Cleveland Cavaliers: Sam Dekker’s potential impact on the team

The Cleveland Cavaliers continued their busy summer by trading for Sam Dekker. What type of role will he play for his new team?

Sam Dekker seems like the type of player that would do well in contemporary NBA. The 6’7” wing could be an outside marksman with the ability to defend both forward positions. He’s gritty with a winning pedigree in both college and the pros.

As a first round pick by the Houston Rockets in 2015, Dekker appeared to be a good complementary piece to James Harden as the squad began stocking for contention. Unfortunately, a serious back injury derailed his first season.

Dekker was serviceable in year two, before being dealt with a platoon of players that landed the Rockets Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers. Dekker struggled mightily in La La Land, languishing from deep with an extremely lackluster 16.7 percent clip from beyond the 3-point line.  It’s a stunningly low percentage from a player scouts thought could be an effective outside shooter.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are pouncing on his low stock, acquiring the forward from the Clippers. In exchange, the Cavs grant the Clippers draft rights to Vladimir Veremeenko. Cleveland also nets draft rights to Renaldas Seibutis and cash.

How will Dekker fit in with the Cavs? Ideally, he becomes a stretch forward, filling the shoes of Kyle Korver, who is likely on his way out.

Under Tyronn Lue and with the leadership of LeBron James, the Cavaliers excelled in the pick-and-roll. On possessions in which it ran the play last year, the Cavs scored 42.8 percent of the time. That was the highest percentage in the NBA.

In these clips, defenders stick to the outstanding outside shooter Kyle Korver, leaving James and Kyrie Irving plentiful space in the paint. Korver’s sturdy frame is great for setting screens. His shooting reputation frees up space because three is worth more than two and savvy defenses are okay with giving up a layup as opposed to an outside look to an elite deep threat.

With aggressive point guard Collin Sexton taking the reins, Cleveland hopes to add a complementary pick-and-roll partner. Enter Sam Dekker.

Dekker is the same height as Korver, but about 20 pounds heavier. He’s  a big bodied wing that provides bulk on the Cavs’ most effective play. Take a look at some of his highlights.

So much of his offense is predicated off the pick-and-roll. Hopefully his means Dekker will fit like a glove in Cleveland’s system.

What if Dekker doesn’t develop a reliable outside shot? Coming out of college, he was compared to Gordon Hayward. He’s been linked to “3-and-D” specialists like Trevor Ariza or Robert Covington. Yet, his 28.3 career 3-point shooting percentage doesn’t reflect a player who can be relied on from deep.

Cleveland has few options at the small forward position behind the 37-year-old Korver, who will likely be moved. Tristan Thompson and Larry Nance Jr. get most of their looks in the paint (a combined 69 percent of shots taken). Kevin Love is one of the more versatile bigs in the league, but he can’t play 48 minutes a night.

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Maybe Dekker can provide something the Cavs will desperately need as a forward who can score from the mid-range while creating his own shot.

In his one healthy season with Houston, Dekker attempted 43.6 percent of his shots from beyond the 3-point line. Only 23.1 percent of his field goal attempts in Los Angeles last season were from deep. Naturally, his field goal percentage improved between the two seasons.

Dekker’s best month of his Clippers career came in April, when he averaged 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, compared to 4.2 points and 2.4 rebounds a night for his season average. Most notably, he didn’t attempt a 3-pointer in six April games.

The point being, it appears last season was a transition year for Dekker. Morphing from a floor stretcher to more of a bruiser, Dekker spent the 2017-18 campaign reinventing himself. That may have accounted for his poor play.

Hopefully he’s completed his metamorphosis, and will break through his cocoon to become a beautiful butterfly in Cleveland. He’ll potentially serve as a solid mid-range scorer with the ability to attack the rim. It may be surprising to some to see Dekker operate under the trifecta line rather than above it, but that may be where he is better suited.

With maturity questions abound, hopefully Dekker finds himself as a Cav. He’ll be paired with a good mentor in Korver and a youthful environment aiding his growth.

Dekker can be a restricted free agent next summer, and there’s always the chance he doesn’t even make the roster. At least he seems happy to happy to be heading to Cleveland, which is a good start.

Maybe this is the move Dekker needed to reach his potential.

It’s another low-risk, high-reward maneuver for Cleveland. Hopefully it pays off.