Cavs Insider

REPORT: Cleveland Cavaliers Expected to Be Active in Trade Discussions

The Cavs will be limited by the second apron, but could still be aggressive.
Gavin Dorsey|
Sep 14, 2022; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman speaks to the media during an introductory press conference at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
Sep 14, 2022; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman speaks to the media during an introductory press conference at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

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Cleveland Cavaliers

While names like LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo have been thrown around as potential trade targets for the Cavaliers this offseason, Cleveland's restrictions as a second-apron team could significantly limit the team's ability to make major transactions.

Speaking on ESPN Cleveland on Tuesday, NBA Insider Brian Windhorst said that Cavaliers President Koby Altman should sit back and watch what other teams initially, rather than being aggressive due to financial restrictions. Windhorst expects the NBA Draft to have much more action than free agency, giving Cleveland the opportunity to find its way into trades between other teams as the rest of the league's power balance shifts.

"I think the Cavs will be very, very interested bystanders in and around the draft," Windhorst said. "That's how they got Jarrett Allen. Jarrett Allen, all of a sudden, is involved in the James Harden situation and the Rockets don't want him. Boom, the Cavs jump on that. I don't think they're making aggressive outgoing calls right now, but their phones will be on."

The Nets acquired Harden in January of 2021 in a deal that sent Allen, Caris LeVert, Rodions Kurucs, Taurean Prince and a plethora of draft picks out of Brooklyn. Cleveland found its way into the deal to take Allen and Prince, giving Danté Exum and two picks to Houston. The trade altered the course of the Cavaliers' rebuild, and the team has notched four consecutive winning seasons since then.

The 2025 NBA Draft will be held on June 25 and 26, when Cleveland has the No. 49 and No. 58 overall picks in the second round. The Cavaliers could use those selections to draft young bench-level talent, but could also help teams facilitate deals as the third or fourth team in a trade.

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Gavin Dorsey
GAVIN DORSEY

Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and assists in covering a handful of other teams in the On SI network, including the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Guardians, Houston Texans and Ohio State Buckeyes. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.

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