Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 moves to upgrade the roster for 2017-18
2. Sign a 3-and-D wing
That mid-level exception is basically the Cavaliers’ only saving grace this summer outside of blockbuster trades (more on this in a minute). It’s important they put it to good use on a versatile, athletic defender who can occasionally knock down open three-point looks.
Those types of players are in high demand, so snagging one that would A) fit that $5.2 million price range and B) actually help the Cavaliers against the Dubs seems highly unlikely.
However, it’s not impossible, and stranger things have happened. Assuming Cleveland doesn’t use its MLE on one of the aforementioned veterans, three wings that immediately come to mind in this year’s free agency class are P.J. Tucker, Thabo Sefolosha and Gerald Green.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Tucker is probably the least likely target of the group, especially after being such a force on the defensive end and the boards for the Toronto Raptors. Now that teams got to see he’s an NBA All-Defensive team kind of defender in the playoffs, he’ll be getting a hefty payday from someone.
With only $18.6 million to his name over his NBA career, it seems more probable for Tucker to take a lucrative contract from a competitive team over a $5.2 million deal with a King who’s still looking up at gods.
After playing the 2016-17 season on a minimum contract with the Boston Celtics, Green is probably closer to veteran-the-Cavs-could-sign-on-a-minimum-deal status. He’s not a great defender either, but his microwave scoring — unreliable though it might be at times — would be a welcome addition.
After all, one adjustment that helped save the Celtics’ first round series against the Chicago Bulls — aside from Rajon Rondo getting hurt — was inserting Green into the starting lineup. That wouldn’t be the case in Cleveland against the Warriors, but some wing scoring and positional versatility would be nice.
The happy medium between these two MLE candidates would have to be Thabo Sefolosha, one of the league’s most underrated wing defenders. Though his three-point shooting leaves something to be desired (34.2 percent this year, 34.5 percent for his career), at least he’d be better than Iman Shumpert on both ends of the floor. He’d also save LeBron the physical hassle of doing what he does on the offensive end and trying to guard Kevin Durant on the other end.
However, with wing defense and veteran experience becoming premiums in this league, would Sefolosha accept a $5.2 million contract to team up with the guy who used to defend in Oklahoma City and Atlanta? It’s hard to say, but he feels like the most realistic 3-and-D wing for the Cavs to target with their MLE.