How NBA Expansion Could Impact the Cleveland Cavaliers

The NBA's expansion to 32 looks to be inevitable as the league offices approved the exploration of two new teams. The first team would be in Seattle, which has been without a team since 2008. Seattle would also maintain their team history from 1967 through 2008.

The second team would be in Las Vegas, a city that has been gaining sports teams nonstop, with the Golden Knights joining the NHL in 2017, the Raiders in football moving there in 2020, and the Athletics in the MLB working their way to Vegas in 2028.

How would two new teams in the NBA affect the Cavaliers?

The first way is that the Cavs could have a new conference foe. Both of the new teams land in the western side of the country, and would most likely join the wester conference. That leaves a lopsided 17 to 15 teams, in all likelihood a team would move over to eastern conference from the west.

That team is unclear right now, but the teams that make the most geographical case would be the Minnesota Timberwolves or the Memphis Grizzlies.

The other way Cleveland would be affected by an expansion might have the most affect on the Cavs roster.

When an expansion happens, an expansion draft happens. The draft would be Seattle and Las Vegas picking back in forth until they fill out a roster. In previous drafts, teams are allowed to protect eight players, team’s can’t protect players on expiring deals or restricted free agents, and Seattle and Vegas can only select one player from each team.

So there is a possibility that the expansion teams could “steal” a player from the Cavs roster. The NBA is targeting the 2028-29 season for the expansion, currently the Cavs have just four players under contract during that season. Those players are Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Sam Merrill, and Tyrese Proctor.

Donovan Mitchell’s current deal expires in the 2027-28 season, breakout sophomore Jaylon Tyson currently will be a restricted free agent in the 2028-29 season. James Harden’s current deal expires in the 2026-27 season, and will be 38 years old when the draft takes place.

Cleveland will have to make some tough roster decisions in the next couple seasons if the expansion goes through. Including locking down Mitchell, deciding on Harden’s future, and holding onto Tyson. Some of the fan favorites and key role players could be the way out based on the difference in the league.