Despite a canceled Electronic Entertainment Expo and a delay amid civil unrest in America regarding police brutality, Sony finally revealed more details about its latest entry into the console wars this fall. The PlayStation 5 has promised a lot for the gaming public, and now we know just what to expect from the console when it gets released later this year.

We already knew what the PS5 DualSense controller would look like and the various features it would bring to the console, but we now know what the hardware itself will be playing. Sony’s “Future of Gaming” event on Thursday was an hour-long online presentation that featured our first official images of the console and new gameplay details about the first titles available on the PS5.

Sony waited until the very end to show us what the console looked like. There was not one but two PS5 models ready to show off, as well as the media remote, gaming headset, and controller charging station that will be available when the console launches in time for the holidays.

Here’s what we learned — and didn’t learn — from Thursday’s events and what you should expect later this fall.

New Networks Available

As far as aesthetics go, the Xbox Series S is firmly in the design category of a large external hard drive. It’s a big black rectangle with some input spots and exhaust ports. Nothing too flashy that won’t necessarily stand out on your entertainment center. The PS5, as everyone on Twitter has pointed out from the moment it was unveiled, looks a lot like a futuristic wireless router.

It’s a nice router, mind you, and there’s only so much you can do with hardware design that doesn’t already look like other pieces of technology. But the monochromatic black console with white fins certainly looks more distinctive than the blocky Xbox Series X. It also looks, if we’re being honest, a lot less fun to dust.

It’s not really the outside that counts with consoles, and it honestly isn’t always about the inside, either. Both the Series X and PS5 promise to provide improved graphics, but game selection and overall ease of use will determine which one gains favor with consumers quicker. Or, at the very least, which one gamers decide to drop their hard-earned money on first.

PlayStation Goes Disc-less
The biggest thing we learned from the reveal is that there will officially be two models of PS5: one with an optical drive and a digital media-only device that looks a bit slimmer.

It’s interesting that the console’s design creates a distinct bulge to its body shape when the optical drive is included. What gamers will get with that drive is a 4K Ultra Blu Ray player, which is nice, but the design almost implies the disc-less future is a cleaner, sleeker one. Plenty of gamers are skipping discs altogether in the wake of higher download speeds and expandable hard drive storage, but a disc-free PS5 is truly a departure for the console that ushered many into the compact disc gaming era. Each version has a (slightly different) stand that allows them to stay vertical, but they both can work horizontally as well, in case you’re in a space crunch under your television.

The Future Is The Past

There were a lot of new games and glimpses even into 2022, but Thursday’s PS5 event started with a game that you probably have already played. Grand Theft Auto 5 will hit the PS5 in 2021 as a free game for anyone who buys Sony’s new console. While many were hoping for an announcement of GTA VI, news that the latest GTA — which came out in September of 2013 — would be free on the PS5 was at least some consolation. The game’s Online version prints money for Rockstar, which is likely why they haven’t exactly raced to make a sequel just yet. But for many, a lack of new GTA news made Thursday an immediate disappointment.

Sequels were the name of the game on Thursday, starting with a Miles Morales-based Spider-Man game, Gran Turismo 7, a new Ratchet and Clank title, Hitman III, and a cleverly named Resident Evil 8. The trailer for Horizon Forbidden West looked absolutely gorgeous, too.

All of these titles promised new generations of familiar IP, and we got some glimpses of actual gameplay with Ratchet and Clank and Gran Turismo. They looked good, which is no surprise considering there weren’t any live demos and everything was meticulously planned out. But we’ll have to reserve official judgement until we get our hands on a console for ourselves.

Something New

Thursday’s event wasn’t without a slew of new IP, either. It’s just tougher to really say what will come of all that just yet. Gameplay and coming titles was a huge element to Thursday’s event. In fact, we learned very little new about the console beyond the images. And there were certainly some intriguing titles from established developers that were designed with the PS5 in mind.

The event did well to show a variety of game genres and graphical styles, and among the most interesting was Deathloop, which puts players on an island where everyone wants to kill them. The game boils down to a time loop where you try to outlast everyone else on the island, including a main rival assassin you’ll apparently be hearing a lot from.

