The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a tricky spot.
The second apron of the salary cap makes it a lot harder to pull anything off before the upcoming trade deadline. But the Cavs also seem to want to do something, because they're in a clear competitive window that they need to maximize.
The reason, explained by ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps, is that there's a looming Donovan Mitchell flashpoint on the horizon.
"With just one guaranteed year remaining on Mitchell's contract, the franchise is headed toward a perilous gut check moment," the ESPN duo writes. "Mitchell hasn't hinted at anything but contentment in Cleveland, and he has already signed one extension. Would that change after another first- or second-round exit? Mitchell has never reached a conference finals in his eight-plus seasons. That is why sources around the league are closely monitoring Cleveland over the next week and into the offseason."
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The Cavs have backed themselves a bit into the corner.
Because of the aforementioned second apron rules, they're restricted on a decent number of deals, especially for the highest-salary possible acquisitions. That leaves them bargain hunting before next week's trade deadline, which may not be that useful in the long run.
The reality of Cleveland's season is that the Cavaliers need the quartet of Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to all be healthy at once to try and see what this team's ceiling can be.
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If it's not enough, the offseason will provide a little more wiggle room to pull something off, including a potential signing of LeBron James.
The Cavs clearly don't want to lose Mitchell. But to do that, they might simply have to play better basketball around him with the pieces they already have in place.
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