Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 candidates for a breakout season in 2018-19

2. Jordan Clarkson

Midway through the 2016-17 season, a frustrated LeBron James vented publicly that the Cavs needed a frogging playmaker. (His exact verbiage may have been paraphrased there.)

While it seemed obvious that LeBron was referring to a backup guard for a team that struggled to generate offense when LeBron and Kyrie Irving weren’t on the floor, the quote has stuck with him as evidence for critics who claim LeBron constantly wants to stack his teams with superstars.

Whether he was really hoping for Chris Paul or just Jarrett Jack, LeBron’s assessment of the team was not wrong, and it is also something that has stuck with the Cavs ever since. After the Dwyane Wade and Isaiah Thomas experiments went south midway through last season — and with Irving having been traded to the Boston Celtics the previous summer — the Cavs were again short on potent playmakers outside of LeBron.

That’s why they traded for Jordan Clarkson.

In his three and a half years with the Lakers, Clarkson had become known as an energetic — although not often disciplined — shot-creator with some playmaking ability who was well suited for a sixth man role. The 6’5″ guard can break down defenders off the dribble and hunts for his own shot with the aggressiveness of a poor man’s Russell Westbrook.

Clarkson’s skill-set is one that the Cavs needed then, and that they still need today.

At his best in L.A., Clarkson averaged 15.5 points and 2.4 assists in 32 minutes per game as a full-time starter during the 2015-16 season. In his 28 regular season games with the Cavs earlier last year, he averaged 12.6 points and 1.7 assists in 22 minutes per game.

Like Nance, Clarkson’s playing time decreased in the postseason, but he also struggled when he was on the floor. Clarkson shot just 30.1 percent from the field in the playoffs, averaging 4.7 points in 15 minutes per game. He didn’t play at all in the last two games of the NBA Finals.

The 26-year-old Clarkson played for the Philippines’ national team this summer in the Asian Games, leading the squad to a fifth-place finish.

Clarkson might be the second-best or even the best one-on-one scorer on the Cavs’ roster — rookie point guard Collin Sexton being the other candidate — so whether he’s in a sixth man role or starting ahead of veteran shooting guard J.R. Smith, his contributions will be valued and necessary.