The Cleveland Cavaliers are moving on from their disappointing loss in the NBA Finals and getting to work on improving the team for next year. The Cavaliers have several players either preparing to become a restricted free agent or deciding on their play options for 2015 meaning they will be opening their wallet sooner rather than later. Cleveland made the first move in free agency by picking up the team option for Timofey Mozgov which could have repercussions down the road.
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, picking up Mozgov's option should be a no brainer. They were right. Eric Pincus of BasketballInsiders.com is reporting the Cavaliers have opted to retain Mozgov on his $4.95 million team option for next year. That is way below market value for the center who could have easily earned a large pay raise if he entered free agency and the Cavaliers were well aware of that.
Mozgov joined onto Cleveland in a mid-season trade last year following the season-ending injury to Anderson Varejao. In return, Mozgov was essentially the best player on the team outside of LeBron James, especially in the postseason. He has developed into one of the top centers in the league and the Cavaliers simply could not afford to let him walk away. The question is what the team does now with players like Varejao who is taking up a fair amount of cap space next year.
ESPN.com is reporting the Cavaliers are already trying to trade one big man in Brendan Haywood who has a $10 million non-guaranteed contract to his name. Could Varejao be next? Prior to the 2014-15 season, the Cavaliers invested in Varejao to the tune of $9.6 million next season, $10.3 million in 2016 and a non-guaranteed deal of $10 million in 2017. The Cavaliers proved they do not need Varejao if they have Mozgov and getting rid of that large contract would ease the financial burden for the team. However, James is a big fan of the center and as he is expected to have a big say in free agency for the team, the chances Varejao sticks around are high.
The next move for the Cavaliers will be determining the futures of Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love and JR Smith. Thompson is commanding a max contract or close to it. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports is reporting Love will test the market, but intends to stay put in Cleveland. ESPN.com is reporting Smith will opt out of his contract in hopes of getting a pay raise. Trading Varejao along with Haywood gives the Cavaliers some breathing room to make other contracts happen while keeping the team together.