The Cleveland Cavaliers just had their best season since LeBron James left in 2018. In the summer of 2022 the Cavs put all their chips in and traded for All-Star Guard Donovan Mitchell. In return the Utah Jazz received Forward Lauri Markkanen, Guard Collin Sexton (via. sign-&-trade), Guard Ochai Agbaji, three unprotected future first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps. This past season went amazing for the Cavaliers as they would go 51-31 (4th in the Eastern Conference). This was the first time the Cavaliers have made the playoffs without LeBron on the roster since 1998. The backcourt of Mitchell and Garland worked amazing. They developed great chemistry on and off the court. The Cavaliers would face off against the New York Knicks in the first-round of the 2023 NBA playoffs. While the young Cavs team had a great regular season they struggled in the playoffs especially from long range as they only made 33% of their threes. Even Cavs Center Jarrett Allen admitted "the lights were brighter than expected." The Cavs would lose the first-round series against the Knicks in five games.
Free Agency came and the Cavaliers knew they needed to resolve their shooting problems that just occurred in the playoffs. So they went out and acquired two solid shooters. First the Cavaliers worked out a 3-team deal to acquire sharp shooting Guard/Forward Max Strus. Sending Guard/Forward Cedi Osman and Forward Lamar Stevens to the San Antonio Spurs along with a 2030 second-round pick. The Miami Heat received a 2026 second-round pick in this deal from the Cavaliers. Max Strus has made a name for himself these past couple seasons with the Miami Heat. Miami is known for finding overlooked players and forming them into solid players. Strus has played a huge role in the last couple of Miami's long playoff runs such as making the Eastern Conference Finals in 2022 and making the Finals just a few months ago. In both playoff runs Strus was the full time starting shooting guard. Strus also brings a defensive presence on the court. The Cavs and Strus agreed on a 4-year, $62 Million contract.
The Cavaliers added shooting to the front court signing Forward George Niang. Niang has spent his last couple seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers where he was one of their best shooters. In both of his seasons with the Sixers Niang shot 40% from 3. This past post season Niang shot 46% from 3 which is where the Cavaliers desperately struggled. The Cavs and Niang agreed on a 3-year, $25 Million contract. The Cavaliers added solid depth to their young team. While they may be young they are definitely looking to compete and make some noise in the Eastern Conference.
Comments
Post a Comment