“I don’t like watching you die. I like killing you,” she says. “There’s a difference.”

It looks fun, and the retro movie poster design of the title’s aesthetic fits perfectly here. It’s easy to get excited about highly-stylized trailers, but some were executed spectacularly on Thursday. Stray, for example, showcased a vivid post-human world where you were never quite sure just what was happening — or even what the game was really about — until the very end.

Other intriguing new titles included Ghostwire: Tokyo, Solar Ash, and Kena. We wrote much more about our favorites here.

What We Didn’t Learn

Well, the price for starters. Microsoft and Sony both seem dead set on waiting for the other to show its hand when it comes to pricing details for its latest console. Despite Sony going first with its Future of Gaming event, we didn’t learn any details about what it will cost to pick up either version of a PS5. Will the optical drive-less console be cheaper than one still playing physical discs and offering a high-end Blu Ray experience? Maybe, but we won’t know for sure just yet.

We also didn’t learn the hardware specs in each console. Presumably, the Digital Edition of the PS5 would have a much larger hard drive to store games on over the version that still has an optical disc. But it seems we won’t know about that until later in the summer, which means that anyone who wants to buy a PS5 will most likely have to wait at least a bit longer before deciding which version of the console to buy. And we’ll have to wait a bit longer to see what Xbox has planned for its launch, and what that will cost as well. Oh, and we’re still waiting on a release date, as Sony didn’t get into specifics beyond saying that the PS5 will hit shelves this holiday season.

Kumail Nanjiani famously got ripped for Disney and Marvel Studios’ The Eternals. That movie’s been pushed back until February 12, 2021, but Nanjiani’s abs are not on pause. In fact, they simply won’t stop and are growing even more pronounced, according to his wife, Emily Gordon (writer of The Big Sick), even though Nanjiani seemed embarrassed to admit as much when first prodded during a podcast with The Wrap’s Sharon Waxman.

Naturally, the subject of Kumail’s abs (and how they are weathering quarantine) came up in conversation, and Emily confirmed, “He’s been working out as if he could physically fight COVID.” To this, Kumail protested, “Stop it,” but he confirmed that, yes, he’s hitting the iron and exercising “like a demon”:

“I have been working out a lot, because, especially in the beginning, the first like month-and-a-half of it. I just felt so out of control and I was like, ‘Oh, this is a thing I could definitely do.’ And so, I really did. I’m trying to take a little bit of a break now, but yeah, I’ve kept it up.”

This “ripped” thing is going to follow him forever, but he seems to enjoy fitness, at least. It’s the diet part that’s the most difficult, especially when confronted with pizza and cake by Jimmy Kimmel. Yet as Kumail further admits, it’s not as difficult to stay ripped as it is to get there in the first place.

Watch a video clip of The Wrap’s podcast visit with Kumail and Emily below.

On his debut album, Harlan & Alondra, Compton rapper Buddy celebrated Black culture with the song “Black,” a defiant declaration of self-pride that stuck out nestled among the summery, soulful anthems. Now, as the political climate warms up along with the weather, Buddy once again delivers a needed letter of encouragement with “Black 2.” The follow-up finds Buddy once again listing the contributions of Black culture to the mainstream, this time over a more contemplative beat, summing up his thesis with the line, “Everybody wanna be Black, don’t nobody wanna be a n****.”

This time, rather than listing Black accomplishments, Buddy lays claim to Black cultural artifacts, calling out folks who want dreads, darker skin, and the cachet that comes from being a rapper or athlete, saying, “Sorry, it’s a Black thing.” He also shouts out LA’s Taste Of Soul festival, Spike Lee, and gumbo, while reminding culture vultures of the price that comes with enjoying the culture: “You wanna be just like me, huh? / ‘Til the police wanna lock me up.” It’s a poignant but subtle reference to the current focus on police brutality in the news, cluing wannabes into the fact of their privilege while still praising all the reasons Black people have to love ourselves.

