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Cavaliers’ Silence In NBA Free Agency Is Not At All Surprising

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Cavaliers’ Silence In NBA Free Agency Is Not At All Surprising


The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the offseason without a whole lot wiggle room in terms of their financial situation. If they were going to legitimately improve, they were going to have to get creative.

That’s why it is not at all surprising to see the Cavaliers essentially sitting on the sidelines in the early stages of NBA free agency.

The free-agent period kicked off Sunday evening, and Cleveland has been relatively silent. There were some Cavs rumors, but nothing all that concrete. Instead, the Cavaliers have watched as some of their top Eastern Conference competitors have added key pieces.

But should Cleveland fans panic? Not really.

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Again, this was expected. The Cavs have very little money to give to free agents, and they are understandably more concerned about extending Donovan Mitchell than they are about signing other players.

That isn’t to say that the Cavaliers should stand pat entirely. They do need to make a move or two, whether that comes via trade, a shrewd free-agent signing, or both.

The New York Knicks traded for Mikal Bridges. The Philadelphia 76ers signed Paul George. The Orlando Magic landed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

These are the teams Cleveland is competing with in the Eastern Conference, and they are all getting better.

The Cavs won 48 games and finished with the No. 4 seed in the East this past season. They were able to best the Magic in a tight seven-game series in the first round before losing to the Boston Celtics in five games. No one is expecting the Cavaliers to beat the Celtics next year, but Orlando was right there with Cleveland this past season.

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Now, the Cavs have to worry about a young, upstart team like the Magic potentially surpassing them (remember: Orlando just finished one game behind the Cavaliers in the standings). But unlike the Cavaliers, the Magic actually had the cap space to make a significant addition. So did the 76ers.

The Knicks, on the other hand, did what Cleveland should be doing: they got innovative. New York had to worry about re-signing OG Anunoby (which it did) and still has to concern itself with retaining Isaiah Hartenstein. But that did not stop the Knicks from swinging a major trade for Bridges.

Of course, the question is, what can the Cavs really do? They don’t really have a treasure trove of assets, and any truly groundbreaking trade they could make would probably involve moving one of their big four, which they do not want to do.

Not only that, but Brandon Ingram—who has been mentioned as a potential trade target for the Cavaliers—is entering the last year of his deal and wants a max contract. Cleveland is reluctant to give that to him, which could mean the New Orleans Pelicans will end up sending Ingram elsewhere (and the Sacramento Kings are evidently interested).

The Cavaliers are caught between a rock and a hard place at the moment. They obviously want to make some changes in order to better position themselves for a deeper playoff run next spring, but they don’t want to break up their core. Plus, Isaac Okoro is a restricted free agent. Yes, Cleveland can match any offer, but that’s just money the Cavs will have to spend to keep one of their own guys.

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We knew it wasn’t going to be easy for the Cavaliers this summer. It may really just be about maintaining more than anything else. Perhaps the best thing Cleveland can hope for is the improvement of young players like Evan Mobley and Darius Garland.

There are certainly still some low-cost options out there. Cleveland has already been urged to pursue Indiana Pacers free agent Jalen Smith, for example. But there is no doubt that the free-agent pool is starting to run a bit dry, and it wasn’t all that rich to begin with.

We’ll see what the Cavs have up their sleeves



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Cleveland, OH

’27 DE Munir Lewis Commits to Louisville

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’27 DE Munir Lewis Commits to Louisville


LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Make that a trio of commitment in the Class of 2027 this week for the Louisville football program.

Cleveland (Oh.) Brush defensive end Munir Lewis announced Wednesday that he has committed to the Cardinals. He’s the third commit in the last four days for UofL, Bradenton (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney defensive lineman Kaleb Exume committing on Sunday and Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day two-way athlete Brooklyn Maxey doing so on Monday.

Lewis chose Louisville out of a top seven that also consisted of Ohio State, Michigan State, Illinois, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Purdue. He also held offers from Cincinnati, Minnesota, Wisconsin plus several others, and made multiple visits to UofL’s campus – including this past Friday for the spring game. He’s set to return for an official visit this May.

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The 6-foot-5, 245-pound defensive end is regarded as the 23rd-ranked prospect in the state of Ohio, the No. 50 edge rusher in the Class of 2027, and the No. 592 recruit in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite.

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Lewis was an explosive force for Brush as a junior this past season. He collected 55 total tackles, 13.5 for loss, nine sacks, four pass breakup, a forced fumbles and over 20 quarterback pressures. He helped Brush finish the 2025 season with a 6-4 record.

Lewis is the 12th commitment in Louisville’s 2027 recruiting class, which is on pace to be the best in school history. he joins a class that not only ranks as the best class in the ACC, but the No. 8 class in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite. Four of their commitments are regarded as four-star prospects by the composite.

