As teams complete their seasons, ESPN Insider's NBA team will take a look at the offseason picture and priorities for all 30 teams. Below, Kevin Pelton offers a snapshot of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
2014-15 record: 53-29
Pythagorean record: 53-29
Offensive Rating: 107.7 (4th)
Defensive Rating: 104.1 (20th)
Draft picks
Own first-round pick (24th)
Portland second-round pick (53rd)
Projected cap space
Maximum: $$35.5 million
Minimum: $0
Likely: $0
What's returning
Remarkably, the Cavaliers have just three players under guaranteed contract for next season. Point guard Kyrie Irving, recovering from surgery to repair the kneecap he fractured during Game 1 of the NBA Finals, is the one starter locked up. With the salary cap due to increase, the five-year maximum extension Irving agreed to last summer might be the best long-term value in the league. After early growing pains, he settled into a role as LeBron James' sidekick and became one of the league's most efficient high scorers. At 23, Irving already has made three All-Star appearances.
Center Anderson Varejao signed a three-year, $30 million extension in October. He was off to a fine start before a ruptured Achilles ended his season. This is the worst setback yet for the injury-prone Varejao, who may find himself in a limited role after the Cavaliers replaced him with Timofey Mozgov.
Second-round pick Joe Harris played key minutes early in the season because Cleveland was so badly in need of shooting. He found his way to the end of the bench after the arrival of J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert.
Besides those three, Mozgov is also under team control. His $5 million team option is a bargain after the Cavaliers gave up two first-round picks to bring in Mozgov to protect the rim and shoot nearly 60 percent from the field.
Free agents
James can and almost certainly will opt out of the second year of his contract, if only to get the maximum possible 120 percent raise on his contract as a non-Bird free agent. The same logic applies to Kevin Love's player option, but there's some uncertainty about his return to the Cavaliers after an uneven first season in Cleveland. Despite shoulder surgery, Love will be one of the most coveted free agents on the market.
The possibility of Smith exercising his $6.4 million player option was a primary reason the New York Knicks traded Smith and Shumpert to the Cavaliers. Now, after an impressive shooting display in the Eastern Conference playoffs, Smith is likely to opt out and make more money. Shumpert is a restricted free agent at the end of his rookie contract, and his strong 3-point shooting in the playoffs was well timed to maximize his value as a 3-and-D player.
Cleveland's other restricted free agents also shined in the postseason. Tristan Thompson stepped into the starting lineup in place of the injured Love and dominated the offensive glass, making him look prescient for turning down an extension offer in October reported at $52 million over four years. Backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova stepped into Irving's spot at point guard and erased memories of his poor regular season by making timely shots in the playoffs.
Unless he decides to retire, veteran Mike Miller is sure to exercise a $2.9 million player option. And as long as James returns to the Cavaliers, sharpshooter James Jones is likely to be alongside him. Both players have made five consecutive trips to the NBA Finals between Miami and Cleveland.
Biggest need: A smallball 4
The one piece the Cavaliers have missed that James' Heat teams had was the Shane Battier-type. While Love allowed Cleveland to space the floor while playing two traditional big men, when the Cavaliers wanted to match up with quicker power forwards they had to put James at the 4 and go small with either Jones or Shumpert at small forward. Ideally, they'd add a small forward with enough size to battle in the post against power forwards, saving James from that wear and tear. Shawn Marion was supposed to be that player, but he fell out of the rotation and saw limited playing time in the final season of his career.
Biggest question: Does Love want to return?
Cleveland's entire offseason will hinge on Love's unrestricted free agency. If he was so unhappy with his role that he decides to leave, the Cavaliers will have limited options to replace him. Assuming everyone else returns, Cleveland will be unable to add a free agent like LaMarcus Aldridge via a sign-and-trade deal (a move available only to teams that remain under the luxury-tax apron, projected at $85.6 million). The Cavaliers could sign-and-trade Love for veteran players or a trade exception they use to add a player under contract. They also have Brendan Haywood's non-guaranteed contract, which counts as $10.5 million in salary for trade matching purposes and could offer a team instant cap relief. But none of those alternatives are likely to yield a player as good as Love.
Ideal offseason
Believing his health could have made the difference in the NBA Finals, Love re-signs in Cleveland. So too do Dellavedova, James, Jones, Shumpert, Smith and Thompson, pushing the Cavaliers' payroll toward record levels. Owner Dan Gilbert grins and bears the enormous tax bill in the name of pursuing Cleveland's first major professional sports championship since the Browns in 1964. A full training camp with a roster that turned over midseason allows the Cavaliers to get off to a quicker start, and they cruise to the top spot in the Eastern Conference with 60-plus wins.