Cleveland Cavaliers: How Much Is Iman Shumpert Worth?

Iman Shumpert probably is walking away from the NBA Finals looking to forget the performance he put on against the Golden State Warriors. Shumpert finished with an abysmal 39.7 true shooting percentage. From long range, which was one of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ preferred weapons of choice offensively, he only made 32 percent of his threes (8-for-25).

Tasked with slowing down arguably the most prolific scoring backcourt in NBA history (Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson), he definitely deserves the benefit of the doubt for his offensive woes. The small sample size of six games in the Finals aren’t enough to keep Cleveland looking to offer Shumpert small money as a restricted free agent.

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The team does plan to bring back Shumpert on a qualifying offer.

Where his true value lies is on the defensive end, as mentioned. With LeBron James shouldering the Cavaliers’ offensive load, he doesn’t get a chance to play the lock-down defender that he’d like to be. Shumpert is that guy on a nightly basis, as proven beforehand as a New York Knick and now in Cleveland.

During the regular season, Shumpert posted a 99.2 defensive rating (the Cavs’ best), which was just more than Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard’s 96.8 rating. Pretty damn good for a 24-year old.

Another impressive feat is that he’s averaged at least one steal in his first five seasons.

Speaking of his age, this has to be encouraging for his improvement. He did shoot a career-high 41 percent this season. Shumpert isn’t the kind of player that can run an offense, but he has his moments of showing athleticism and getting to the rim. He has to continue to maintain the confidence in his shot, and keep the floor spaced for both Kyrie Irving and LeBron James to operate.

So the big deal comes in with the cash that Shumpert is seeking. If he accepts the qualifying offer, he is looking to take $3.7 million next year. On one side, he can look to take this deal, opt out next year, and then pursue a bigger deal. An underlying factor that must be considered is health.

We all witnessed Shumpert’s torn ACL in 2012, followed by a dislocated shoulder in 2014, and a groin injury in the 2015 playoffs. Durability is always considered by all parties involved. Is the investment worth the risk of injury?

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For Shumpert, testing the market could certainly result in a much higher contract than nearly $4 million. In a league that loves its “Three & D” perimeter players, you have franchises like the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers that could force the Cavaliers’ hand.

With a number of players to get a bulk of their cap space (LeBron James, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson), it could mean losing Shumpert to the open market.

When teams do come calling for Shumpert’s services, a deal around the figure of $7 million to $9 million could pry him away. Most importantly, it could also allow Shumpert to sign a short-term deal making nearly three times as much, with a chance at a larger deal in 2016-17 (hello, new TV deal!). The dynamics will certainly be interesting.

In the next several weeks, we will learn if Shumpert’s first taste of the Finals was enough to allow him to buy in with what the Cavaliers are looking to accomplish. At the same time, the team knows that he will definitely look to get himself paid for his skill set in a dire time.

Just looking at Shumpert’s body of work, it sounds foolish for him to reject the offer expected on the table, but once you remember what he can bring to a team, he would be justified with his pursuit.

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