Ranking Cavaliers' Top Trade Targets After 2025 NBA Playoff Loss
The Cleveland Cavaliers won their second-most games in franchise history this season and entered the NBA playoffs as the Eastern Conference's top seed.
And yet, the end of their run still feels like a worst-case scenario.
It's not only that they failed to advance past the conference semis for the second consecutive season, it's that pressing questions about this roster couldn't be answered. For as good as this group looked during Kenny Atkinson's first go-round as their coach, it still felt safe to wonder whether the puzzle pieces would all fit in the postseason.
Once the injury bug ripped apart this roster, it became clear Cleveland would be denied that clarity. It's still uncertain whether this club's lack of size in the backcourt and lack of spacing up front would be fatal flaws on basketball's biggest stage or not.
That said, this core showed obvious promise throughout the season, and the front office should continue to find ways of strengthening the roster around it. Targeting the following three players this summer would help accomplish that.
3. Duop Reath, Portland Trail Blazers
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The Cavaliers found ample reason this season to believe that Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen can thrive alongside one another. However, they also saw how little depth they have behind the two.
While Cleveland can stagger the two to keep one impact big man on the floor, that strategy entails playing big chunks of the game without the best players on the floor. Sitting both, though, meant calling upon well-past-his-prime veteran Tristan Thompson or trotting out lineups without an actual center on the floor.
The Cavaliers need better big-man options off the bench, and they could maybe find a cheap one in Reath. He got squeezed out of Portland's rotation by that club's congestion at center, but just last season he impressed as a rotation-regular who added a pick-and-pop element with his outside shot.
He is a limited defender, so expecting him to be anything more than a niche role player might be asking too much. That said, Cleveland doesn't need to cover a lot of non-Allen, non-Mobley minutes on the interior, and considering its firepower, it would have at least a decent chance to outscore opponents with Reath operating as a floor-spacing 5.
2. Kelly Oubre Jr., Philadelphia 76ers
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Assuming the Cavs are content with the Mobley-Allen frontcourt and the Donovan Mitchell-Darius Garland backcourt—and there's little reason to believe they aren't—then the wing spots might still hold the front office's focus.
They have, admittedly, tried a ton to put those positions in the best shape possible. Just last summer, they spent a first-round pick on Jaylon Tyson. Then, at the trade deadline, they gave up two rotation players (Caris LeVert and Georges Niang) to add De'Andre Hunter.
Cleveland's decision-makers might still decide this search isn't over. They don't have the assets to chase a true needle-mover, but they shouldn't need to pay a fortune for Oubre, who would need to pick up his $8.4 million player option for a trade to happen. Given the trajectories of the Cavs and 76ers, though, he might be open to a swap, especially since cap space looks awfully limited around the league.
There is a lot of streakiness in Oubre's game, but the Cavs might have enough wing depth to work around that. On his good nights, he's an asset in transition, an athletic defender and an ignitable scorer. If nothing else, he could provide a different look at a position where Cleveland clearly keeps trying to find the right formula.
1. Jose Alvarado, New Orleans Pelicans
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While Cleveland's general offseason activity feels a bit tricky to pin down, it seems more likely than not the Cavaliers will be in the market for a new backup point guard.
Ty Jerome, who took third place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, might have priced himself out of Cleveland's future. And second-year guard Craig Porter Jr. averaged fewer minutes this season than last and couldn't crack the playoff rotation.
The Cavs could try making a push for Alvarado. He's been a consistent energizer for the Pelicans, but it's hard to imagine he's anywhere close to off-limits. He is a plucky player with solid defensive instincts, but he's also undersized and generally inefficient as a scorer.
He's still the kind of player who can make an impact on a winning team, and if the Pelicans don't feel they'll stay healthy enough to become one, maybe they'd consider him moving him to a team that already is.
