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.
Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College / Club 1 5 Isaac Okoro Forward USA Auburn Tigers 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. 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.
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.Nets acquire James Harden in blockbuster trade - NBA.com
On January 22, 2021, the Cavaliers traded disgruntled small forward Kevin Porter Jr. to the Rockets for a highly protected future second-round pick.
Roster
Standings
Division
Conference
Notes z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs y – Clinched division title x – Clinched playoff spot pb – Clinched play-in spot o – Eliminated from playoff contention * – Division leader
Game log
Preseason
|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1 | December 12 | Indiana | | Cedi Osman (23) | Maker, Nance Jr. (10) | Dante Exum (5) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse0 | 1–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | 2 | December 14 | Indiana | | Dante Exum (23) | Andre Drummond (11) | Dante Exum (5) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse0 | 2–0 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 3 | December 16 | @ New York | | Andre Drummond (18) | Andre Drummond (14) | Drummond, Garland (5) | Madison Square Garden0 | 2–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 4 | December 18 | @ New York | | Cedi Osman (19) | Charles Matthews (7) | Mooney, Sexton (4) | Madison Square Garden0 | 2–2
Regular season
|- style="background:#cfc" | 1 | December 23 | Charlotte | | Collin Sexton (27) | Andre Drummond (14) | Larry Nance Jr. (8) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse300 | 1–0 |- style="background:#cfc" | 2 | December 26 | @ Detroit | | Collin Sexton (32) | Andre Drummond (16) | Darius Garland (12) | Little Caesars Arena0 | 2–0 |- style="background:#cfc" | 3 | December 27 | Philadelphia | | Andre Drummond (24) | Andre Drummond (14) | Darius Garland (7) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse0 | 3–0 |- style="background:#fcc" | 4 | December 29 | New York | | Collin Sexton (20) | Andre Drummond (17) | Darius Garland (6) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse0 | 3–1 |- style="background:#fcc" | 5 | December 31 | @ Indiana | | Collin Sexton (28) | Drummond, McGee (13) | Larry Nance Jr. (7) | Bankers Life Fieldhouse0 | 3–2
|- style="background:#cfc" | 6 | January 2 | @ Atlanta | | Collin Sexton (27) | Drummond, Nance Jr. (11) | Larry Nance Jr. (6) | State Farm Arena0 | 4–2 |- style="background:#fcc" | 7 | January 4 | @ Orlando | | Collin Sexton (24) | Andre Drummond (13) | Cedi Osman (7) | Amway Center0 | 4–3 |- style="background:#fcc" | 8 | January 6 | @ Orlando | | Collin Sexton (21) | Andre Drummond (15) | Cedi Osman (7) | Amway Center0 | 4–4 |- style="background:#cfc" | 9 | January 7 | @ Memphis | | Andre Drummond (22) | Andre Drummond (15) | Cedi Osman (7) | FedExForum0 | 5–4 |- style="background:#fcc" | 10 | January 9 | @ Milwaukee | | Andre Drummond (26) | Andre Drummond (24) | Damyean Dotson (8) | Fiserv Forum0 | 5–5 |- style="background:#fcc" | 11 | January 11 | Memphis | | Andre Drummond (19) | Andre Drummond (14) | Damyean Dotson (6) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse0 | 5–6 |- style="background:#fcc" | 12 | January 12 | Utah | | Cedi Osman (17) | JaVale McGee (9) | Cedi Osman (6) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse0 | 5–7 |- style="background:#cfc" | 13 | January 15 | New York | | Andre Drummond (33) | Andre Drummond (23) | Nance Jr., Osman (5) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse0 | 6–7 |- style="background:lightgrey" | | January 17 | @ Washington | colspan=6| Postponed (COVID-19) (Makeup date: April 25) |- style="background:lightgrey" | | January 18 | @ Washington | colspan=6| Postponed (COVID-19) (Makeup date: May 14) |- style="background:#cfc" | 14 | January 20 | Brooklyn | | Collin Sexton (42) | Jarrett Allen (11) | Cedi Osman (7) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse0 | 7–7 |- style="background:#cfc" | 15 | January 22 | Brooklyn | | Collin Sexton (25) | Andre Drummond (16) | Collin Sexton (9) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse0 | 8–7 |- style="background:#fcc" | 16 | January 24 | @ Boston | | Collin Sexton (13) | Jarrett Allen (7) | Garland, Prince (5) | TD Garden0 | 8–8 |- style="background:#fcc" | 17 | January 25 | L.A. Lakers | | Andre Drummond (25) | Andre Drummond (17) | Collin Sexton (6) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse0 | 8–9 |- style="background:#cfc" | 18 | January 27 | Detroit | | Collin Sexton (29) | Andre Drummond (16) | Isaac Okoro (6) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse1,944 | 9–9 |- style="background:#fcc" | 19 | January 29 | @ New York | | Darius Garland (24) | Andre Drummond (15) | Collin Sexton (5) | Madison Square Garden0 | 9–10 |- style="background:#fcc" | 20 | January 31 | @ Minnesota | | Andre Drummond (25) | Andre Drummond (22) | Darius Garland (5) | Target Center0 | 9–11
|- style="background:#cfc" | 21 | February 1 | Minnesota | | Collin Sexton (26) | Jarrett Allen (18) | Darius Garland (11) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse | 10–11 |- style="background:#fcc" | 22 | February 3 | L.A. Clippers | | Collin Sexton (27) | Jarrett Allen (9) | Allen, Sexton (5) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse | 10–12 |- style="background:#fcc" | 23 | February 5 | Milwaukee | | Collin Sexton (19) | Andre Drummond (9) | Drummond, Garland, Prince, Sexton (4) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse | 10–13 |- style="background:#fcc" | 24 | February 6 | Milwaukee | | Andre Drummond (28) | Andre Drummond (11) | Darius Garland (9) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse | 10–14 |- style="background:#fcc" | 25 | February 8 | @ Phoenix | | Collin Sexton (23) | Andre Drummond (14) | Darius Garland (7) | Phoenix Suns Arena | 10–15 |- style="background:#fcc" | 26 | February 10 | @ Denver | | Jarrett Allen (18) | Jarrett Allen (10) | Collin Sexton (8) | Ball Arena | 10–16 |- style="background:#fcc" | 27 | February 12 | @ Portland | | Collin Sexton (25) | Dylan Windler (10) | Collin Sexton (5) | Moda Center | 10–17 |- style="background:#fcc" | 28 | February 14 | @ L.A. Clippers | | Collin Sexton (22) | Allen, McGee (10) | Darius Garland (6) | Staples Center | 10–18 |- style="background:#fcc" | 29 | February 15 | @ Golden State | | Collin Sexton (23) | Jarrett Allen (14) | Collin Sexton (5) | Chase Center | 10–19 |- style="background:lightgrey" | | February 17 | San Antonio | colspan=6| Postponed (COVID-19) (Makeup date: March 19) |- style="background:#fcc" | 30 | February 19 | Denver | | Collin Sexton (23) | Jarrett Allen (10) | Cedi Osman (7) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse | 10–20 |- style="background:#fcc" | 31 | February 21 | Oklahoma City | | Collin Sexton (27) | Jarrett Allen (17) | Darius Garland (8) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse | 10–21 |- style="background:#cfc" | 32 | February 23 | Atlanta | | Collin Sexton (29) | Jarrett Allen (14) | Darius Garland (8) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse | 11–21 |- style="background:#cfc" | 33 | February 24 | Houston | | Jarrett Allen (26) | Jarrett Allen (18) | Darius Garland (10) | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse | 12–21 |- style="background:#cfc" | 34 | February 27 | @ Philadelphia | | Collin Sexton (28) | Dean Wade (12) | Darius Garland (9) | Wells Fargo Center | 13–21
