Key changes to Cavaliers roster may hinder team's success

It may not sound like much, but the Cleveland Cavaliers will open their 2025-2026 campaign without three key players from the prior season, a season where they led the league in scoring with 121.9 points per game. 

Missing from this season's roster are Ty Jerome, Isaac Okoro and Tristan Thompson, three players who all helped in some form or facet with the team's 64-win campaign. 

Thompson and Okoro's departures won't hurt the offense too much, but Jerome's will. The ace shooting guard shot 43.9% from three, scoring 12.5 points from the bench and finishing third in the Sixth Man of the Year voting. 

Okoro and Thompson, while not offensive dynamos, helped the team finish eighth in defensive rating, according to StatMuse. While neither man was elite, they were able-bodied contributors who made a positive impact on the team. Now, the Cavaliers will have to move on without them. 

How will the Cleveland Cavaliers manage without three key players from last season?

Jerome will be the biggest loss, as the Cavaliers didn't make any moves to truly replace him. They re-signed Sam Merrill, but even then, the Cavaliers still need to replace the production lost by Jerome. That's not to say that Cleveland didn't make some good moves, however. They did bring back Larry Nance Jr., an upgrade over Thompson both as a defender and as an offensive player. Though not a huge upgrade offensively if we're honest.

The Cavaliers also brought in once-vaunted prospect Lonzo Ball to replace Okoro. Ball will be leaned on heavily to fill in for the injured Darius Garland to start the season, who isn't expected back until November at the earliest. Ball doesn't have the same shooting touch as Garland, but he's longer, a good passer and a much better defender. That is, if his knees are healthy. 

In essence, the Cavaliers gave up Jerome and Okoro for Ball and Nance, a move that may work for them, but one that won't come with obstacles. Without Jerome, the Cavaliers' three-point shooting is going to take a hit. Now, Jerome on his own isn't make or break for Cleveland, but the team's two best three-point shooters, Max Strus and De'Andre Hunter, are both expected to miss weeks, if not longer, to open the season. Couple those two injuries, plus the Garland injury (another good three-point shooter), plus the loss of Jerome, and you can see an offense that may truly stagger out of the gate.

With the departures of Jerome, the injuries to three key shooters and the oft-injured and offensively-limited Ball, the Cavaliers could come out and be one of the worst offenses to start the season. Luckily, though, if that is the case, the defense should still be as impressive as ever, as Jarrett Allen and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley could come back to lead the Cavaliers to another top-10 rating. 

If star player Donovan Mitchell can string together some impressive performances, if Ball can live up to his defensive billing, and the twin terrors in the paint (Allen, Mobley), then the Cavaliers may grind out some wins that otherwise wouldn't be there's to claim. 

Asking for another 60-plus win season may seem unrealistic, but the Cavaliers could still be a top-three team in the East. Yet, when is everyone healthy? This team may be the team to beat. They just have to stay healthy first. Which, considering the players on this team, may be a tall task.