Cleveland Cavaliers: 2025 Offseason Priorities and Salary Cap Dynamics

I analyze the Cavaliers payroll, luxury tax penalty projections, second apron restrictions, and the market for Ty Jerome and Sam Merrill, and explain why they're unlikely to make major changes.

The Cleveland Cavaliers could’ve overhauled the roster after their exit from the 2024 playoffs. In hindsight, that would’ve been a bad decision. Instead, they made a head coaching change, which was risky in its own right. That decision to hire Kenny Atkinson helped unlock another level the Cavs' core had in them offensively.

What about now, after such a disappointingly early end to the playoffs? It still seems unlikely that they’ll make significant changes. This core is still young and should still be considered a favorite to make the Finals in the East. They’ll have trouble making changes. They might even be looking to save money with their payroll skyrocketing this upcoming season.

Spencer Davies joined the podcast last week to discuss the Cavaliers and their upcoming offseason. We discussed why they’re unlikely to make big changes and why they might not be able to keep some of their top free agents. It’s a good companion piece for this preview, which will focus on salary cap dynamics. In particular, their payroll concerns, luxury tax penalty projections, second apron restrictions, as well as the market for Ty Jerome and Sam Merrill.