Cavaliers' Offseason Moves Receive Strong Review

With most of this year's NBA offseason moves in the books and the dust settled, many around the league have begun to dish out some early thoughts and opinions of how each team in the league has fared in their decisions across recent weeks, and who ended up with the best outcomes of the bunch.

For the Cleveland Cavaliers, their offseason wasn't the flashiest, but one where they made a few significant moves around the edges. They traded for Lonzo Ball from the Chicago Bulls, added Larry Nance Jr. back, re-signed Sam Merrill, drafted Tyrese Proctor out of Duke, and now seem well-positioned for another run to place atop the Eastern Conference for 2025.

All in all, a productive summer where Cleveland did what they needed to before next season– a sentiment that Yahoo Sports analyst Ben Rohrback seemingly agrees with within his latest offseason grades around the NBA, opting to stack up the Cavaliers' summer as a solid "B."

"The Cavaliers are a 64-win team that is spending into the second apron, so they expected to lose Ty Jerome, their Sixth Man of the Year candidate. As Jerome signed a three-year, $27 million contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, Cleveland swapped Okoro for Ball, who replaces the playmaking off the bench. Re-signing old friend Larry Nance Jr. was also a nice bit of business for a front office with zero flexibility."

Sep 14, 2022; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman during an introductory press conference at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

The Cavaliers walked into this offseason knowing that entering the second apron would be the end result, but it didn't stop them from making the tweaks and improvements necessary to this roster to better aid them following a disappointing previous exit last season.

The subtraction of Ty Jerome does sting, being one of the league's best bench pieces from last season, but Ball plugs that hole left by the now-Memphis Grizzlies guard. Isaac Okoro's loss may also leave the Cavs with one less defensive piece on the wing, but does maintains more cap flexibility, and had the chance to bring in an impactful rotational player in return for his services.

Now, the same starting five from last season, when healthy, will remain in the fold, while also being backed up by a refined second unit. On paper, that's a win of an offseason, and could be what leads Cleveland to higher heights than their previous campaign.

May 13, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) and guard Donovan Mitchell (45) react during the second half against the Indiana Pacers in game five of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

With the current state of the East for next year, the conference title looks extremely attainable for the Cavaliers this season. By rolling with a similar, steady core from what Cleveland had across their 60-win campaign, this front office is clearly confident in what this group could put together when running it back through 2025-26.

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