Hoops Rumors checks into the 2026 offseason all 30 NBA teamsrounding up the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures and more. We’ll take a look at each team’s moves in the offseason and take a look at what else could happen before the regular season begins. Today we focus on Cleveland Cavaliers.
Signing free agents
- James Harden: Three years, $96,540,000. A third-year player option. Includes trade kicker (15%). Re-signed using non-Bird rights.
- Peyton Watson: Four years, $88,000,000. Fourth-year player option. Includes trade kicker (7.5%). Acquired from the Nuggets via a sign-and-trade using salary compliance.
- Thomas Bryant: Year, minimum wage. Full warranty. Rewritten using the minimum wage exemption.
- Mario Hezonha: Year, minimum wage. Not guaranteed. Signed using the minimum wage exemption.
Trades
- Acquired the No. 34 pick in the 2026 draft and the Kings’ 2032 second-round pick from the Kings in exchange for draft rights Alexey Karaban (Choice #29).
- Purchased Peyton Watson (via mark and trade) and draft rights to Ishmael Kamagate with the Nuggets and Cam Whitmore from the Wizards in a five-team trade in exchange for Max Strus (to the Clippers), Dennis Schroeder (to Hornets), 2031 Cavaliers first-round pick (to Nuggets), 2032 Kings second-round pick (to Nuggets) and cash ($4.35M to Hornets; $3M to Wizards).
Drafts
- 2-34: Melick Thomas
- Signed to a four-year, $9,264,648 contract with the use of the second-round exception. The first three years with a guarantee. Fourth-year team option.
Two-sided signatures
Note: Knights have been moved Tristan Enaruna and Riley Minix on bilateral contracts from 2025/26.
Abandoned/Unsigned Free Agents
Other moves are listed
- Signed Donovan Mitchell to a four-year max-salary veteran contract extension that begins in 2027/28. Fourth-year player option. Trade kicker (15%). Estimated cost $275,968,000.
- Signed 2022 second round pick Khalifa Diop to a four-year, $9,264,648 contract with the exception of a second-round pick. Second year and third year are not guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
- Executed command option on Craig Porter Jr ($2,406,205; not guaranteed).
- They refused Cam Whitmore ($5,458,310 salary spread over three seasons).
Salary cap situation
Note: Numbers are rounded to one decimal place.
- Operating above the cap ($165 million) and below the first tax bracket ($209 million).
- A hard hat on the first apron.
- Team salary: $209 million (tax/apron).
- Above the luxury tax line by $8.5 million; below the hard limit of $45,000.
- A full exemption for middle-level nontaxpayers ($15 million) and a full biennial exemption ($5.5 million) are available.
- Three tradeable player exceptions are available (the largest at $16.7 million).
Offseason yet
Was the Cavaliers 2025/26 season a success?
Cleveland had the league’s highest payroll and was considered one of the favorites to make it out of the East after winning 64 games the year before, but the team had an up-and-down year as the front office traded away its homegrown star point guard Darius Garlandwho struggled with ongoing toe problems.
After the acquisition James Harden from the Clippers in the blockbuster Garland trade, the Cavaliers have continued to struggle to consistently find their peak form. In the playoffs, they needed seven games to get past Toronto in the first round and another seven to knock off the Pistons in the second round before losing to the Knicks in four games in the third round.
Still, just making it to the Eastern Conference Finals was a big step forward for the Cavaliers, who haven’t been this deep in the postseason without LeBron James on their roster since 1992. Season in that regard was success for the franchise, and the club’s offseason moves reflect that belief. While it’s clear the owners didn’t want to continue paying the league’s biggest luxury tax after falling short of the NBA Finals, Cleveland has kept its core together as it looks to win the title again in 2026/27.
with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen already under contract for several seasons beyond 2026/27, the Cavaliers’ efforts to lock down their cornerbacks this summer have focused on the backcourt.