Listen to Buddy’s “Black 2” above.

Amid the demonstrations across the country protesting police brutality and the death of George Floyd, many musicians have chosen to delay releases so that the world can better focus on combatting racial injustices. G-Eazy made a similar decision, telling a fan on Twitter that he delayed his Everything’s Strange Here album release because “there’s more important things going on in our country than releasing new music rn.” Instead of releasing new music, the rapper chose to revisit his 2017 track “Love Is Gone” with a touching visual.

Originally appearing on his record The Beautiful & Damned, G-Eazy’s “Love Is Gone” is filled with politically-charged commentary that still holds meaning today. “When cops are killing people, and they can’t take the blame / They get acquitted, then you wonder why all the people rage, stupid / We all keep praying for peace, praying for progress / If you live in the hills then you stay in the projects,” G-Eazy raps on the track.

To re-frame the song as a modern protest anthem, the visual’s directors Matt Bauerschmidt and Sterling Hampton chose to compile clips of some of the ongoing protests. Blurring faces for privacy, the visual shows moving clips of thousands of demonstrators marching the streets together and pushing for change. Echoing the track’s message, G-Eazy wrote upon sharing the visual on social media: “Until we all love each other nobody benefits.”

G-Eazy also said of the video, “I wrote ‘Love Is Gone’ in the Summer of 2016…Fast forward 4 years later, and the same racial injustices are still happening day after day in our country. The fight against inequality is as important as ever. This is more than just a song to me, it’s a message… All lives can’t matter until #BLACKLIVESMATTER. Big love to my fam Drew Love and to JAHMED for blessing it with a new verse with some thoughts of his own.”

Watch G-Eazy’s “Love Is Gone” video above.

Every year, hundreds of new batches of bourbon hit the market. In fact, every month you can get up to a dozen new expressions from distilleries across the land. The industry is practically like streetwear — with surprise drops and long-awaited reveals. Meaning there’s a lot to keep up with and that’s before you consider the standard year-round releases and the releases from past years that are still available on shelves. If you love bourbon enough to track this stuff, you’ve got your hands full.

I do track this stuff — tasting a lot of whiskey over the course of a year for the sake of this gig. Some of it’s amazing. A lot of it is fine. Sometimes it’s shockingly bad. As with all booze (and anything creative), there are always going to be blind spots in craft and execution. So far this year, I’ve tasted a few duds, plenty of solid expressions, and 10 bottles that absolutely demand a place on your bourbon shelf. The latter category is what we’re here to talk about today.

The ten bottles below are drams that I 100% vouch for. They’re the best new bourbons of 2020 I still think about, weeks or months after I wrote about each sip in my notebook. They’re also (mostly) available for delivery, though there are some serious price point barriers in play. Some of these bottles aren’t cheap. Still, with bottles this good, spending a little extra cash is well worth it.

Michter’s US*1 Toasted Barrel Finish Bourbon

ABV: 45.7%
Distillery: Michter’s Distillery, Louisville, KY
Average Price: $70

The Bottle:

I think about this bottle a lot. This isn’t a brand new expression, but it is released yearly. The ripple with this expression is the secondary aging process. The juice is transferred to “toasted” barrels for finishing. The barrels are dry-cured outdoors for 18-months — rain or shine — and then toasted, not charred.

Tasting Notes:

Seasoned oak, smoke, and spice dominate upfront. The sip reminds you of pecan pie spiced with cinnamon and allspice that leads towards more smoky flavors, stewed pear, and a clear sense of the barrelling program. There’s longevity to this whiskey — it fades very slowly, leaving you with a sense of campfire smoke and a pitchy woodpile.

Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch Proof

ABV: 61.6%

Distillery: Brown Forman Distillery, Shively, KY
Average Price: $140

The Bottle:

This series from Woodford aims to highlight each step for the whiskey-making process: water, grain, fermentation, distillation, and maturation. This particular expression specifically highlights the maturation step. The juice is bottled at “batch proof” — straight from the barrels — and holds a very high 60-plus-percent ABV with no fiddling in the final product.

