Bronny James? Mike Conley? Who could the Cleveland Cavaliers add to their roster this summer?

Bronny James? Mike Conley? Who could the Cleveland Cavaliers add to their roster this summer?

on today’s locked on Cavs president of basketball operations Kobe Alman said that the Cavs don’t expect to make any seismic changes to the team this off season let’s take that at face value and dive into what the Cavs could do in free agency the 2024 NBA draft and on the trade market to take this Cleveland team from a possible playoff threat to a legitimate title Contender you are locked on Cavs your daily Cleveland caval podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day welcome back to lockon Cavs how you doing how you doing come on in and sit on down because like I said we’re going to start diving into some possible free agency targets and I’ll break down how the Cavs can make moves in free agency despite a pretty salary heavy roster that Cleveland currently has but I got to let you know first that today’s episode of lockon Cavs is brought to you by FanDuel make every moment more right now with new customers getting $150 in bonus Bets with win any winning $5 bet that’s 150 bucks with any winning $5 bet just visit vandal.net just commonality sake we’ll just say 13.1 million and that doesn’t mean that they have to sign one player but they can break it into chunks to make free agency signings this summer they also can just sign players to vet minimum deals and there’s a guy that the Cavs out to have a conversation about which I’ll touch on at the very end of uh breaking down all these targets but I think the biggest target mle wise for the Cavs would have to be Roy O’Neal um he averaged 7.7 points 4.8 rebounds 2.8 assists and hit on 37% of his three-point attempts in 24.7 minutes per game between his time with the Nets and the Suns last season after he was traded to Phoenix at the trade deadline um to try and bolster the sun’s Hess playoff run but it is well known that Royce O’Neil is has and will probably continue to be a longtime Target of Cleveland due to the need that he kind of covers at the wing spot I think also just the fact that he’s close to Donovan Mitchell could help a lot of bit and if Mitchell re-ups and this is assuming of course in this scenario that you have a fully resigned Mitchell um have mobbly signed to a rookie Max extension Darius Garland and Jared Allen on the roster and Mitchell could recruit O’Neal to Cleveland and kind of just provide a little bit more Wing depth and a guy who can is a bit of that two3 spot which isn’t ideal but does have the size and at least defensive grit and also just you know the ability to defend at the four as well if the Cavs ever wanted to go small and he’s just a proven success story no matter where he’s at even when he was in a little bit of a weird situation in Phoenix O’Neal still had a lot of impact on and off the ball which is something that fits the need for the Cavs but I think um a guy that makes more sense in that 34 mold is soon to be free agent torian prince who did play for the Cavs in 2021 and this last season with the Lakers averaged 8.9 points 2.9 rebounds 1.5 assists and hit on 39.6% of his three-point attempts last year he was Tech he’s technically listed as a power forward now but he’s at 34 hybrid because he has the size um and he’s more importantly just still despite his age and energetic Wing who fits that 3 andd mold though he can sometimes put the ball on the floor and get to the basket if he wants to but low usage guy a guy who is comfortable attacking the basket in an isolation situation you know if the clock shot clock excuse me is winding down but a guy that is going to give you a lot of Defense a lot of rebounding a lot of grit and also just a lot of uh three-point shooting which is what the Cavs need from the wing spot but there’s a little bit of a caveat because he was um on a Lakers podcast not too long ago and said that he has a desire to resign of the Lakers so they’re could be competition um but moving further down the line uh looking at Miami Heap Swingman Josh Richardson kind of in that similar vein to Royce O’Neal he’s a two3 type player but he did average 9.9 points 2.8 rebounds 2.4 assists and 34.7% from three-point range with the Heat this year um he has a plug and play role guy as a tertiary scorer secondary playmaker and as a well-rounded Defender whose hard-nosed effort could translate well with the guys from last season that are being carried over on the Cavs and also kind of just dabbles in a little bit of everything that you need in terms of just secondary playmaking a guy who can act as a tertiary score a guy who can hit your his three-pointers who can give you about that 10 or so points per game which is ideal when considering how the Cavs bench floundered in the playoffs and something that’s definitely worth taking a stab at um but moving on you start to look down a little bit lower on the list uh there could be guys out there um it depends on what the Toronto Raptors do looking the ml rather um there could be a chance the Toronto rappers decline Bruce Brown’s player option I mean that’s a guy you’d probably commit the full mle too but it’s been reported that the Raptors are expected to pick it up um ditto for Kevin Love who I believe has a player option um he could decline that and enter free agency and re up with Miami or be an option with Cleveland but he doesn’t have as clean of a path joining the C and refreshing The Vibes