Cleveland, OH
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.
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.
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.
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
Even as the Cleveland Cavaliers begin to turn their season around, rumors of making changes are going to follow them through the trade deadline.
The obvious names mentioned have been the underperforming stars in Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland, but it turns out, those may not be the only names on the trade block.
One name who has been named in trade rumors has been long-time Cavaliers Dean Wade, who is currently serving as a fringe starter amongst injuries in Cleveland.
“I’ve been told that Dean Wade on the Cleveland Cavaliers is very likely to be moved, and he’s kind of preparing to be moved before the trade deadline,” Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints said.
In his latest NBA intel video, @BrettSiegelNBA said this about Dean Wade at the 26:00 mark:
“I’ve been told that Dean Wade on the Cleveland Cavaliers is very likely to be moved, and he’s kind of preparing to be moved before the trade deadline.”https://t.co/oYiZVZbEII — RealCavsFans.com (@realcavsfans) January 1, 2026
Siegel added he believed Wade had some value in the offseason, but the Cavaliers opted to keep hold of him into the regular season. Teams have kept their eyes on him though, and have checked if he’s available.
He added the Houston Rockets as a team that has done their research on adding a stretch big like Wade, while also naming the Denver Nuggets as a new team that could be interested after facing recent injuries.
Wade has been a member of the Cavaliers since the 2019-20 season. He has averaged 5.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, acting as a serviceable stretch big in Cleveland’s rotation.
He has briefly cracked the starting lineup from time to time, making 134 starts in his career so far, but hasn’t been able to hold down a long term spot in the starting unit. He has never started more than 32 games in a season.
This year, Wade has been one of the few consistently healthy players. He’s played in 33 games, starting 12, and averaged 5.9 points. His shooting splits are currently under his career averages as he’s hitting on just under 40% of his shots.
Wade fills a slightly unique role in Cleveland as a 6’ 9” big who specializes in three point shots. If he leaves, guys like Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Larry Nance Jr. will need to step up to fill those big minutes, while a guy like Max Strus would need to comeback from injury and be productive to make up for the shooting.
Wade’s time in Cleveland has been memorable. Fans will remember his historic game in 2024 where he scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to defeat the Boston Celtics 105-104. If this is the end of his time here, he should be remembered as one of Cleveland’s best role players this decade.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Some northeast Ohio Spectrum customers are experiencing outages on Wednesday afternoon after a plow truck hit a utility pole.
According to a Spectrum spokesperson, Spectrum customers in the Cleveland area are experiencing a service disruption after a salt or plow truck hit a utility pole and damaged fiber lines in Cleveland Heights.
“Our teams responded immediately and are working diligently to make the necessary repairs to restore services for our customers,” Spectrum said.
This is a developing story. Return to 19 News for updates.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (20-16) vs. Detroit Pistons (25-9)
Where: Rocket Arena – Cleveland, OH
When: Sunday, Jan. 4 at 2 pm EST
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio, FanDuel Sports Network App, NBA League Pass
Point spread: Not yet set
Cavs injury report: Jarrett Allen – QUESTIONABLE (illness), Dean Wade – QUESTIONABLE (knee), Sam Merrill – QUESTIONABLE (left ankle sprain), Larry Nance Jr. – OUT (calf), Max Strus – OUT (foot), Chris Livingston – OUT (G League), Luke Travers – OUT (G League)
PIstons injury report: Jalen Duren – OUT (ankle), Tobias Harris – OUT (hip), Isaac Jones – OUT (G League), Bobi Klintman – OUT (G League), Caris LeVert – OUT (knee), Wendell Moore Jr. – OUT (G League)
Cavs expected starting lineup: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen
Pistons expected starting lineup: Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Ronald Holland II, Isaiah Stewart
Previous matchup: The Cavs defeated the Pistons 116-95 on Oct. 27.
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