He’s also the latest in a budding pipeline to the state of Ohio, which has been championed by Executive Director of Football Personnel and Recruiting Vince Marrow. Five of Louisville’s 12 commitments in the 2027 cycle are from the Buckeye State, with three hailing from the Cincinnati area and the other two coming from Cleveland.

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American Cornhole League Cleveland Signature Open | April 24, 2026 | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

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American Cornhole League Cleveland Signature Open  | April 24, 2026 | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission


Anyone Can Play, Anyone Can Win
American Cornhole League is bringing the heat to the boards in Cleveland with $150,000 on the line. Join us on April 24-26, 2026, for elite competition where amateurs and pros collide. Whether you’re a backyard ringer or a seasoned veteran, this is your chance to…



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Houston Astros at Cleveland Guardians prediction, pick for Tuesday 4/21/26

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Houston Astros at Cleveland Guardians prediction, pick for Tuesday 4/21/26


Garion Thorne gives you a preview, prediction and pick for tonight’s game between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Guardians.

Few teams needed a win last night more than the Astros.

Houston came into Monday’s action having lost 12 of its past 14 games, while also having lost nearly as many pitchers — at least it feels that way. Just take a quick glance at this club’s IL. Hunter Brown (shoulder), Tatsuya Imai (fatigue), Cristian Javier (shoulder). Those aren’t losses that are easy to survive, and the Astros have understandably been struggling. However, after a dominating 9-2 victory, Houston can at least take a small breath.

Can the Astros make it two in a row this evening? Or will the Guardians bounce back? Let’s preview this AL clash and make a couple picks on the DraftKings Sportsbook.

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Astros vs. Guardians prediction, preview

So, remember that list of injured Astros pitchers I just recited? The consequence of the length of that list, is that you have to start people like Ryan Weiss. That’s not to suggest that Weiss is completely without promise — he was a stud in the KBO in 2024 and 2025 — it’s just that the right-hander’s MLB career has gotten off to a slightly rocky start, and it’s clear that Houston currently prefers the 29-year-old as a reliever. In 14.2 innings of work, Weiss has racked up 18 strikeouts, but he’s also surrendered four home runs, 11 earned runs, and a sixth percentile opponent hard hit rate (54.5%). Weiss isn’t quite built up to be a starter, either. Well, at least not fully, as he threw a season-high 76 pitches in his last outing. That means we’re probably going to have to see a lot of the Astros’ bullpen on Tuesday, which is not a good thing. Houston’s RPs rank 29th in ERA (5.66) and they’ve served up a league-high 1.89 opponent home runs per nine. Yikes.

On the other side of this pitching matchup, we find another starter with little major league experience. That said, Parker Messick already looks like another developmental success story of the Guardians’ pitcher factory. The former second-round pick debuted in 2025, maintaining a 2.72 ERA and a 2.98 FIP across seven starts. If possible, Messick’s looked even better so far in 2026, allowing a mere three earned runs over 25.2 innings. Now, a .200 BABIP isn’t going to sustain. Neither is a 91.4% strand rate. However, when you’re limiting opponents to a 3.3% barrel rate and a 29.5% hard hit rate, you might just get a little “lucky” from time to time. It’s not like the southpaw has been skating by on a soft schedule, either. Messick has faced the Dodgers, the Braves, the Cubs and the Orioles. There isn’t a single cakewalk in there.

That pattern of difficult matchups will continue on Tuesday, as well. For as underwhelming as the Astros’ record is, it’s mostly a byproduct of poor pitching. The offense has actually been one of the best in all of baseball. Houston actually leads all American League teams in wOBA (.350) and wRC+ (124), with Yordan Alvarez leading the charge. He’s been fantastic in left-on-left scenarios, too. In his 36 plate appearances within the split, Alvarez is slashing .448/.528/1.034 with a 315 wRC+. I don’t want to discount Jose Ramirez, who has six homers and 10 stolen bases for the Guardians, yet a healthy Alvarez is easily the best bat in this series. He’s that good.

Astros vs. Guardians pick, best bet

Best Bet: Jose Ramirez 2+ Total Bases (+107)

Weiss has a 6.27 FIP. The Astros’ bullpen has given up the most opponent home runs per nine (1.89). Ramirez probably won’t be in a single bad matchup this evening, and that’s before you factor in that the All-Star is a switch-hitter.

Strong Lean: Ryan Weiss 4+ Strikeouts (+123)

While Weiss’ surface numbers aren’t great, he has managed four strikeouts in two of his three outings where he’s thrown 60+ pitches. He’s struck out 18 in 14.2 innings and I expect he’ll flirt with the 90-pitch plateau on Tuesday.

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