and um all have an honorable mention for a guy in the lower end of the mle but uh looking at vet Min targets to slowly gradually working back up to lower mle targets um Gordon Hayward uh he’s a guy I mentioned on yesterday’s show when talking about Johnny Bryant and also just like the relationship Bryant had with has with Donovan Mitchell and also had with Gordon Hayward I don’t know if they still do now but in his time between Charlotte and Oklahoma City last season Hayward averaged 9.8 points 3.5 rebound bounds 3.1 assists uh he hit on 41.1% of his three-point attempts um and more importantly he’s just a veteran Wing that can shoot and he can also handle the ball and create for others and he’s certainly not on the same level as his prime um I think that was kind of a window that open and closed unfortunately due to injury for Hayward but still possesses some of the Acumen to be a solid defender on the wing and can be a guy that isn’t like expected to play most nights maybe he could start minutes depending on the lineups and matchups or situations but can anything just fill the role of a veteran wing while being younger than some of the options that you could sign to either a vetman or a smaller portion of the ML and bring some experience as a volume scorer on a pretty cheap and team or friendly deal um friendly or deal I should say not teamer team or team friendlier deal there’s the words I’m trying to form here but moving up the ranks a little bit um Patrick Beverly I think is a guy the Cass could look at especially just because with Ricky Rubio’s retirement with Craig Portage you’re not really having much of an outside shot um and you’re not really trying to put the weight of the world on the shoulders of a sophomore NBA player uh Beverly does make a lot of sense as a guy who could back up Darius Garland plays a little bit of a two guard off the ball because he’s very comfortable playing off the ball um but similar to tan Prince Beverly has expressed a desire to stay in Milwaukee but it is worth noting that the Bucks are so cash strapped right now that they may not be able to afford him um on the year last year Beverly had 6.2 points 3.3 rebounds 2.9 assists and hit on 33.7% of his three-point attempts between his stints in Milwaukee and Philadelphia um he’s always going to be a defensive pass he’s a smaller guard that plays bigger than his actual size um kind of lays out and he can space the floor from three-point range off the ball and he can just be a nice little second option alongside Darius Garland or Donovan Mitchell or if you want to get real freaky with it maybe you put him at the W the two and you put Mitchell the three and garlic the two excuse me or something like that or Garland at the one as well and you can just kind of explore those lineups and those mismatches and excuse me um just kind of look at things from that angle and then finally I think a guy that has earned his worth um and showed it especially when the matters most for Cleveland during the playoffs is a guy that they should probably consider again is Marcus Morris senior he averaged 6.4 points 2.7 rebounds 0.7 0.7 assists and hit up on 40.3% of his three-point attempts between his time in Cleveland and Philadelphia with getting more of um he would say it wasn’t very robust but I think he got much more just consistent playing time with the Cavs and he would with like Philly or you know how his stint with the Clippers ended um just more importantly he just showed he has some gas in his tank I think he showed the fact that like he’s not a veteran who’s just like absolutely on the decline and completely unplayable and I’m not saying that he needs to be the starting three three or the starting four you’re looking for guys that could be plug andplay support pieces for kind of the existing Supporting Cast of like Max Shu um Carris the vert George Nang um Dean Wade and others and moris Senor kind of fits that mole pretty well has do a lot of these guys but at least in Morris’s case he gives you three-point shooting and um just an edge on the wing and speaking of edge the final guy to keep tabs on during free agency is soon to be restricted free agent is aoro the 23-year old Wing had a solid fourth season in Cleveland in which he averaged 9.4 points and 1.2 threes per game while shooting 39.1% from three-point range and providing some really Stout multi-positional defense still the Coral still doesn’t profil as a high volume scorer or a difference making playmaker you’re paying him if anything in restricted free agency for the defense and then hoping and praying that since he’s so young and unrefined and kind of in a weird spot with how the cabs both handled his development just kind of handled his trajectory overall that he would just continue to grow as an offensive player but you know keep your expectations realistic and you’re never bound to be disappointed um and the current projections out there do say that he’s slightly worth more than the ml because of his position and his defensive skill set and I think a lot of his upside as well and the Cavs would probably prefer to iron out a deal early in a free agency and that fits nicely with their other moves or they could face the eventuality of risking overpaying him or losing to another team that has cap space like Detroit or Utah a car out space for a Coro if they wanted to as well um but I think Isaac aoro deserves more than a brief mention at the end of free agency targets and just free agency options