NBA Just Sent the Cavaliers a Reminder About Their Terrible Offseason

Despite being four wins away from the NBA Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves snubbed from the primetime Opening Night schedule announcement.

The Cavs also won’t play on Christmas Day, the premier spotlight for the league’s best teams.

Even though the Cavaliers had a 52-win season and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time without LeBron James since 1992, the league just told Cleveland what they think about the current state of this basketball team.

The Cavs are uninteresting.

Being uninteresting isn’t always a bad thing. But the Cavaliers are completely irrelevant in the broader NBA landscape right now.

They couldn’t land the plane for a reunion with LeBron James in free agency. Instead, the kid from Akron opted to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, who clowned the Cavs this offseason by hiring general manager Mike Gansey to President of Basketball Operations, trading for Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics and acquiring Dean Wade from Cleveland.

The Sixers aren’t the only Eastern Conference foe that added championship-level talent.

The Miami Heat traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo, finally putting an end to the awkwardness with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Toronto Raptors plan on finalizing their trade for Kawhi Leonard once the investigation surrounding salary cap manipulation wraps up with the Los Angeles Clippers.

So, what exactly have the Cavs done?

The Cavs brought back big man Thomas Bryant who averaged 12 minutes off the bench in 60 games for the team last season. They also added Mario Hezonja on a free agent veteran minimum deal, as he hasn’t played in the NBA for six seasons.

They watched Wade walk in free agency, signing with the Sixers on a four-year, $38.7 million contract. The Cavs certainly could’ve matched that number for a player that started 38 games at forward last season. But they were confident that LeBron was returning home, and were caught without a backup plan once he signed in Philadelphia.

The Cavs are still planning on bringing back James Harden, who opted out of his deal to give President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman the flexibility to pursue LeBron, or sign and trades for forwards like Jonathan Kuminga or Peyton Watson.

Even though Kuminga and Watson would be immediate roster fits for the Cavs due to their glaring hole on the wing, they won’t give Cleveland the same national buzz as they could’ve garnered earlier this offseason. They also don’t have the championship pedigree of players like LeBron, Brown or Leonard.

Cleveland’s postseason run rarely felt fun. The Raptors and Detroit Pistons both had them on the ropes in Game 7 thrillers. The New York Knicks swept them out of the Eastern Conference Finals. By the end of the season, it felt like nobody wanted to watch the Cavaliers, as they were a wildly confusing underperformer once the lights became bright.

The NBA leaving the Cavaliers off of their premium nationally televised schedule is telling. They always want their most interesting teams on Opening Night and Christmas Day. The Cavs might not be a bad team in 2026, but they certainly aren’t an interesting one.

Add us as a preferred source on Google