Cleveland Cavaliers Facing One Massive Issue Entering NBA Offseason

These were the thresholds for the 2024-25 season and will be subject to change heading into 2025-26.

In the first apron, teams are restricted from signing bought-out players who made more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, they can't take back more salary than they send out in a trade, and they can’t use trade exceptions from the season prior.

The second apron is the real restrictor. It triggers when a team hits that $188.931M mark, roughly 134 percent of the cap, and it severely handcuffs teams. 

Along with the first apron restrictions, second apron teams can’t use the mid-level exception, they can’t trade multiple players in the same deal, they can’t execute a sign and trade of their own player, and they can’t send out cash in any trade. The final restriction is that if the team in the second apron ends the regular season still above the threshold, their first-round draft pick seven years out is frozen and can’t be used in a trade. The only way to unfreeze it would be to get under the second apron in at least three of the next four seasons.

The second apron is one heck of a restriction, and the Cavs are aiming to be well into it next year. As it stands right now, Cleveland is projecting a cap hit of $209.6M in 2025-26, $21M over the 2024-25 second apron threshold.

So, what does that mean for the Cavaliers? It means that, largely, the roster next year is going to look very similar to this year’s. Cleveland will be hard-pressed to make any significant moves and will have to look internally to find an answer for this team.

As much as many fans are clamoring for massive changes to this roster, it is going to be very hard for the Cavaliers to maneuver their way into any significant personnel changes. 

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