Cleveland Cavaliers Free Agents News: Are Cavs Making Big Mistake Early in NBA Free Agency?
The 2015 NBA free agency began with a bang. While no player can be signed until July 9, player-team agreements can be made. The Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the busiest teams in the league as they have been agreeing to retain numerous players from last year.
It looks as if Kevin Love, Iman Shumpert, LeBron James and Tristan Thompson will all be returning for next season. Thompson has verbally agreed to a five-year contract worth $80 million. Shumpert recently agreed to return for $40 million for just four seasons, which has some fans scratching their heads. James will more than likely return for more than $20 million next season, and Kyrie Irving still has five years and more than $94 million remaining on his contract. Love is set to make $110 million.
Between James, Shumpert, Love, Thompson and Irving, the Cavaliers are going to invest more than $72 million in just those four players alone next season. If you thought the Cavaliers had a weak bench last season, you haven't seen anything yet.
In the NBA Finals the Cavaliers were able to go toe-to-toe with the Golden State Warriors, but were destroyed late in quarters because they lacked depth. Investing this much into just five players could be extremely detrimental going forward. No one in their right mind will blame owner Dan Gilbert for giving into James' financial demands, but bringing back Shumpert, Thompson and Love for a combined $230 million could have a very negative impact on the Cavaliers salary cap and bench production.
What the Cavaliers need is someone like a Marco Belinelli; someone who can come off the bench and successfully hit perimeter shots at a high rate who will only cost about 3 to 5 million per season. J.R. Smith, who had some great moments off the bench last year for the Cavaliers has opted out, and it is unlikely he will return.
More than likely the Cavaliers will be able to win the Eastern Conference, as James has won this conference the last five consecutive seasons, and there really isn't an elite team in the East. But in order to knock off a Western Conference team in the finals you're going to have to have roster depth. For the first time last season, fans really witnessed a different side of James. He got tired -- very tired. Relying so much on the starters to play at a high level comes at a cost, even for James.
The ideal situation for the Cavaliers would have been to pick between Thompson and Love, not sign both to an enormous contract. By doing so the Cavaliers would have saved about $100 million, and still had a great power forward. By going with Love, the Cavaliers would be choosing a great scorer, someone who can stretch the floor, and is one of the best three point-shooting big men in the NBA. If the Cavaliers chose to go with Thompson, they would have an excellent rebounder for a cheaper price, and they would be able to upgrade their bench immensely. But the Cavaliers chose option three. They kept both. They get two great players, but a lot of doubt remains on whether or not the Cavaliers can build around them with the money they have left.
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