Report: Tax concerns likely to impact how Cavs use final roster spots

With the start of the 2025-26 season around two months away, the Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves with two open roster spots. According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, however, the team isn’t likely to fill both of those openings.

The expectation is that the Cavaliers will leave one spot open due to their large tax bill and try to sign one player on a non-guaranteed contract with the 14th spot on the roster.

“Cleveland also has two open roster spots themselves, but the Cavaliers are expected to leave their 15th spot open given their hefty luxury tax bill,” Fischer wrote. “Sources say Cleveland is likely to attempt to sign a 14th player on a non-guaranteed contract because of those tax concerns.”

Despite Cleveland losing the likes of Ty Jerome and Isaac Okoro this offseason, depth should still be a strength for the team this coming season, helped by the fact that the franchise has made some additions that will help replace the minutes lost by the departed players.

The Cavaliers may have some options when it comes to signing someone to a non-guaranteed deal. They could give a young player a look or try to add a veteran who is just looking for an opportunity.

However, it seems unlikely that the Cavaliers will acquire a huge impact player with whoever they sign to round out their roster, as the market has dried up a bit, and impact players typically don’t come on non-guaranteed deals.

The Cavaliers head into the 2025-26 season with legitimate title hopes, as the Eastern Conference looks weaker on paper than it did a season ago. Additionally, Cleveland is fresh off a 64-win season in the 2024-25 campaign and has plenty of star power with the likes of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen leading the way.

It should be interesting to see what the Cavaliers do with their remaining roster spots, but at the same time, that shouldn’t be at the top of the minds of fans with the team looking to win its first NBA championship in a decade in 2026. Hopefully, the pieces already on the roster are enough for the squad to get over the hump.