Will the Cleveland Cavaliers do anything at the 2026 NBA trade deadline?
The Cleveland Cavaliers had the best record in the East last season. Even though they lost to the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the 2025 playoffs, the Wine and Gold were predicted to have the top record in the East again this season.
However, the Cavaliers are off to a very, very disappointing start. They are only 22-19. If the regular season ended today, Cleveland would be in the NBA play-in tournament as the seventh seed.
Many people around the NBA believe the Cavaliers need to make some trades at the 2026 trade deadline, but Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report doesn't think it will happen.
"The Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the bigger disappointments in the league this season, and their being so far behind last season's 64-win pace made them an obvious target of trade chatter," Bailey wrote. "This is the fourth year of the Donovan Mitchell-Evan Mobley-Darius Garland-Jarrett Allen core, and it's pretty easy to pick at its philosophical underpinnings.
"Garland and Mitchell are undersized, at least relative to most other starting backcourts. Ideally, with their two-big look, Mobley would be a more reliable three-point shooter. The clashes have been a little more glaring during this slow start. And frankly, four years is just a long time for a basketball player to go without a shakeup.
"But part of Cleveland's struggles have been injuries for Garland. And as he and the rest of the team has started to get closer to whole, the Cavs have shown hints of the dominant team they were last season. Those hints are going to morph into longer looks between now and February, and the front office will ultimately decide to give this group one more chance in the playoffs."
The Cavaliers are not expected to make a blockbuster trade this season. There is still plenty of time left in the regular season for the team to turn things around.
However, if Cleveland doesn't go on a deep postseason run, Koby Altman may have to shake up the roster in the offseason. After all, Mitchell, Mobley, Garland and Allen haven't led the Cavaliers past the second round of the playoffs.
The Cavaliers have the most expensive roster in the NBA and they are the only team above the second-apron.