Indiana Pacers: Power ranking the Central Division as free agency winds down

Ranking the Indiana Pacers in the Central Division: No. 5 – Cleveland Cavaliers

After nearly bottoming out in the East last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers once again enter the next campaign as a projected lottery team. However, winning now is not necessarily an actual goal for the team, especially with a postseason berth far from useful given their lack of an actual competitive window and their patience-laden timeline.

However, things are looking bright for the Cavs. Drafting Evan Mobley, the inarguable best big man in the 2021 NBA Draft, is a huge leap for their rebuild. The continuous improvement of Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen—minus the overpay, Collin Sexton—minus the flight risk and Isaac Okoro should mount at least a watchable collective for next season.

While Cleveland has exciting individual pieces, their glaring team holes all but ensures that their team will once again lie below the standings for much of next year. Their 28th-ranked offense and 25th-ranked defense from last season will probably not swing much for the better, especially without a substantial revamp outside of Mobley and Ricky Rubio, another non-shooter.

Still, as long as losing gives a tempting bounty of sterling draft picks, the Cavs will be more than glad to tread in mediocre waters at best. If Cleveland ends up as the worst team in the Central Division next season, think of it as a move by design.