for Cleveland at the end of an a segment um we’ll dive more into him on this summer uh maybe have some guests on the show as well just to talk about it too uh just kind of explore what a coro’s market is and maybe some realistic targets for him if he were to leave Cleveland and also like maybe just the price the Cavs have to match but a Coro could win big in free agency but you could win really big right now with today’s first and only sponsor FanDuel as I had mentioned before today’s episode of Locked on Cavs is brought to you by FanDuel it’s winner take all time in the NBA and the NHL and FanDuel is giving you a shot to bring home a big win of your own right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet so if you’re feeling good about the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals or whomever wins the Western Conference Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves and then maybe them winning it all you can win big two with any $5 winning bet resulting in $150 to bet on spreads money lines player props and more that’s 150 bones which if you can’t do the math is 30 times more than the money you wagered in the first place just visit fanduel.com lockon and make every playoff shot count again this is FanDuel America’s number one sports book and the official sports betting partner of the locked on podcast Network welcome back to locked on Cavs your number one podcast covering all things Cleveland cators were more than just basketball and while you’re getting your fill on us I got to ask are you watching Fox Sports or ESPN on your TV all day do you have to turn down the volume with all that shouting make the switch right now to lock on sports today a free 247 sports streaming channel that is programmed for your every day to bring you the biggest stories without all the screaming loton sports today brings you the can’t miss analysis opinions and news streaming 24/7 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app it’s all part of the loton podcast Network which of course features your team every day we’re going to dive in now to options in the NBA draft because I am a firm firm believer that the Cavs should take a player they believe can make both an immediate impact now and also has upside for their future just because they are limited assetwise they traded the farm to get Donovan Mitchell this is this upcoming draft in mid June will be the last time the Cavs have a technical first round pick until 2031 without stipulations on it um so you want to be mindful and pragmatic of that and I think that’s when you start to really look at Juniors and seniors with the 20th overall pick that Cleveland possesses but also if you feel comfortable maybe taking an upside swing on a freshman that could contribute immediately because the situation is unique enough where the Cavs could just present an opportunity to develop a player but also have somebody who contributes to a possible title worthy team next season and if you just want to go to like the not very sexy kind of I guess want to call it low upside pick you’d go with Jaylen Tyson um he’s a Texas Tech transfer that played at Cal this last season and Tyson projects complimentary skills to be a role player at the next level he is a skilled scorer who can shoot from Beyond The Arc and attack the basket off the dribble he’s also a capable rebound and Defender making him a well-rounded player if needed he can also play guard or the wing or even in the post if you need him to he can be a plug andplay option that is more NBA ready than most and I think some of the concerns of Tyson though is one the age he is a senior um and also just like the fact there’s not like a ton of overwhelming athleticism when it comes to his skill set or overall game and sure I think that’s a little bit of a flag in of itself and if you’re the cabs and you’re thinking okay this is the last time we really have a draft pick outside of second rounders for the foreseeable future and we wanted to make more of an upside swing that’s where maybe you want to look at hit uh Swingman I guess combo guard if you really want to get technical Carlton uh Carrington uh Carrington is very similar actually to Carris Levert as a bigger combo guard who can get buckets with his size and can catch fire at any given night he carried pit more often than not with his playmaking scoring rebounding everything in between and did have the ability to get red hot but there are limitations to that too as fans know of his game overall um his skill set though could make him a rotation level player despite his lack of age of and experience where I’m not saying you throw him into the fire and either start him or make him your six-man if you’re Cleveland but he could be a guy that you invest a little bit of time and energy and resources into and maybe you view Carris lebert as a bit more Expendable as a trade ship more on that in a second and um really just start to feel out the entire process and just um overall feeling on Carlton Carrington and maybe he could be that guy who’s a little bit of your scoring six-man maybe he becomes like a backup guard to Darius Garlin and Donovan Mitchell in the foreseeable future that has a little bit more pedigree and upside than Amman Bates or Isaiah Moy or Luke Travers or halifa jup or you know anyone the Cavs have really invested time energy and draft resources into up to this point just because again they haven’t really had a first round pick like they had o chaji who isn’t