Tasting Notes:

Big notes of oak counter a classic vanilla pod and caramel essence. The oak is really the star of the show with support from a sharp and dark spiciness next to an overripe apple/pear combo with a hint of honey. There’s a real marrying of the vanilla, oak, and dark spices on the end with a hell of a kick from the high ABV as the sip slowly fades away.

Belle Meade Bourbon Honey Cask Finish

ABV: 55.9%
Distillery: Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery, Nashville, TN
Average Price: $125

The Bottle:

Full-disclosure, this one is going to be very hard to find until it’s re-released. Still, it’ll be worth tracking for whenever it does return. The bottle takes Belle Meade’s much-lauded bourbon and finishes it in a honey cask from TruBee Honey in Tennessee, where they’ve previously aged all-natural honey in the barrels.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a sweetness on the nose but it doesn’t scream “honey!” It’s more of a honey-soaked wildflower vibe with a grassiness and plenty of vanilla. The sip holds onto that floral and honey nature with hints of bitter orange, creamy pudding, and a note of oak. The bourbon gets leathery near the end with echos of cherry, spice, and mint slowly dissipating.

Barrell Bourbon Batch 23

ABV: 53.89%
Distillery: Barrell Craft Spirits, Louisville, KY (Sourced)
Average Price: $90

The Bottle:

This is a blend that should dispel any idea of “blends” being a bad word in whiskey. The juice is sourced from ten, 12, and 15-year-old bourbons made in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana. The expression is then bottled in Kentucky while maintaining the cask strength of the booze.

Tasting Notes:

This dram sticks with you. There’s a sense of a buttery, rummy, and nutty Christmas cake alongside oily vanilla pods. Rich toffee spiked with dark and very sharp spices offset the wet, brown sugar sweetness. The velvet feel of this whiskey sticks in your senses as the vanilla, spice, and mild sense of oak lingers like a fog.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A120

ABV: 67.1%
Distillery: Heaven Hill Bernheim Distillery, Louisville, KY
Average Price: $72

The Bottle:

Elijah Craig’s Barrel Proof line aims to highlight great barrels from their rickhouses as the months tick by. In this case, the A120 stands for the release with “A” being the first of the year and with “120” signifying January 2020. The juice in the bottle is straight from the barrels and tends to be at least 12 years old when bottled.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a lot going on in this sip. Baked stone fruits swim in toffee and spices with hints of smoke, vanilla, and tart berries. The spicy baked fruits carry on with an emphasis on the spice as hints of sourdough, more berries, and creamy toffee mingle. The sip starts to fade slowly with a small billow of smoke accentuating all of that vanilla, spice, and fruit.

Blanton’s Gold Edition

ABV: 51.5%
Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, KY
Average Price: $230

The Bottle:

This one comes with a hefty price tag. The whiskey is made for the international market, which doesn’t help the pricing in the U.S. since it has to be brought back. Still, the whiskey in the bottle is the ultimate in refinement and a testament to how filtering can be done without hurting the end product.

Tasting Notes:

Cedar bark, dried tobacco smoke, and old oak barrels in a musty rickhouse dominate upfront. The sip ebbs through notes of tart and sweet red fruit as dark spices, creamy vanilla, and grassy nature mix on the palate. The sip slowly fades out, leaving the smoke, wood, and spice with a mild echo of dark chocolate bitterness.

Wilderness Trail Single Barrel Bourbon

ABV: 50%
Distillery: Wilderness Trail Distillery, Danville, KY
Average Price: $50

The Bottle:

This a very young and unique whiskey. The mash bill leans into wheat with 24 percent of the recipe coming from the locally grown grain. The mash is a sweet mash, not a sour mash (meaning the recipe uses completely new ingredients with every batch). The juice is aged for five to six years using toasted oak staves, giving it extra depth.

Tasting Notes:

Brown sugar, pecans, cedar, and apple orchards greet you. The sip stays airy as notes of vanilla, apples, spice, and wood mingle on the palate. The end is long with the sense of the wood and corn lasting the longest.