|- style="background:#cfc" | 35 | March 1 | @ Houston | | Collin Sexton (39) | Jarrett Allen (15) | Collin Sexton (8) | Toyota Center | 14–21
Player statistics
Regular season PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG 67 67 32.4 .420 .290 .726 3.1 1.9 .9 .4 9.6 63 19 19.2 .431 .366 .769 3.4 1.2 .6 .3 6.0 60 60 35.3 .475 .371 .815 3.1 4.4 1.0 .2 24.3 59 26 25.6 .374 .306 .800 3.4 2.9 .9 .2 10.4 54 50 33.1 .451 .395 .848 2.4 6.1 1.2 .1 17.4† 51 40 30.3 .609 .316 .690 9.9 1.7 .5 1.4 13.2 46 7 19.7 .406 .289 .667 2.0 2.0 .3 .1 6.7 40 0 12.5 .456 .160 .725 2.4 .6 .4 .3 4.1 35 27 31.2 .471 .360 .612 6.7 3.1 1.7 .5 9.3† 33 1 15.2 .521 .250 .655 5.2 1.0 .5 1.2 8.0 31 0 16.5 .438 .338 .778 3.5 1.1 .6 .4 5.2† 29 6 23.7 .399 .415 .837 3.7 2.4 .7 .5 10.1† 28 1 13.4 .366 .283 .667 1.8 .9 .5 .3 4.1† 25 25 28.9 .474 .000 .597 13.5 2.6 1.6 1.2 17.5 25 25 24.9 .409 .365 .824 7.4 2.5 .6 .1 12.2† 16 2 17.9 .582 .333 .686 6.0 2.5 .5 1.2 8.3† 16 0 11.6 .421 .281 .786 2.9 .8 .4 .6 4.3 13 1 17.2 .250 .160 1.000 1.8 4.5 .3 .1 2.8 9 0 8.3 .273 .250 .200 .8 .4 .6 .2 2.4 8 0 9.5 .556 .000 .909 2.3 .5 .3 .5 3.8† 7 0 13.6 .405 .462 1.000 1.7 1.9 .4 .0 6.1 6 3 19.3 .385 .182 .500 2.8 2.2 .7 .3 3.8 6 0 4.8 .333 .625 1.0 .0 .3 .3 1.2 5 0 7.2 .250 .000 .556 4.0 .6 .0 .4 2.6† 2 0 20.0 .381 .333 .000 3.5 2.5 1.5 .5 9.5
Transactions
Trades November 23, 2020To Cleveland Cavaliers2025 second-round pickTo Milwaukee BucksDraft rights to İlkan Karaman November 18, 2020To Cleveland CavaliersJaVale McGee2026 second-round pickTo Los Angeles LakersJordan BellAlfonzo McKinnie November 23, 2020To Cleveland CavaliersRayjon Tucker2027 second-round pickTo Utah JazzCash considerations January 13, 2021 To Cleveland CavaliersJarrett AllenTaurean PrinceDraft rights to Sasha Vezenkov To Brooklyn NetsJames Harden2024 second-round pick To Houston RocketsVictor OladipoDante ExumRodions Kurucs2022 first-round pick2022 first-round pick2024 first-round pick2026 first-round pick2021 first-round pick swap2023 first-round pick swap2025 first-round pick swap2027 first-round pick swap To Indiana PacersCaris LeVert2023 second-round pick2024 second-round pickCash considerations November 23, 2020To Cleveland Cavaliers2024 second-round pickTo Houston RocketsKevin Porter Jr. November 23, 2020To Cleveland CavaliersIsaiah Hartenstein2023 second-round pick2027 second-round pickTo Denver NuggetsJaVale McGee
Free agency
Re-signed Player SignedIsaac OkoroNovember 21, 2020Matthew DellavedovaNovember 24, 2020Marques BoldenDecember 19, 2020Quinn CookMarch 22, 2021
Additions Player Signed Former teamLamar StevensNovember 19, 2020UndraftedDamyean DotsonNovember 24, 2020New York KnicksCharles MatthewsNovember 27, 2020UnsignedMarques BoldenNovember 28, 2020Canton ChargeThon MakerNovember 28, 2020Detroit PistonsLevi RandolphDecember 1, 2020Canton ChargeNorvel PelleDecember 19, 2020Philadelphia 76ersYogi FerrellJanuary 11, 2021Sacramento KingsBrodric ThomasFebruary 24, 2021Rio Grande Valley VipersQuinn CookMarch 12, 2021Los Angeles LakersAnderson VarejaoMay 4, 2021Flamengo Basketball
Subtractions Player Reason left New teamRayjon TuckerWaivedLos Angeles ClippersNorvel PelleWaivedCanton ChargeMatt MooneyWaivedRaptors 905Charles MatthewsWaivedCanton ChargeLevi RandolphWaivedCanton ChargeThon MakerWaivedAndre DrummondWaivedLos Angeles Lakers
Notes
References