CLEVELAND -- It's a great problem to have. Plenty of teams across the NBA would love to face the elite, first-world issues the Cleveland Cavaliers currently wrestle.
But they are still problems, nonetheless.
As the NBA nears Thursday's trade deadline, the Cavaliers are about out of time. They essentially have two options: sit or get off the clock.
Cleveland is roughly $2 million into the luxury tax. The Cavs could do nothing (sit), keep this excellent roster intact and begin the clock ticking on their repeat offender status, which would officially hit during the 2027-28 season and start making their luxury tax payments a lot more expensive.
Or, they can get aggressive, dangle rookie Jaylon Tyson and their 2031 first-round pick and see what happens. If they are buyers at the deadline and add more salary, that technically falls into the "sit" category as well, because it keeps them in the tax.
The alternative is to nip and tuck this payroll and get off the clock. If they duck under the tax threshold, they would not only receive a payout this summer from all of the other tax-paying teams but also, and more importantly, delay starting the repeat-offender clock until next season. That makes a huge difference in the future. (It isn't entirely clear yet how much non-taxpaying teams will receive this summer. That won't be calculated until we know how many teams, if any, duck under the tax or under the second apron. Last year, the payment was around $12 million. It's a significant number.)
Starting the repeat-offender clock may not seem like a big deal now, but it will absolutely matter in 2027-28 when Donovan Mitchell's new contract -- should he sign another extension to stay here -- comes with a starting salary of around $65 million. That makes ducking out of the tax this week the most prudent and fiscally responsible decision, even though it potentially is the hardest to sell to the fans and, more importantly, the other players within the locker room.
The players are smart. If the Cavs start shedding money before Thursday, they will know why. It isn't a great message to send to a team trying to compete for a championship now.
Nevertheless, I still believe it's absolutely the right move to make. The reality is the owners made a terrible deal in the latest collective bargaining agreement. The restrictions on second-apron teams and repeat-offender status are so crippling now that it punishes teams like the Boston Celtics and, eventually, the Cavs and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The intent was to crack down on stars joining up in desirable cities. The collateral damage is teams that build through the draft, those that make smart decisions in acquiring and developing talent, will eventually have a hard time keeping their players together.
The Celtics, for example, are facing a bill next season, counting payroll and tax penalties, north of $450 million. If the Cavs start their tax clock now, they most likely will blow past that figure by 2027-28 when when the collective contracts for Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen could reach the league's projected salary cap of about $185 million. All but Mitchell are already under contract for that season. It's untenable. Somebody may have to go, even with Dan Gilbert's deep pockets.
It's why delaying starting the clock for as long as possible is so important. Signing Isaac Okoro to an extension last summer nudged the Cavs over the tax line. It didn't seem too troubling at that moment. There was plenty of time -- and multiple avenues -- to trim a few million in salary.
Ty Jerome, for example, seemed like an easy cap casualty last summer. Then Jerome became one of the most valuable players in the league based on his contract and production. He's making $2.5 million and putting up a 21.28 player efficiency rating (PER) that rivals Donovan Mitchell's 21.47 PER. And Mitchell is making $35 million.
The league is so new into this era of aprons and an effective hard cap that teams may be hesitant to make moves at this deadline. Aside from trade requests involving stars like Jimmy Butler and De'Aaron Fox, there might not be a lot of action as teams continue to shuffle their way into this brave new frontier.
The Cavs seem more likely to be active in the buyout market, but they would have to create roster spots. A veteran like Ben Simmons, should he get bought out by the Brooklyn Nets after the deadline, could be appealing to the Cavs. Simmons is long, athletic and terrific defensively. His career has been a disappointment to this point, but he would arrive in Cleveland with zero pressure or expectations for the first time in his life.
The Cavs could theoretically trade Tristan Thompson and Sam Merrill to a team with space and clear more than $5 million off their books. They could then add Simmons and another veteran on the buyout market and stay out of the tax. One of the few perks of this new CBA is teams' ability to absorb players into their midlevel exception via trade. That was never possible before. It would create more trade partners for the Cavs and more avenues to shed a few million than previously existed.
Losing a veteran like Thompson, who has meant so much to this city and locker room, certainly would sting. Losing a young shooter like Merrill also hurts, particularly given how much he has grown as a player since joining the Cavs. But what is the alternative? Where else can they cut? And how many minutes would Thompson or Merrill play in a series in May or June? Both are unrestricted free agents after the season. Finding a way to keep Jerome has to be the priority, even if his salary might quadruple next summer given the season he's having. Jerome's emergence is why I believe Merrill is expendable.
Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson acknowledged after Thursday's win over the Atlanta Hawks that Jerome wasn't even supposed to be in his rotation this year. Now he is vital to what they have done and has forced the Cavs to re-think his future here.
Again, first-world problems.
Plenty of teams would gladly trade places with the Cavs, but there are long-ranging consequences depending on which direction they go this week. This team can compete for a championship this year, but as Mitchell said after the Hawks game Thursday, this is the worst Mobley will ever be. He's only going to continue improving -- and he's already an All-Star. Garland is playing the best basketball of his career. The Cavs should have a long runway of contention.
But they have hard decisions in the days ahead that will impact the direction they go for years to come.
-- The Athletic's Danny Leroux contributed to this report