Because they’re in the Bird rights trap and have no meaningful way to replace him, it’s expected that the Cavs will re-sign Caris LeVert to a new deal soon.
Coming off a contract that paid him $18m/year, it’s likely that LeVert will not be interested in taking a paycut, however, he’s obviously not a starter-level player and seems to help the team most when he’s coming off the bench.
I’m sure the Cavs are trying to get him closer to 13-15m, but I’m sure that LeVert’s camp won’t be too happy with that.
Personally, I wouldn’t go more than two years with maybe a TO in the third year, otherwise I’m not sure it will be all that movable and the Cavs could be stuck with a player who is not an ideal fit with the rest of the roster for multiple years.
Here is Hollinger’s writeup for him. He had him the eighth ranked SG on the market this offseason:
## 8. Caris LeVert, 28, Cleveland: $10,494,967
With the Cavs’ wing depth already teetering on the brink of viability and [Cleveland](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/cavaliers/) stuck in the [Bird rights trap](https://theathletic.com/2213522/2020/11/22/hollinger-gordon-haywards-contract-and-the-bird-rights-trap/) with LeVert, it’s easy to imagine his salary far exceeding this BORD$ estimate. Another data point: LeVert’s last contract paid him $18 million a year, and he was *still* traded for a first-round pick. Given that information, I’m going to ballpark his next contract in the same range or maybe just slightly lower given the limited number of plausible rival bidders. Cleveland has about $35 million below the projected tax line to re-sign LeVert and use its non-taxpayer MLE and biannual exceptions to fill out a shaky depth situation, so financially, this shouldn’t be a tough pull for the Cavs.
The biggest debate, in fact, is likely to be over years rather than dollars. A two-year agreement would allow Cleveland maximum flexibility in the summer of 2025, which is the franchise’s next big inflection point because it’s when [Donovan Mitchell](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/donovan-mitchell-c5XmTqu40nNV02JE/) can opt out as a free agent and when a big extension for [Evan Mobley](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/evan-mobley-W7q1n9hiubBbXJMk/) could kick in.
by Primordial_Beast
