When the Cleveland Cavaliers traded for Andre Drummond at the trade deadline, we were thrilled because it was the first time in a long time the Cavs addressed the lack of height on their roster.
Since Timofey Mozgov left as a free agent, Cleveland either didn’t have legitimate big men (read traditional center) on the roster or didn’t use those people.
When the wine and gold went to The Finals in 2018, the last season LeBron James played in Cleveland, the Cavs had three players taller than 6’9″: Channing Frye, Kendrick Perkins, and Ante Zizic.
That trio played a combined 774 minutes. COMBINED.
The Golden State Warriors, known for their long range shooting and small ball lineups, had four players 6’10” or taller: Kevin Durant, Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee, and Damian Jones.
Pachulia alone played more minutes than the Cavaliers trio.
Let’s look at the two best teams in the NBA this season, the Lakers and Bucks.
Los Angeles has three big men getting over 15 minutes per night: Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, and McGee.
Milwaukee uses three tall people more than 14 minutes per contest: Brook and Robin Lopez, and of course, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The point is, size is still important even in today’s professional basketball where positions are fluid and the scoring has drifted to the perimeter.
So, getting Drummond was an important step in remedying this situation, but the Cavs could have a problem in this regard this off-season.
Drummond can be a free agent at the end of this season, albeit with a player option, with the situation the world is in right now, he seems unlikely to decline because he figures to not see as much money on the open market.
However, the other two big men wearing the wine and gold, Zizic and Tristan Thompson (who is 6’9″ but is most definitely a C/PF and provides interior defense) are also eligible to test the market, meaning GM Koby Altman could again have a roster devoid of size.
No doubt there will be some veteran free agents from other teams out there for the Cavs, but hopefully they will sign at least two of them, because Cleveland is already small in the backcourt, and at the start of the season, they were the smallest team in the NBA.
Should Altman take a big man in the draft? It wouldn’t hurt, but the team has needs in other area (not guard) and since big men take longer to develop, it would be doubtful a rookie such as James Wiseman (7’1″, 235 lbs) could make much of an impact in his first year, particularly on the defensive end of the floor.
In our opinion, Thompson staying in Cleveland is a long shot and we’ve seen rumors that Zizic is returning overseas, and we have doubts that he can play interior defense in the NBA due to lack of quickness.
That means beside the draft and solving the impending roster problems at guard, Altman needs to find some big people as well. Ideally, we would like to see three players over 6’10” added to the roster, but at the very least, two would do.
Height is still a requirement in the NBA. Good teams seem to have players who can provide defense around the rim. The Cavaliers can’t lose sight of that before the 2020-21 season begins.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 