Wild Turkey Master’s Keep 17 Year

ABV: 50%
Distillery: Wild Turkey Distillery, Lawrenceburg, KY
Average Price: $155

The Bottle:

This year’s Master’s Keep 17 Year is another smash for Wild Turkey. The barrels that hold this sipping bourbon are moved between stone and wooden rickhouses. This multi-environment aging process makes this expression one of the most unique on the market.

Tasting Notes:

This is Wild Turkey turned up to eleven. Soft billows of campfire smoke, rich vanilla pods, Christmas spices with orange zest, and clear oakiness are all present. The sip builds from those notes with a salted caramel sweetness alongside a lot more spice and vanilla. The sweetness has a marshmallow and bitter chocolate vibe as the finish descends through the senses in a smoky haze.

Blade and Bow 22 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 46%
Distillery: Buffalo Trace Distillery & Heaven Hill Bernheim Distillery, KY (Diageo)
Average Price: $212

The Bottle:

This high-end expression form Diageo is bottled at the old Stitzel-Weller Distillery. The juice that’s blended for this dram is sourced from Buffalo Trace and Heaven Hill but they don’t say exactly what the mash bill of those juices are. It’s fine. The end result stands on its own as a very sippable whiskey and that’s enough.

Tasting Notes:

Chewy plums mingle with oak, honey-roasted almonds, and straw. The palate builds on notes of spicy pepper, dark spices, and a lumberyard feel, while vanilla and sweet fruits cut through. The end is short, sweet, and full of more spice, vanilla, oak, and a flourish of wildflowers.

Little Book “The Road Home”

ABV: 61.3%
Distillery: Jim Beam, Clermont, KY
Average Price: $115

The Bottle:

Little Book is Jim Beam’s ode to the wonders of blending whiskey. This expression blends nine-year-old Basil Hayden, nine-year-old Knob Creek, 11-year-old Booker’s, and 12-year-old Baker’s. Each bourbon goes into the final blend unaltered and barrel strength. It took master distiller Freddie Noe 57 tries to get this one exactly right and that devotion to greatness comes through in each sip.

Tasting Notes:

This is just a classic dram of bourbon. Rich vanilla pods and corn-focused caramel marry charred oak and Christmas puddings spices, candied fruit, and zest. The sip moves into dried stone fruit territory as the oaky char bitterness is counterpointed by a sweet vanilla underbelly. That oak lasts as the warm end embraces the senses and slowly fades away.

I never feel more out of touch with pop culture than when I look at the Netflix top 10.

The most popular show in the country, as of Friday morning: 13 Reasons Why (stopped watching after season one). The most popular movie: something called 365 Dni, Polish for 365 Days (never even heard of it until this week). It’s an unassuming title for what Decider has dubbed “the closest thing to porn on Netflix.” This DiCaprio GIF sums it up.

Here’s how Netflix describes the erotic-drama: “A fiery executive in a spiritless relationship falls victim to a dominant mafia boss, who imprisons her and gives her one year to fall in love with him.” That’s some grade-A sexy trash (even if it has an F review on Rotten Tomatoes), and it’s struck a nerve with Netflix subscribers: 365 Dni is currently more popular than Space Force, Hannibal, and the final season of Fuller House.

Directed by Barbara Białowąs and Tomasz Mandes and starring Anna-Maria Sieklucka and Michele Morrone, 365 Dni is based on Blanka Lipińska’s book trilogy, leading to inevitable comparisons to Fifty Shades of Grey. But with all due respect to Anastasia Steele (and none to Christian Grey — he sucks), Fifty Shades of Grey could never:

Laura wakes on a yacht to Mario and Massimo arguing. During the night, Massimo shot the man who had tried to rape Laura, inciting a mafia war between the two families. Mario insists that Massimo has to get rid of Laura, but Massimo refuses. Laura attempts to apologize, but Massimo puts the blame for the incident on her. As they argue on the upper decks of the ship, Laura falls into the water and Massimo jumps in to save her. When she wakes up later, Massimo admits he was scared she might not make it because of her heart condition and doesn’t want to lose her. They then spend hours having sex.

