The Cleveland Cavaliers 2024-25 season ended in disappointment, as the squad under new head coach and NBA Coach of the Year winner Kenny Atkinson fell in the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the second consecutive postseason — this time to the eventual Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers.
Looking ahead, the Cavs have a lot of money tied up in the roster’s “core four” of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
In fact, with those stars under contract along with trade acquisition De’Andre Hunter and more, the Cavaliers sit roughly $13 million above the NBA’s “second apron” spending threshold. That threshold triggers an additional layer of penalties beyond the “first apron” for exceeding spending limits under the NBA’s CBA.
Teams can spend over the limits because of the league’s “soft cap” rules, but they incur luxury tax penalties for doing so, which ownership groups generally aim to avoid.
Because the Cavs are operating within that second apron level of spending, fans shouldn’t be surprised if a pricey star winds up on the trade block this summer to cut costs a la the Boston Celtics (who’ve already traded Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis to cut salary).
Reports said that Cleveland already offered Garland, their All-Star point guard, to Phoenix in hopes of landing Kevin Durant via trade — though that certainly wouldn’t have been a cost-cutting move.
Here’s a breakdown of the Cavs roster as it stands June 30.
What is the Cleveland Cavs 2025-26 roster?
These players are under contract for the 2025-26 season (with cap hits noted in parentheses). Note, all figures are courtesy of Spotrac data.
Cleveland Cavs 2025 draft picks
Cleveland Cavs free agents
Among the Cavs players whose contracts are up this summer is guard Ty Jerome, who finished third in Sixth Man of the Year voting last season, just ahead of teammate De’Andre Hunter. Here are the players Cleveland would have to choose to re-sign:
Cleveland Cavs offseason trades
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: What is the Cleveland Cavs roster? A look at players under contract for 2025-26
Reporting by Ben Leibowitz, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
