The Cleveland Cavaliers have been the talk of the offseason, and it’s not because of the moves they’ve made this summer. It’s because of the moves they haven’t made yet. Yes, I am talking about the Kyrie Irving trade reports and the LeBron James to Los Angeles rumors.
During the actual offseason, the Cavaliers haven’t done anything too significant to improve their chances of beating the Golden State Warriors. They have merely made a few minor signings and haven’t even been able to salary dump some of the bad contracts on their payroll.
The free agency period
The first move the Cavaliers made during free agency was signing Jose Calderon to the veteran’s minimum. Although they didn’t spend too much on Calderon, it doesn’t seem like the veteran point guard will crack the rotation and won’t make a significant difference.
The next move of the offseason was the signing of athletic forward Jeff Green. While it seems like Green could become part of the regular rotation, the 30-year-old veteran has been declining. He averaged just 9.2 points and 3.1 rebounds on 39.4 percent shooting last season for the Orlando Magic.
Most recently, the Cavaliers also added Derrick Rose to their bench, who is currently deemed as the backup point guard for Irving.
Signing Rose was the best move of the offseason for the Cavaliers, but even the former MVP and Rookie of the Year may not be able to make much of a difference. Since his knee injuries, Rose has been descending, and with a bench role, his numbers will completely crash.
Other minor moves
Other than signing the three aforementioned players, the Cavaliers re-signed sharpshooter Kyle Korver.
The 36-year-old three-point specialist became a crucial role player during Cleveland’s run last season and will continue to play the same role.
During the NBA draft, the Cavaliers had zero draft picks, which urged them to finally sign 2015 second-round pick Cedi Osman to shore up their wing depth. Osman was playing in the Turkish league for Anadolu Efes and is a three-time Basketbol Super Ligi All-Star.
Falling short in the NBA Finals, the Cavaliers were expected to make major changes to compete with the Warriors. They came close to acquiring Jimmy Butler and Paul George at one point, but the deals fell through since the Cavaliers fired general manager David Griffin. The moves that the Cavaliers have made and the moves they’ve been unable to make has frustrated LeBron James.
Cleveland may not be done making moves, but they have already had a mediocre offseason, which could get even worse when Irving is traded.
Roster Outlook
PG: Kyrie Irving/Derrick Rose/Jose Calderon/Kay Felder SG: J.R. Smith/Iman Shumpert/Cedi Osman SF: LeBron James/Kyle Korver/Richard Jefferson PF: Kevin Love/Jeff Green C: Tristan Thompson/Channing Frye/Edy Tavares Coach: Tyronn Lue
Offseason Grade: D+
