Cleveland Cavaliers: 4 contracts Cavs should take on for 2021

Gordon Hayward

The Cavaliers need a wing. No one’s buying Cedi Osman as a starter any longer. The former first-round pick looks better suited to be a role player coming off the bench.

Small forward has always been a weak spot for the Cavaliers when someone LeBron James hasn’t been occupying the position. Just go ahead and remind yourself of the cast of characters who passed through town after James left the first time.

For Boston, Hayward seems expendable with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum entrenched as nucleus of the Celtics.

Hayward is set to make just north of $34 million next season, so the Cavs would have to send a big chunk of money Boston’s way to get a deal done. You’re probably thinking Kevin Love, rather, I’d like to send Andre Drummond.

Drummond, acquired before the deadline, carries a $28 million option for next season. Considering the economic uncertainty of the league, it’s a slam dunk Drummond will pick up the option to secure a hefty paycheck.

Drummond provides the Cavs toughness as a presence in the middle, but offensively, he’s regarded as a dinosaur, meaning he’s a big man who can’t shoot 3’s.

If the Cavs could draft Obi Toppin to replace Drummond’s size and then put Hayward into a lineup with Kevin Porter Jr. and Collin Sexton/Darius Garland, well, the Cavs all of a sudden would be a lot more intriguing to watch next season.