The 2020–21 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 51st season of the franchise in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). They did not make it to the playoffs for the third season in a row.

Draft

Before the start of the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecti ...

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 The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

and

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

) 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 James Edward Harden Jr. (born August 26, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Harden is regarded as one of the greatest scorers and shooting guards in NBA ...

going to the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The t ...

, the Cavs received center

Jarrett Allen Jarrett Allen (born April 21, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Texas Longhorns. Allen was selected 22nd overall by ...

and forward

Taurean Prince Taurean Waller-Prince (born March 22, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Baylor Bears. He was drafted by the Utah J ...

from Brooklyn, while sending guard

Dante Exum Dante Exum (born 13 July 1995) is an Australian professional basketball player for Partizan of the ABA League and the EuroLeague. He chose to bypass college and was ultimately selected by the Utah Jazz with the fifth overall pick in the 2014 N ...

and a 2022 first round draft pick to the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

. On January 22, 2021, the Cavaliers traded disgruntled

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

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

Transactions

Trades

Free agency

Re-signed

Additions

Subtractions

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 Cleveland Cavaliers Season Cleveland Cavaliers seasons

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...