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Cleveland Cavaliers: After Mike Dunleavy Jr.?

By Joshua Howe

Oct 20, 2014; Columbus, OH, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy (34) dives around Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) at Value City Arena. Cleveland won the game 107-98. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 20, 2014; Columbus, OH, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy (34) dives around Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) at Value City Arena. Cleveland won the game 107-98. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports /
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There is a not-so-great history of players (and former players) running things for NBA teams. Why might this be? Well, one reason could be that players like to bring aboard guys who either a) are their friends or b) played very well against them.

This might be what’s happening with the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer. LeBron James has a fair amount (a very, very, very fair amount) of say in what the club does this summer and probably for as long as he’s there, which will presumably be for the rest of his career.

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Despite being the best player in the world, James seems to be adhering to these problematic fixes shown to be fruitless in the past. He brought Mike Miller and James Jones with him when he came back from Miami last summer, and while Jones had some moments in the playoffs, he really was only playing so many minutes due to injuries among the roster. As for Miller, he barely played at all.

Sure, LeBron likes to beat the tough players he’s played against. Every player does. But The King is also the type of person who likes to bring those guys into his court and make them part of the family.

There are former players like Larry Bird or Michael Jordan who would never have wanted to join forces with worthy foes. That’s just the way they were (though their teams being great didn’t hurt).

May 10, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy (34) is fouled by The Cavaliers Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) in the second half of game four of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at the United Center. The Cavaliers won 86-84. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
May 10, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy (34) is fouled by The Cavaliers Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) in the second half of game four of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at the United Center. The Cavaliers won 86-84. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /

LeBron has no issue partnering up with other great players if the opportunity presents itself. And not only great ones, but ones who are simply good role players. James was very happy when the Cavs brought in J.R. Smith because he watched him play a couple solid seasons on the Knicks and knows what he can do.

The same now applies to Mike Dunleavy Jr., who LeBron seems to want to bring to Cleveland. Dunleavy had a very good series against the Cavs during the playoffs, and he provided toughness to an already gritty Chicago team. He’s one of those guys that players love to have on their team because he’ll mix it up and never back down.

During the six games the Bulls played against the Cavs in the playoffs before succumbing, Dunleavy averaged 11.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists on 50.9 percent shooting from the field and 40.0 percent from beyond the arc over 34.1 minutes a game.

He’s a good shooter, but those numbers aren’t knockouts. Something to be even more wary of are his regular season numbers from this past season:

  • 2014-15: 9.4ppg, 3.9rpg, 1.8apg, 43.5 FG%, 40.7 3FG%, 29.2 minutes

Dunleavy does one thing very well: he can shoot the ball. And with LeBron facilitating most of the time, he should theoretically shoot even better. He would be a nice offensive boon for the Cavs off of the bench, especially considering how depleted they were when ravaged by injuries.

Still, at the age of 34, Dunleavy isn’t going to give you much more than that. He can play the Ray Allen role and is still a good defender, but will do little else.

Cleveland has to be careful with where they’re spending money this offseason. They don’t have a ton of it to throw around and their main priority is to bring back their own free agents. General manager David Griffin will have to think carefully about whether or not Dunleavy is the kind of player that will help push the Cavs to the title.

Without giving in to the crushing peer pressure of James.

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