On May 16, Beijing time, the Cavaliers lost to the Celtics 98-113 away and were eliminated with a total score of 1-4. This summer, the Eastern Conference team could see a big change in their roster. Is it possible for James to play for his hometown team for the third time? Has Mitchell finished the final battle of his Cavaliers career? Will Allen join other teams as well? A lot of suspense is waiting to be revealed.
Cavaliers expected to sign first and then trade for James?
The Cavaliers' total salary for next season has reached $156.5 million, far exceeding the $141 million salary cap. This means that if the Cavaliers want to sign James outright, they can only offer James a full midriff with an annual salary of $12.9 million at most, which is probably $38.5 million less than his cap salary.
To maximize his championship chances, James could theoretically even sign a one-year contract with the team of his choice, whether that team is the Cavaliers or something else. Of course, a lot of people will be unhappy about this, regardless of whether James will do it or not.
For the Cavaliers, if James is willing to play for his hometown team for the third time, it would be more realistic to convince the Lakers to sign and trade. They can offer some sort of combination of Mitchell, Garland, Mobley and Allen, depending on what rewards the Lakers prioritize and who James would most like to play with in Cleveland.
James can jump out of his contract and sign with any team as a free agent, and teams that can offer cap or close to cap salary space include the 76ers, Magic and Thunder, and if the Lakers are sure that they can't keep James, their best option is to sign and trade for him, which is better than losing him for nothing. If the Cavaliers go down this path, they will also strive to keep the final salary within 178.7 million, which will not affect their flexibility to build a roster around James and other players.
James was seen at the Cavaliers' home court in the last game and was seen as a threat and pressure on the Lakers. There are reports that James still prefers to stay with the Lakers, but the Lakers' operations in terms of draft and trade will affect his decision.
Mitchell finished the last battle of his Cavaliers career?
In addition to James, Mitchell is another factor that has been linked between the Lakers and the Cavaliers offseason. Mitchell has two years left on his contract, $35.41 million for the 2024-25 season and a $37.09 million player option for the 2025-26 season. Theoretically, Mitchell could jump out of his contract and become a free agent as soon as the summer of 2025.
Mitchell did not express enthusiasm for a contract extension with the Cavaliers, and wanted to request a trade amid rumors that he would not win a championship with the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers paid a lot of money to get him, and of course wanted to agree a long-term contract with Mitchell. This offseason, no Chell is eligible to sign a four-year contract with the Cavaliers for up to $200 million, and if Mitchell refuses to renew his contract early, the Cavaliers will have to consider trading him, after all, they will risk losing him for nothing if they wait another year.
Wenhorst mentioned that in addition to the Lakers and Nets having chips ready and waiting to make an offer to the Cavaliers, teams like the Rockets and Heat are also interested in competing for Mitchell. Mitchell proved himself once again with a strong playoff performance, and the Cavaliers are expected to receive a lot of inquiries this summer, and they have a lot of options.
Although Mitchell does not have the veto power to trade, he still has some initiative, after all, with the 2025 player option in hand, there should be no team willing to pay a high price to the Cavaliers without Mitchell's contract extension commitment.
Cavaliers owner Gilbert is still very confident about keeping Mitchell for a long time. In an interview in March, Gilbert said: "We've been talking to him about renewing his contract all these years and we think he's going to renew it. I think if you listen to him himself, you will find that he loves the city. He likes the current situation in Cleveland because our players are very young and we just want to put the core players together and he's obviously the most important part of that. ”
Allen could also join other teams?
In addition to Mitchell, Allen may also have played the final game of his Cavaliers career. Allen has missed the Cavaliers' last eight playoff games due to a rib injury. Without his Cavaliers, the playoffs are 3-5. Allen also has two years left on his contract, with $20 million for the next two seasons.
The team with the most rumors with Allen is the Pelicans, who have already confirmed a trade for Ingram this summer, and one player they want is Allen. The Cavaliers and Pelicans are perfectly open to trade negotiations. The big obstacle is that there is a big gap between Yingge and Allen's salary, Yingge's annual salary reaches 36 million, and the knights have to take other matching chips to replace him.
Allen is a cost-effective interior player, and it's not just the Pelicans who are interested in him, but also many teams such as the Lakers. For the Lakers, Allen could decompress and get him back to his preferred No. 4 position.
In any case, this summer for the knights is destined to be difficult to calm down. Who will go and who will stay, and what new faces will there be next season? Let's look forward to it.