Who are Laura, Massimo, and Mario? Does it matter? You’re missing the part about the mafia and people falling into water and “they spend hours having sex” on a boat. It’s no Money Plane, but 365 Dni is wild, and that infamous boat tryst is the wildest scene.

365 Dni is available on Netflix, but maybe don’t watch it your parents.

Yikes.

(Via Decider)

Hip-hop is moving as fast as ever. Luckily, we’re doing the work to put the best new rap music in one place for you. This week, there were videos from Lil Wayne and Spillage Village, as well as Dame D.O.L.L.A. AKA Damian Lillard. Check out the rest of the best new rap music below.

Mr. Swipey — “Freca” Feat. French Montana

French Montana is continuing his foray into the Brooklyn drill scene, collaborating with Swipey on “Freca,” a Latin-flavored take on the in-demand genre. The video shows the two defying social distancing rules but having the time of their life while doing it.

Problem — “Lamborghini”

Earlier this week, Problem released a video for “Lamborghini,” a single from his Coffee & Kush, Vol. 1 album. The JoshyGonz-directed clip includes outrageous footage of a five-year-old Utah boy who sought to buy a Lamborghini.

Cambatta — “Bones Of Osiris”

Cambatta’s latest video for “Bones Of Osiris” captures the tension of the moment, with black and white footage of nationwide demonstrations fueling his fiery lyricism, as he affirms, ”Never had a Dad in my home I got everything I own cause I’m Black and I’m grown.”

Rome Streetz — “My Reality”

Rome Streetz delves into a reflective stream of consciousness on “My Reality,” a single from his upcoming Noise Candy 4 project, which will be out next week. He rhymes, “I need some land before a tie-dye bezel / n****s rather be broke and look rich I guess you feel special.”

Tsu Surf — MSYKM

New Jersey rapper Tsu Surf jumped ahead of the pack by releasing MSKYM, his latest project, on Wednesday. The 13-track album showcases a blend of the gritty street confessionals and romantic excursions that have won him an expansive fanbase. Features include Jim Jones, Benny The Butcher, G Herbo, Mozzy, and Dave East.

Blu & Exile — “Roots Of Blue”

Blu & Exile offered a lengthy taste of what to expect from their upcoming Miles project on “Roots Of Blue,” which fuses spoken word with powerful verses in which Blu pays homage to the lineage of African ancestors who preceded him.

Azealia Banks — “Black Madonna”

Azealia Banks gets braggadocious on “Black Madonna,” a Lex Luger-produced track where she shows her considerable charisma and rhyming ability over Lex’ atmospheric production.

Too Short — “Off And On” Feat. Lexy Pantera

Too Short explores rocky romances on “Off And On,” exploring the ups and downs of relationships amidst a poppy soundscape with Lexy Pantera.

Kolyon — “Walk Down” Feat. Mozzy

Florida rapper Kolyon released a remix of “Walk Down” featuring Mozzy, who gives the already menacing track a new dynamic of grittiness with bars like, “You don’t believe in what you bang, look how you throw it up.”

Hopsin — “Kumbaya”

On “Kumbaya,” Hospin delves into passionate, rapidfire rhymes about his internal turmoil, offering the evocative nugget that, “I done made a lot of money from exposin’ my grief.”

Joey Trap — Playlist For The End Of The World

Hopefully, the title of New York rhymer Joey Trap’s Playlist For The End Of The World is just artistic license. The genre-bending MC released his 23-track album on June 5, showing off considerable charisma and myriad flows throughout the project which also features Zedsu and YBN Nahmir on the thumping “EW.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Aside from being a reliable role player in the NBA, Iman Shumpert also isn’t too shabby when it comes to rapping. He has once again shown off those skills by linking up with his famous and talented wife, Teyana Taylor, on her new song, “Wake Up Love.”

