The Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the surprise teams of last season. They went from 13th in the Eastern Conference in the 2020-21 season to a top-four contender this season. They started three seven-footers to go along with two quality guards and were incredibly hard to match up against.
The problem for the Cavaliers is that the NBA season is a marathon, not a sprint. They came out of the blocks early but were then struck down by injuries. They lost Collin Sexton after just 11 games to a knee injury, and Ricky Rubio played just 34 games before he succumbed to his own knee injury.
Cleveland withstood these injuries and many more minor ones better than expected before their free fall came towards the end of the season. Jarrett Allen injured his finger, meaning that he missed a large chunk of time, and it was too much for the team. They fell down the standings until they were eliminated in the Play-In Tournament.
Offseason roster moves the Cleveland Cavaliers need to make: 1. Pick up Isaac Okoro’s team option
While the Cavaliers are only committed to $123.7 million in salary for next season, they still have some important moves they need to make. (More on that later.) However, the play of Isaac Okoro was a true highlight of the season for the Cavaliers fans.
He averaged 8.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 0.8 steals in 29.6 minutes per game. He is due $7.0 million next season which is decent pay for the insurance he gives the Cavaliers should one of their star guards become injured again.