The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming off a season in which they finished 52-30 and reached the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to the New York Knicks.
With that run behind them, there was an expectation that the Cavaliers would use the offseason to make moves and keep themselves in the national spotlight. Instead, their offseason has been fairly quiet, and one analyst believes that may have played a role in how the NBA’s broadcasters view them.
NBA Analyst’s Recent Comment Regarding the Cavaliers
In a recent segment on 92.3 The Fan radio, analyst Earl “Da Pearl” Mauldin pointed out that Cleveland isn’t getting many nationally televised games this season, and they don’t even have a Christmas Day slot.
“Not enough national TV games. Not being on Christmas and back-to-backs, playing the Knicks four times. Like, all this to me, all this to me is consequences,” Mauldin said during the segment.
Mauldin even explained that the lack of national exposure comes down to the fact that the Cavs didn’t make any big offseason moves that would make them marketable enough for broadcasters to want to put them front and center.
“You know why? Because as the Cleveland Cavaliers organization, you had the opportunity this offseason to go out here and make a splash. You had the opportunity to go out here and do something big to shake up the direction of your basketball team. Not only did you not do that, but you’ve sat around, and you’ve made no moves of significance. Trey Mann, really? That’s what you got? And then the other guy, that’s a Euro guy that didn’t play in the NBA for about five, six years. That’s what you’ve done?”
“James Harden is still unsigned. Where’s Peyton Watson at? Where’s Jonathan Kuminga at? When you look at this Cleveland Cavaliers roster and when you look at this team, they’re not looking at the Cavs in the same light that they did last year. They’re not looking at this team as some juggernaut with this high potential to go out here and win the Eastern Conference. That ship has sailed,” Mauldin added during the segment.
This season, the Cavs are set to appear in 17 national TV games. That includes eight games on NBC or Peacock, six on ESPN, and three on Prime Video. There’s no word yet on how their local broadcasts will look.
However, a recent report mentioned Cleveland as one of several teams that could eventually stream games on DAZN. There’s also no opening night game and no nationally televised Christmas game.
That’s a noticeable drop from last season, when the Cavs had 24 nationally televised games. Going from 24 down to 17 is a real step back for a team that made it to the conference finals just a few months ago.
It can be speculated that not having a marketing factor on the roster is likely what led to the drop in national appearances. Broadcasters always look at what’s going to drive viewership, and a team without a headline-grabbing addition simply isn’t as attractive to put on national television.
The Cavs did have a chance to change that narrative this offseason as there was real speculation around LeBron James potentially returning to Cleveland. But that chance slipped away when James ended up signing with the 76ers instead.
The only moves that the Cavs made were that they locked up Donovan Mitchell by signing him to a four-year, $273 million extension. They also brought back backup big man Thomas Bryant on a new deal.
Beyond that, Cleveland added some depth by signing Croatian forward Mario Hezonja to a one-year contract. The team also made a trade by sending guard Dennis Schröder, along with cash, to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Tre Mann.
Now, without a major splash, the Cavs are left with fewer national showcases this season, and according to Mauldin, that’s exactly the price a team pays for playing it safe in the offseason.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.