It will be interesting to see what the Cleveland Cavaliers’ roster will look like when training camp opens December 1st.
First, the trading period opened up yesterday, and with the draft coming up tomorrow, will the Cavs be involved in any of the transactions which take place.
Also, Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova, heroes of the title team in 2016 are eligible for free agency, and we would place better odds on Delly returning to the organization than Thompson, who would seem to attract a lot of attention from contending teams.
Then, you have the fates of big man Andre Drummond, who will pick up his player option for 2020-21, but it is doubtful he will be looking to sign long term with Cleveland, and Kevin Love, who has a huge contract, but has seemingly been on the market since his first season with the team in 2014-15.
Another player who has been involved in the trade speculation is Larry Nance Jr., which we think makes sense because Nance is a real good player, and will turn 28 years old on New Years Day. Nance’s game is perfect for a playoff contender because he does everything well, and he’s coming off a career high in scoring (10.1), adding a three point shot to his repertoire.
It would seem to us that he is also the kind of player GM Koby Altman and coach JB Bickerstaff would want around to help a very young basketball team.
Cleveland was said to be interested in some free agents as well, players like Memphis’ Josh Jackson, who is 24 years old, and can play either wing spot at 6’8″, and Miami’s Derrick Jones Jr., also 24 years old, and is more of a small forward, and averaged a career high 8.5 points per game last season.
You would have to think since Jones played for Erik Spoelstra in south Florida that he has some idea about defense, which should appeal to the Cavs.
We know we are a broken record (dated reference, we know), but if Thompson leaves, and with Ante Zizic already going back to Europe, the Cavaliers need big people. We wouldn’t mind taking a shot at Nerlens Noel, another free agent who averaged 7.4 points, five rebounds, and 1.5 blocked shots with the Thunder last season.
Finally, Altman needs to sort out his backcourt, which is cluttered with the drafting of two smallish guards in Collin Sexton and Darius Garland in the top ten the past two seasons. Add in last year’s 30th overall pick in Kevin Porter and another top five overall pick in Dante Exum, and it will be a struggle to get them all decent playing time.
Will one or more of them be moved before camp starts?
Altman is in a tough spot. The Cavs have won less than 20 games in each of the last two seasons, albeit one of them in a 65 game season, and they need to start showing improvement in the win total area.
Trading for more potential lottery picks doesn’t seem like a good idea, getting young players with experience would seem to be a better option.
The biggest thing, though, is finding players who fit together, who complement each other’s game, and can contribute on both ends of the floor. And that’s where Bickerstaff’s influence should come in. It’s his deal, and he should have players he feels comfortable with.
What will the roster look like at the end of the month? Our first clues should reveal themselves this week.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 