Analysis: Where will Cavaliers turn with LeBron James headed to 76ers?

The King has made his decision. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, LeBron James is not coming back to Cleveland. He agreed to a two-year, $8 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday after a seven-week wait. Where does that leave the Cavs? High and dry, you say? It appears on the surface that Cleveland president of basketball operations Koby Altman put all his eggs in one basket in his pursuit of James. Now that he's signing with an Eastern Conference playoff rival, the Cavs have done next to nothing to improve their team this summer. They drafted a promising combo guard in Meleek Thomas in the second round of the NBA Draft. But realistically, how much is he going to play? There are a ton of talented guards ahead of him on the depth chart and Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson seems to have a reluctance to play rookies. Altman's goal was to get under the second apron of the salary cap. That much has happened, as the Cavs are currently about $25 million below the first apron. But that will change after they sign veteran point guard James Harden, which is expected to push them over the first apron. The Cavs have explored shedding some salary this summer, namely point guard Dennis Schroder and possibly swingman Max Strus. Schroder has been traded eight times in his career, so this is an annual rite of passage for the German-born veteran. He can easily be replaced with players already under contract, such as Craig Porter Jr., Tyrese Proctor or possibly Thomas. However, the loss of Strus would sting. His toughness and grit would be hard to replicate on the roster. He's also Cleveland's best option at small forward with James deciding to take his talents to the City of Brotherly Love and Dean Wade also going to Philadelphia in free agency. Some options remain on the free-agent market, but none that would create a big splash. Word is Jonathan Kuminga wants to play for the Cavs and is working out in Cleveland where his agent, Aaron Turner, is based. The 6-foot-7, 225-pounder has a good relationship with Atkinson, who was an assistant coach in Golden State when the Warriors drafted Kuminga with the seventh overall pick in the 2021 draft. A native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kuminga was traded by Golden State to the Atlanta Hawks last Feb. 5, along with Buddy Hield, in exchange for 7-3 center Kristaps Porziņģis. He played 16 regular-season games for the Hawks and averaged 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists. Kuminga had one of his best games against the Cavs on April 8 at Rocket Arena with 24 points, six rebounds and three assists. Despite having good numbers for Atlanta, the Hawks declined his $24.3 million team option, which made the 23-year-old an unrestricted free agent. Cleveland might have some difficulty signing Kuminga to a lucrative deal, but if Altman finds a way, he could be penciled in as the starter at small forward. Another player that might draw some interest with the Cavs is 6-8, 220-pound forward Mario Hezonja, who informed Real Madrid recently that he was exercising his opt-out clause to return to the NBA. He was the fifth overall pick in the 2015 draft by the Orlando Magic but has had moderate success in the NBA. Hezonja, 31, has played five seasons in the league, the last with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2019-20 before going overseas. In 330 career NBA games, the Croatian native has averaged 6.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Hezonja's signing wouldn't push the needle much either way for Cleveland, which was swept by the eventual champion New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals. Bringing back the team almost intact probably isn't going to get it done in the ultra-competitive East where several teams have bulked up in the offseason. Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.