Hezonja deal still stuck, and Cleveland's forward answer remains theoretical

This is the fifth note on the same non-signing. The roadblock that surfaced July 28 hasn't cleared, and what was supposed to be a straightforward addition — a one-year, $2.8 million deal with a proven EuroLeague scorer — remains unfinished business as training camp moves from abstract to imminent.

The need hasn't changed. Dean Wade was the team's starting forward last season and produced at a fraction of what the position requires. Nae'Qwan Tomlin is the backup. That's the depth chart Cleveland is currently working with, and it's the same one that was in place when the defensive numbers cratered down the stretch.

Hezonja was always a modest answer to a real problem — a secondary-market solution after the marquee tier closed. But a modest answer still beats no answer, and right now Cleveland doesn't have either. At some point the front office has to decide whether to keep waiting on this deal or start looking at what else is out there.