Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 pivotal crossroads approaching
By Tony Pesta
Cleveland Cavaliers’ crossroads: Rounding out the supporting cast
If we learned anything from LeBron James‘ time in Cleveland, it’s that no matter how uberly talented your top player is — you are only as strong as your supporting cast. As for this current rendition of the Cavaliers, they don’t have nearly enough star power on this roster to justify such underwhelming role players on the bench.
At the core of this rebuild are young players like Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro and Jarrett Allen. However, it has been nearly impossible to make any proper judgments on their ability to win basketball games with the roster they have been surrounded with.
We need to look no further than the rapid narrative shifts around players like Devin Booker and Trae Young for example. In a matter of one year, Booker and Young silenced all criticism of not being able to play ‘winning’ basketball. What changed? While they certainly both improved as players, the most notable changes came in the form of their upgraded supporting casts.
The Phoenix Suns have enjoyed timely performances from Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Deandre Ayton, Cameron Payne and of course, the veteran presence of Chris Paul, who tied it all together this season. Meanwhile, Atlanta has supported Young with versatile forwards like Danilo Gallinari, De’Andre Hunter, Cam Redish and John Collins. As well as quality role players in Clint Capela, Kevin Heurter and Lou Williams.
When you look at the Cavaliers’ current roster, it’s hard to find anyone who lives up to the same standard as the guys in Phoenix and Atlanta. To be frank, Larry Nance Jr. is really the only glue guy worth keeping on the roster for the foreseeable future.
Other names, such as Cedi Osman, Taurean Prince, Dean Wade, Lamar Stevens, Isaiah Hartenstein, Damyean Dotson, Dylan Windler and even Kevin Love should all be expendable. The likelihood of Cleveland retaining all (or most) of these players AND managing to make the playoffs in the next few seasons seems low.
Because of this, the Cavaliers should be exploring all of their options to buff this supporting cast. Shedding Love’s contract in a trade or buyout would be the ideal first step. From there, targetting help via more trades or free agency is the next move. Here are a few upcoming FA’s who might be available to Cleveland for a cheap price.
Targets who might fit $6 Million MLE
- Derrick Rose
- Patrick Mills
- Robin Lopez
- Nerlens Noel
- Garrett Temple
- Reggie Bullock
- Bobby Portis
- Kent Bazemore
Backup guards like Rose and Mills can fill the Cavs’ need for additional playmaking while Bullock, Bazemore and Temple provide some 3-and-D attributes. As for the frontcourt, Lopez and Noel give the Cavs some size and Portis helps them space the floor. Any of these players help bolster Cleveland’s bench.
Either way, the front office will need to add more talent and veteran leadership soon or risk limiting the ceiling of this current core. We won’t know how successful this young group can be until they have the help needed to compete. Failure to upgrade the supporting cast will push back the rebuild quite a bit.