The Cleveland Cavaliers’ season ended Wednesday when they lost to the Boston Celtics 113-98 in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference second-round series.
Boston won the series 4-1 and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, where they await the Pacers-Knicks second-round series winner.
Cleveland fought and scrapped despite not having Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, and Caris LeVert in Game 5, but the talent gap was too significant for them to overcome.
Now, Cleveland is embarking on one of their biggest offseason in a long time. The biggest question is what will Mitchell do. The five-time All-Star, who can opt out of his contract after next season, is eligible to sign a four-year, $208 million deal this summer. If he doesn’t sign the deal, the Cavs will probably trade him because they can’t risk getting nothing back for Mitchell.
The 27-year-old told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that he’s happy in Cleveland; in addition, he refuted a cleveland.com report on X that he “grew frustrated with some teammates’ lack of maturity, focus, playoff-level readiness and a willingness to listen.”
That could mean good news for Cleveland.
If they can re-sign Mitchell, they should trade Darius Garland. Both guards are at their best with the ball in their hands; plus, it’s an undersized backcourt. According to a report from the The Athletic, Garland, who averaged 18.0 ppg this season after averaging 21.6 ppg last season, may want out of Cleveland if the team re-signs Mitchell, so maybe Garland knows he and Mitchell don’t work on the court. Off the court, the two reportedly have a good relationship.
Evan Mobley was very effective against the Celtics at the center spot; he averaged 21.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per contest in the series. Mobley is eligible for a rookie contract extension and he will reportedly get a max extension.
Allen, who averaged 16.5 points and 10,5 rebounds per contest this season, missed eight games in the playoffs, including all five games against the Celtics with a rib injury. Allen was reportedly criticized for not doing all he could to get on the court while dealing with the injury.
With Mobley probably better suited to play the center spot, Cleveland could trade Allen.
Finally, Cleveland may have a new coach next season. According to The Athletic, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman have not been on the same page at times this season. Plus, according to the report, “Several players questioned Bickerstaff’s strategies, game management, training habits, and accountability measures, privately and publicly, throughout the season.” In addition, according to the report, “Multiple league sources have said, for months, that Mitchell did not have great confidence in Bickerstaff, and he was not alone.”
If Mitchell says he’ll re-sign if the Cavs fire Bickerstaff, then Bickerstaff will probably get fired. If Mitchell says he wants Bickerstaff, then Bickerstaff stays. In four seasons in Cleveland, Bickerstaff led the team to the Play-In Tournament in 2022, first-round exit the following season(2023), and to the second round this season. He’s done enough to stay on as coach.
The bottom line is that even if they lose Mitchell, the Cavs still have decent talent on the roster. Plus, they can get back a decent player and picks, so all would not be lost.
No matter what happens, this is a big summer in the Land.
