3 Things That Must Happen For a Successful Cavaliers Season

The Cleveland Cavaliers have not been very busy in terms of making additions this offseason, but they have made a couple of key moves for the future.

First and foremost, the Cavaliers reached a three-year contract extension with Donovan Mitchell, which will keep him in Cleveland at least through 2027 (he has a player option for the 2027-28 campaign).

The Cavs also made a coachign change, going from J.B. Bickerstaff to Kenny Atkinson.

Both of those moves can be seen as steps forward, although the switch from Bickerstaff to Atkinson is obviously open for judgment.

That being said, the Cavaliers’ roster largely looks like last year’s, save for the addition of rookie Jaylon Tyson and the potential loss of Isaac Okoro, who is a restricted free agent.

So, what does Cleveland need to do in order to have a successful 2024-25 season?

Here are three things that must happen.

One of the biggest needs present on the Cavs’ current roster is a three-and-D wing.

The Cavaliers thought they had that in Okoro, but he has been a rather significant disappointment since being selected with the fifth overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft and is coming off of a miserable postseason showing.

Cleveland specifically needs a large wing who can defend some of the bigger swingmen in the Eastern Conference (e.g. Jayson Tatum and Paul George). The Cavs don’t really have that at the moment, which is why there have been rumors about them potentially pursuing Brooklyn Nets forwards Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith as well as New Orleans Pelicans star Brandon Ingram.

The Cavaliers have a rather small lineup in general, featuring a triumvirate of Max Strus, Mitchell and Darius Garland (Strus is the tallest member of that group at 6-foot-5). They need someone who is 6-foot-7 or above to effectively guard bigger wings.

Evan Mobley is a gifted player. There is no doubt about that. However, his production somewhat stagnated over the last couple of seasons.

After averaging 16 points and nine rebounds per game in 2022-23, Mobley proceeded to register 15.7 points and 9.4 rebounds a night this past season.

Yes, Mobley improved his efficiency a bit, but he still hasn’t really expanded his range, and his offensie repertoire remains basically unchanged.

Some have surmised that moving Jarrett Allen and placing a floor-spacing big alongside of Mobley up front would allow him to blossom, but great players should be able to flourish (or at least show signs of improvement) regardless of their situation.

Can young players be inhibited or have their growth stunted? Of course, but Mobley is preparing to enter his fourth season. By now, he should be taking it upon himself to get better.

In order for the Cavaliers to truly have a successful campaign next season, Mobley will have to show quite a bit more improvement than he did this past year.

If there is any member of Cleveland’s “core four” that stands a significant chance of being traded between now and October, it’s Darius Garland.

Will Garland be dealt? Probably not, but if the right offer comes along, the Cavs may feel urged to pull the trigger.

Garland is coming off of a rather lackluster 2023-24 campaign in which he averaged 18 points per game on 44.6/37.1/83.4 shooting splits. He was even worse in the playoffs, recording 15.7 points a night while posting a true-shooting percentage of 52.2 percent.

There have been a lot of questions about whether or not Garland can play alongside of Mitchell, but he didn’t seem to have much of an issue doing so in 2022-23 when he tallied 21.6 points per game in what was the most efficient season of his career.

Durability has certainly been a problem for Garland, as he appeared in just 57 games this past season and has never played 70 in any one campaign.

But it also seemed pretty clear that Garland looked a bit out of place this year, which lends credence to the notion that perhaps he isn’t exactly the best backcourt fit with Mitchell long term.

If Garland gets off to a slow start in 2024-25, don’t be surprised if the Cavaliers seriously entertain trading him before the deadline.