Donovan Mitchell signed the NBA’s most lucrative offseason contract, completing a four-year max salary extension that begins in 2027/28 and is currently projected to be worth around $276 million. While there was some speculation that Mitchell might demand a change of scenery if the Cavs couldn’t get over the hump, he put those whispers to rest by signing an extension for the second time in three years, putting him on track to spend the rest of his prime in Cleveland.
Harden didn’t officially sign his new three-year, $96.5 million contract until Sept. 8, two months after the Cavs announced the Mitchell deal. But that delay was due to Harden’s willingness to help the team make other moves, not any contentious negotiation process. His decision to decline his $42 million-plus player option in June to sign a multi-year contract with a lower starting salary allowed the team to avoid the second apron, pursue LeBron James and ultimately land Peyton Watson in a sign-and-trade with Denver.
The Cavaliers have been searching for years for a reliable small forward to play alongside their core of Mitchell, Harden (formerly Garland), Mobley and Allen. Watson looks like the best choice to establish himself as that guy. After a breakout year in Denver that included averages of 14.5 PPG and 4.9 RPG and .491/.411/.730 shooting, the 24-year-old wing received a four-year, $88 million deal from Cleveland that ensured all five members of the projected starting lineup are on multi-year contracts.
While the Cavs can feel good about their new deals with Harden and Watson, the depth took a major hit this summer when the front office dropped the team’s salary from the second-highest tax bracket to the lower-first. Max Strus and Dennis Schroeder were sent to the Clippers and Hornets, respectively, as part of Watson’s sign-and-trade deal, Dean Wade went free for the sixers Keon Ellis joined the networks, and Larry Nance Jr signed a contract with the Pacers.
With the exception of Watson, the Cavaliers’ offseason lineup has been relatively modest. Croatian forward Mario Hezonhawho has played in Europe since 2021, signed a contract with a non-guaranteed minimum salary, while the 34th pick Melick Thomas and 2022 second round Khalifa Diop has joined the list of perennial minimum trades for beginners.
Hezonja, the fifth overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, has been a standout for several years in the EuroLeague, and Thomas made a terrific first impression at the Las Vegas Summer League in July, averaging 27.2 points per game and earning a spot on the All-League First Team. Perhaps one or both will become solid rotation players.
However, the Cavs will rely heavily on active reserves such as Jaylon Tyson and Sam Merrill to step up and provide consistent, productive minutes off the bench this season behind what appears to be a very strong starting five.
Next
Once the offseason ends, the Cavaliers don’t have much flexibility to continue making moves. With 14 players on standard contracts, they’re running just $45K off their first cap, meaning unless they take a pay cut between now and the end of the season, they won’t be able to sign a 15th man until April 9.
That doesn’t necessarily mean Cleveland is in the current lineup, though. Pre-season or in-season trades are always a possibility, and Jesonia’s contract structure gives the club some flexibility in its squad. His salary remains non-guaranteed until Nov. 15, so the Cavs could trade him for another minimum-salary player if they don’t like what they see in the preseason.
If Hezonja is part of the opening night lineup, he should be a safe bet to stick around. Teams receiving compensation from the NBA for a one-year, minimum-salary contract are cut off if a player is waived before his salary becomes guaranteed, which will be a complicating factor for a Cavs team operating so close to their hard-earned capital (in fact, his daily cap will increase by $2,279 if he is cut from Oct. 18 to Jan. 7). In other words, if Cleveland is going to trade Hezonjo, it will likely happen in the next month or so.
If the Cavs stick with their current 14 players and don’t reassign any two-way contacts currently in Tristan Enaruna, Riley Minixand Ernest Udeh Jr – It will probably be a pretty quiet preseason in Cleveland.
The only Cavs player eligible for an extension Craig Porter Jrand while it’s possible he’ll sign a new contract sooner rather than later after averaging 17.9 minutes per game last season, the front office likely won’t be in a rush to add more guaranteed money to its books for 2027/28 and beyond.
For what it’s worth, Porter is also currently on a non-guaranteed contract, giving the Cavs some options with his roster spot. But I don’t see him as a candidate to be cut after he’s played rotation minutes in 2025/26.
