The 2020–21 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 51st season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They did not make it to the playoffs for the third season in a row.^[1]

Draft

Before the start of the 2020 NBA draft period, the Cavaliers' selection was originally held as the #3 selection due to them finishing their previous season with the third worst record in the NBA (only ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors) before the NBA suspended their season on March 12 and eventually cancelled Cleveland's season on June 5.^[2] Like Minnesota and Golden State, Cleveland held the best odds to jump up to the #1 pick in the 2020 NBA draft lottery, though the Cavaliers could have fallen as low as the #6 pick. However, unlike Minnesota and Golden State, Cleveland did not stay in the top 3; their first-round pick instead dropped down to the fifth selection of the draft. The Cavaliers didn't have a second round selection.^[3]

Trades

On January 13, 2021, the Cavaliers were part of a blockbuster four team trade. As part of the deal which was headlined by James Harden going to the Brooklyn Nets, the Cavs received center Jarrett Allen and forward Taurean Prince from Brooklyn, while sending guard Dante Exum and a 2022 first round draft pick to the Houston Rockets.^[4]

On January 22, 2021, the Cavaliers traded disgruntled small forward Kevin Porter Jr. to the Rockets for a highly-protected future second-round pick.^[5]

Roster

2020–21 Cleveland Cavaliers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From C 31 Allen, Jarrett 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 243 lb (110 kg) 1998-04-21 Texas G 18 Dellavedova, Matthew  6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1990-09-08 Saint Mary's G 21 Dotson, Damyean 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1994-05-06 Houston G 10 Garland, Darius 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2000-01-26 Vanderbilt C 55 Hartenstein, Isaiah 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1998-05-05 Germany F/C 27 Kabengele, Mfiondu 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1997-08-14 Florida State F/C 0 Love, Kevin 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 251 lb (114 kg) 1988-09-07 UCLA G 3 Martin, Jeremiah (TW) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1996-06-19 Memphis F/C 22 Nance, Larry  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1993-01-01 Wyoming G/F 35 Okoro, Isaac 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 2001-01-26 Auburn F 16 Osman, Cedi 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1995-04-08 Turkey F 12 Prince, Taurean  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1994-03-22 Baylor G 2 Sexton, Collin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-01-04 Alabama F 8 Stevens, Lamar 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1997-07-09 Penn State G 33 Thomas, Brodric (TW) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-01-28 Truman State F 32 Wade, Dean 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 228 lb (103 kg) 1996-11-20 Kansas State G/F 9 Windler, Dylan  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 1996-09-22 Belmont	Head coach J. B. Bickerstaff Assistant coach(es) Greg Buckner Dan Geriot Lindsay Gottlieb Antonio Lang J. J. Outlaw Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (GL) On assignment to G League affiliate (TW) Two-way affiliate player Injured Roster Last transaction: May 19, 2021

Standings

Transactions

Notes

References