Cleveland Cavaliers Land Strong Take Entering NBA Offseason

The sky is not on fire in Cleveland, Ohio.

Despite a second-round playoff exit, impending second-apron penalties and swirling trade rumors around the fanbase, the Cavaliers are largely set to retain the same roster next season as the one that won 64 games in 2024-25. The team is in win-now mode, but the future is still bright for Cleveland among the turbulent Eastern Conference.

In a Thursday episode of The Ringer's "The Zach Lowe Show," NBA reporters Wosny Lambre and Zach Lowe ranked each of the 15 East teams by how good their three-to-five-year outlook is. Even as fans and analysts build hypothetical trade packages that include Evan Mobley, Darius Garland or Jarrett Allen, both writers-turned-podcast hosts believe that the Cavs have the best near future of any Eastern Conference team.

"They have three All-Stars on their team, all under the age of 28," Lambre said. "I don't know how you watch Indiana play and think, 'We can't possibly beat them next year...' Mobley has so much room to grow even further as a player, and he seems like the kind of guy who's going to put in the pain and the work to get there. I still think Garland has an actual good playoff run in him. I thought he was excellent this regular season, in fact, underrated."

Outside of the Pacers and Knicks, much of the Eastern Conference is in disarray. Jayson Tatum's Achilles injury and Boston's salary cap issues will likely cause the Celtics to take a step backward next season, while the Bucks may look very different if they trade Giannis Antetokounmpo. That could leave a wide-open door for the Cavaliers to walk through.

"I think there's something to having an offseason where you know what your target is," Lambre said. "Every guy who matters on that team is thinking about how they can make themselves a better player in the context of a series against Indiana. The guys are young, they're locked in contractually, that's the best situation."

The Cavaliers will have some difficult decisions to make this summer regarding the second apron, which could significantly limit the team's roster-building ability moving forward. However, from a pure talent perspective, Cleveland is primed to make another run at escaping the East.

Ty Jerome and Sam Merrill are set to be free agents this offseason, but the team's young core of Garland, Mobley, Allen and Donovan Mitchell are all under contract for at least the next three years. With the integral pieces of the Cavaliers all in wine and gold for the foreseeable future, Cleveland's championship window is at no risk of closing.

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