At this point in the offseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers have a pay roll that reaches more than $200 million in future salaries. They have re-signed and brought in key pieces with that money, but holes still remain on the floor. The issue for Cleveland is just how willing are they to skyrocket their luxury-tax payout as Tristan Thompson and JR Smith are awaiting their returns to Cleveland.
Thompson is the biggest need for Cleveland right now. The power forward is a restricted free agent and while no other teams are making offers on him, the Cavaliers have yet to nail down a contract likely because of deals assigned to Kevin Love and Iman Shumpert hurting the cap space. According to Michael Schwartz of ESPN.com, getting Thompson signed to a contract is not easy. Owner Dan Gilbert has made it clear the power forward is coming back, but the numbers might take longer than expected. The two sides were reportedly getting close to a deal. ESPN's Marc Stein reported they were nearing a five-year deal worth $80 million, but it was never signed. Thompson has a $6.8 million qualifying offer on him that he might end up taking before becoming a free agent next year.
The other remaining question for the Cavaliers is whether or not they bring back Smith and Matthew Dellavedova. Smith opted out of a $6.4 million option in hopes of getting more money while Dellavedova has a $1.15 qualifying offer on him. Smith wants to return to Cleveland. According to LeBron James the feeling is mutual, but contracts could get in the way of his future. If Smith has higher demands than his original player option, he will not be back in Cleveland. Dellavedoa is likely guaranteed to return because of the qualifying offer. No other team has made a move for him.
Cleveland must try and trade Brendan Haywood in order to get some of these players back. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer there is interest in Haywood, but nothing guaranteed. His contract of $10.5 million is non-guaranteed before Aug. 1 so Cleveland has some time to negotiate a deal. Cleveland has been linked to trade deals for players like Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson, but those talks have not gone anywhere simply because no one wants to take on Anderson Varejao with Haywood.
Cleveland is willing to up their pay roll to historic levels which means they could end up bringing the whole band back together. It just remains to be seen how quickly they get that done.
