Cavaliers’ Biggest Offseason Fear Could Be Dan Gilbert Getting ‘Pocket Shy’

The Cleveland Cavaliers signed Evan Mobley to a five-year, $224 million extension last summer. It was a no-brainer move. 

By winning Defensive Player of the Year this season, Mobley triggered a clause in his contract that calls for him to increase the first-year salary of his rookie-scale extension from 25% to 30% of the salary cap.

As a result, the Cavaliers are now projected to have $219 million in salary for the 2025-26 season and be over the second apron.

Could Cleveland’s biggest offseason fear be owner Dan Gilbert getting “pocket shy?” Dan Favale of Bleacher Report thinks so. 

“Ty Jerome will be a litmus test for how much Cleveland is willing to spend. As an Early Bird free agent, the Cavs’ top-dollar offer for him maxes out at just over $14 million in Year 1. Giving him that money would run $80-plus million in additional tax penalties, as noted by ESPN’s Bobby Marks,” Favale wrote. 

“This can be interpreted to mean Jerome is good as gone, or Cleveland will look to dump other money to keep him. But what if Gilbert and/or the Cavs’ Koby Altman-led front office wants out of the second apron altogether? Who else ends up going? Isaac Okoro? De’Andre Hunter? Max Strus? Maybe even Jarrett Allen?

“Collateral damage is unavoidable. The extremes it will reach and how that winds up impacting Cleveland’s depth and rotation are (uncomfortable) unknowns.”

The Cavaliers won 64 games this season. They were first in the NBA in points per game and offensive rating and Kenny Atkinson won the Coach of the Year Award. 

After sweeping the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs, it appeared Cleveland was well on its way to competing for the championship.

However, the Indiana Pacers humbled the Cavaliers in the second round, winning that series in five quick games. 

Mobley and Donovan Mitchell will not be traded this summer. You don’t need NBA sources to know that. 

However, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, Allen and or/Darius Garland could be on the move to save money.