allen the team’s second-best player, but he did so after theorizing that the Cavs need to play Mobley at center to close games – essentially taking Allen off of the court.
The Cavs are hoping that new head coach Kenny Atkinson can design a scheme and rotation that will allow Cleveland to win with the current core it has. After extending Allen, Mobley and Mitchell — and re-signing Isaac Okoro — the Cavs showed a ton of confidence in the roster they have this offseason.
However, if things don’t go well to start the 2024-25 season, the Cavs could end up being a team that is active at the trade deadline.
