Cleveland Cavaliers face $15 million conundrum in LeBron James free agency pursuit

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty ImagesThe Cleveland Cavaliers are interested in bringing LeBron James back for a championship run, but their roster needs some tweaks to make that happen.

>James is currently a free agent for the first time in eight years, as he announced his departure from the Los Angeles Lakers.

>One of the teams looking to land The King are the Cleveland Cavaliers. But their pursuit might need them to shed some salary space.

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty ImagesCleveland Cavaliers might need to shed mid-level exception salary to sign LeBron JamesAccording to Fred Katz of The Athletic, the Cleveland Cavaliers must get rid of one of two players if they’re looking to sign LeBron James to the mid-level exception worth $15 million.

>Currently, the Cavaliers have two players on the books whom they can move if they want to create room in the cap for James.

>The first is Max Strus, who makes $16.7 million, and the second is Dennis Schroder, who earns $14.6 million. Katz suggested that attaching a pick to either player could help complete a trade to another team.

>Schroder has played with LeBron James before on two separate occasions on the LA Lakers, but there have been suggestions that there is hostility between the two over the German’s exit in 2023.

>Strus is believed to be the better fit playing next to James, given that he averaged 40% from beyond the arc last season, and can come off the bench.

Both Dennis Schroder and Max Strus can stay if LeBron James takes veteran minimumKatz also mentioned that LeBron James has the chance to keep both players on the roster if he chooses to take the veteran minimum, which is worth $3.9 million.

>James is eligible for the highest amount of a veteran minimum contract due to the fact that he has played 10+ seasons in the NBA.

>However, due to the league’s salary rules, only $2.45 million of that amount would be measured against the Cavaliers’ cap, with the NBA covering the remainder of the amount.

>If James were to take the veteran minimum to help the Cavaliers have more flexibility in their cap space, both Schroder and Strus could stay, or be used to improve the team’s depth in the long run.

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