On the smooth track, Taylor brings up some concerns about the relationship, opening the song, “One thing’s for certain / Need you right here in my arms, baby I’m yearning / But I think I got a bone to pick with you / Lately I’ve been wondering what’s with you / I need you to hear me, baby.”

Shumpert comes back with a reassurance, saying, “I’d save you from a burning building / I wear the burns as gold medals, turn you on to remember.” He later continues, “I know I demand a lot and you don’t like that / So let’s just leave the baggage, I’ma hop us on this flight back / You like that, right?”

Taylor previously teased that her next album, appropriately titled The Album, would receive a June release. That said, it’s not clear if current events will have an impact on when the record comes out. Either way, Taylor has so far previewed it with new songs like “Bare Wit Me” And “Made It.”

Listen to “Wake Up Love” above.

---

View Entire Post ›

Our Longest Summer series will look at the eight teams whose seasons are now officially over, and will have to wait until mid-October to make decisions on what’s next and how to proceed after falling short of the cut-off for a continued 2019-20 campaign.

The 2019-20 season wasn’t kind to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The John Beilein era ended after just 14 wins in 54 games and, while the team did perform better after making a coaching change, Cleveland’s overall performance left plenty to be desired. Defensively, it was a near-total collapse and, even with offensive sparks flying at times, the Cavs were relatively dismal on the way to the NBA’s second-worst record before the hiatus.

Now, with 22 of the league’s 30 teams heading to Orlando, the Cavaliers have an extended offseason to attempt to right the ship. Some parts of the team are seemingly in decent shape but, for others, there are real questions that the organization has to answer, leaving uncertainty in a broad sense.

2020 Free Agents

Andre Drummond (player option), Tristan Thompson (UFA), Matthew Dellavedova (UFA), Ante Zizic (UFA)

2020 Projected salary cap space (assuming $115 million salary cap)

None, per Early Bird Rights

Areas of Strength

The Cavs didn’t do much well this season, but Cleveland does have some talented pieces. Should he choose to exercise a lucrative player option, Andre Drummond remains an above-average starting center. Kevin Love isn’t the player he was in his prime but, offensively, the former All-Star brings a lot to the table. On the perimeter, Collin Sexton made considerable strides in terms of efficiency and production, developing his three-point shooting in intriguing fashion and leading the team in scoring. The Cavs also enjoyed flashes from rookies Kevin Porter Jr. and Darius Garland, with some reasonably solid supporting play from veterans like Larry Nance.

Areas of Need

While it isn’t too hard to find positives on the roster, the overall picture is grim. If not for the historic efforts of the Washington Wizards, the Cavs would get more attention for deploying a truly abhorrent defense for much of the season. The talent on that end of the floor is, well, not very good, and the team’s pieces don’t fit all that well together, especially when considering Sexton and Garland in the backcourt. It is at least possible that one (or more) of the rookies makes a leap in the future but, in a more practical sense, Cleveland needs pieces that can defend at a high level and they probably need the true No. 1 option that so many rebuilding teams are looking for along the way.

Biggest Decisions

Drummond will make the decision for the Cavs in some respect and, while not impossible that he exits, most of the buzz would lean toward the veteran center opting in to his deal for nearly $30 million. Cleveland didn’t pay much in the trade for Drummond, making the risk a reasonable one, but how they navigate his one-year pact (if it happens) and pending free agency will be crucial. In addition, Love could be on the trade market once again and, with Tristan Thompson hitting free agency after a lengthy tenure, considerable turnover could happen in the frontcourt. On top of that, the Cavaliers could have a top-three pick in a draft loaded with backcourt contributors and, if fit is a consideration in any way, things could get dicey.

Overall Offseason Focus

The Cavaliers should be in asset accumulation mode. That isn’t ideal for a team that still owes quite a bit of money to Love (and Drummond), but Cleveland simply isn’t close enough to contention to worry all that much about fit and short-term gains. As an over-the-cap team, the Cavaliers have less flexibility than they’d like to, but hitting on their first-round pick this year is paramount, and if they are able to shed Love and/or Drummond with an eye toward flexibility, it might be the time to go ahead and blow it up completely.