that great great and um cuz he went from Utah to Toronto and I guess he’s showing stuff on a bad Raptor team but Carrington could be interesting if the Cavs really wanted to devote the time energy and again resources to make it happen and if they really wanted to swing for the fences and you know put themselves in the conversation to get LeBron James if LeBron decides not to return to Los Angeles Lakers this summer um Le Brony James could be an option at 20 especially with him being linked to the Phoenix Suns at 22 um that would be certainly interesting if bronny goes to Phoenix and LeBron signs with the Suns for next to nothing to just make one of the more broken teams in the NBA history because LeBron next to Devin Booker Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant is so much shooting it’s absolutely disgusting but it’s neither here nor there if you just wanted to spoil Phoenix’s plans um and make us pitch at LeBron sure but like jokes aside bronny despite being on a bad Southern Cal team um despite the concerns that came with his cardiac arrest and maybe just you know the pressure of being the same name of his as his dad he is still a Bonafide Prospect with legitimate skills um he has good athlet athleticism he shot it well in high school and shot it very well at the NBA draft combined and has that cerebral High feel make out to his game where he is able to make decisive passes and also just kind of be um a multifaceted toolkit guy that can support the Cavs or any that drafts him in any way shape or form and it’s funny he compared himself and he models his set he models his game after like Derek white and he can honestly thrive in a role like Derek white or Alex Caruso where he does contribute immediately and he uses his god-given size to focus on defense first and he’s just continually moving to looking to move and pass the ball and since he is a reliable three-point sh threat and the Cavs probably would have a lot of three-point options on the floor next to bronnie in the event he did play um bronnie could actually is like a safety valve is like that fourth or fifth option on the perimeter that could just continually to stretch out the defense um and maybe just yeah develop into a very intriguing high-end Prospect and then maybe after that the Cavs find a way to draft Bryce Maximus after that and they complete the hashtag James gang for LeBron’s uh last few years in the NBA but that’s enough about the NBA draft we’ll dive more into that in the coming weeks and days especially the people who are much more refined and have much more of a robust understanding on certain players and Prospects than I do after you know looking at some combine numbers some tape and everything else and um let’s dive into the real meat potatoes of it all just because like again the cabs at least have said they aren’t actively looking to trade Darius Garland Jared Allen and or Evan Mo and Donovan Mitchell but I think it is going to be fair to question whether or not they do make any moves period um that aren’t considered seismic they’re more on the margins but they are moves nevertheless that could improve this roster and I think there are three guys that are worth monitoring for Cleveland and I think could improve their chances overall more on that in a second so the first guy we really got to look at and I think a guy that just kind of makes sense the most and could be a casualty of these Funtime Minnesota chor wolves becoming suddenly expensive is uh Mike Conley um it’s fair to question could like George yangang in multiple second rounders or Dean Wade in multiple second rounders like could the Cavs I don’t want to say so low but I mean this is a point guard that is in his late 30s is got he’s long in the tooth sure he’s playing meaningful basketball in the Western Conference Finals right now and he’s a guy that the entire Timberwolves team adors especially with like Anthony Edwards saying that he’s the type of guy that um he run away from looks like he’s going to bite you um and it turns out that Conley had never heard that before just but more in importantly like Conley could just be a guy that works really nicely in this Cleveland ecosystem like he is a guy that is won very close with Donovan Mitchell he provides veteran leadership but on the court like he grades out as one of the better if not one of the best offb players at his position in the league and could very comfortably play that role next to Donovan or Darius or again if the Cavs wanted to get freaky with it with Mike Conley like put Conley at the one or two Garland at the one or two and Mitchell at the two or the three depending on the lineups and just all three on the floor together but there’s ways you could plug and play and explore these variables and options where Conley can comfortably be another ball handler shot Creator and also shot Taker and also just still has that high energy defensive upside despite being longer in the tooth and maybe possessing just some of the attributes the Cavs kind of really need the point guard spot and also would at least address temporarily until Conley either is traded again or was retired could be a backup option to Darius Garlin um outside of Cony I think Kelvin Johnson a guy that is the odd Man Out in San Antonio’s future plans with Victor wanana um Devon Vel and then their two first round picks this year and I think one of them will be worth something in their pound of salt but the the Spurs are leveling up and Johnson was