The Cleveland Cavaliers do not have time to dwell on their NBA Finals loss as the team has to get right to work in determining the futures of current players since a majority of the roster has player or team options that must be decided upon. Right now the only player truly guaranteed to return is Kyrie Irving as everyone else can opt in or out while facing trade talk. With free agency just around the corner, who plans on sticking around?
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, LeBron James, JR Smith and Kevin Love are expected to opt out of their player options. The Cavaliers will be tight on salary cap space, especially with the max contract Tristan Thompson will command. Windhorst reports that the Cavaliers are having internal talks of increasing their payroll to somewhere between $100 million and $110 million in order to acquire the talent they need. With several players aiming to opt out in order to capitalize on the NBA tv deals taking place in 2016, many will be signed to one-year contracts.
Chris Haynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that while Smith plans on opting out, he will re-sign with the Cavaliers. The shooter likely wants to capitalize on his increased stock this season and earn more than the $6.4 million his option is for. It is unclear if the Cavaliers will offer him a raise as a result. James is another player that will re-sign with Cleveland, already telling the media that he is going nowhere. However, fans should expect another one-year deal as James will be a player to capitalize off the increased cap space.
The biggest questions are Thompson, Matthew Dellavedova and Iman Shumpert. According to Windhorst, all three players will receive a qualifying offer making them restricted free agents. Thompson is the player they are most at risk for losing considering a number of teams would love his defensive abilities. The power forward wants a max contract and other teams will give it to them if the Cavaliers do not.
James will have the biggest input as to who stays and who goes for the team. According to NBA Insider Chuck Myron, the team plans on trading Brendan Haywood, collecting the $10 million in salary cap space and using it on another big man. Myron believes that Roy Hibbert could be a target to fill the void while Matt Barnes or David Lee remain options as well. The Cavaliers will first determine the overall picture of their current roster before making moves for potentially available free agents.