a guy who went from a starter to being benched and he embraced the role but like you could be looking for a starting opportunity and funly enough could be an opportunity for the Cavs to write a wrong of taking Dylan Windler over him despite taking Kellon Johnson initially and then pivoting to Windler at the last second based on what sham charting tweeted in the frus of that whole situation but Johnson um isn’t great defensively um but he is a bucket getter that can kind of score at all three levels he can get to stretch the floor a little bit and he’s just kind of a guy that can be a plug-and-play scoring option that either starts or comes off the bench but kind ofies ways to keep Cleveland Dynamic offensively at has a little bit of a safety valve whenever things get bogged down a little bit and just allows the Cavs to kind of keep more importantly the ball moving and just kind of think keep things from sticking and you have to ask like is Caris LT in a couple second rounders worthwhile for San Antonio or you know if K Alman doesn’t stay true to his word despite you know the ethos of this entire episode like he could be a piece or chip that comes back in the event like Darius Garland goes to San Antonio and I think obviously you want more than Kellin Johnson you’d like to shoot for like Devon Vell and Kellin Johnson and one of those first round picks that the Spurs have this season to kind of keep adding young depth just to round out this rotation but we’ll see I I don’t hate kin Johnson’s fit I think you know it’s giving you a lot more than Dylan Windler ever gave you just from the beginning but you have to kind of monitor the situation overall and just be mindful and tactful on how you can proceed and also just Embrace this overall situation so that you can ideally maximize your opportunities on the floor with him and I think he could be a guy that could be a fun little wrinkle for the Cavs whether he’s starting or coming off the bench and again like is an accentuating supporting piece to the topheavy cast and the established role players to begin with and finally another young guy that the Cavs might want to take a stab at is uh Golden State Warriors forward Moses Moody um he’s a little bit in that weird situation with the Warriors where young players don’t get to play much under Steve cerr like you’re going to see well who knows happens to Klay Thompson at least you’re going to see a lot of Steph cerr you’re going to see a lot of Draymond Green you’re going to see a lot of Jonathan kaminga now just because kaminga is like a merged as a legitimate option I think um Kavon L’s always going to be there too until he Withers away or something like that but like Moses Moody was a guy that the Warriors took with a higher pick that I think they got for acquiring Andrew Wiggins or was part of the Kevin Durant trade or anything like that but like trying to remember the calculus and trajectory on that whole trade there’s just so much going on um but either way it could have come from Minnesota could have come from um Brooklyn there’s a lot of places I forget where the pick went but Moses Moody was a top 10 pick who hasn’t just had the opportunity really to shine but um at least when he’s given consistent minutes or a chance to play and Steve CER Moody has shown flashes of an Elite 3 and D Wing whenever like I said Kerr decides to give Moody a chance and I think you know adding Moody gives the Cavs another option to start a small forward or it gives them a a lot of support off the bench in the second unit um but yeah that three and potential so it’s three-point shooting defense I think he can provide a of ball handling and creativity on offense as well as like that tertiary playmaker or anything like that I think there’s a lot of fun little things you could do with Moses Moody a guy who is reportedly frustrated with this situation in Golden State and could really thrive in a situation in Cleveland whether it’s starting or coming off the bench um or at least he’s getting POS consistent minutes and an opportunity to actually show what he’s worth as a player um and it’s fair to ask like would Dean Wade and if few second rounders do it maybe but who knows that the Warriors are trying because they’re in that weird spot where they could start to suck around step for a little bit as they try to improve or they keep trying to drag out this aging creaking Dynasty that they have um instead of mercy killing it behind the shed but that’s going to do it for today’s lock on Cavs and on our way out I want to remind everyone that locked on is available 247 on locked on sports today again it’s a free 24/7 Sports streaming channel that is programmed for your every day to bring you the biggest stories about all the screaming lot on sports today brings you the can’t miss analysis opinions and news streaming 24/7 on YouTube and on the free Amazon Fire TV channels app it’s part of the locked on podcast Network just like locked on Cavs which features your team every single day

On a new episode of Locked on Cavs, Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan Right Down Euclid) takes Koby Altman’s word at face value and assumes that the Cleveland Cavaliers won’t make any seismic changes to their roster this summer.

With their mid-level exception, the No. 20 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and some possible marginal trades, how can the Cavaliers level up into a title threat?

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