It’s Not Fair, But We See Both Sides Of Cavs, Sexton Situation

It seems the Cavaliers and Collin Sexton are in for an awkward 2022-23 season. Sexton is a restricted free agent and reportedly would like a multiyear deal, but the two sides are far apart in terms of the money.

Sexton is said to want around $18-20 million per year, while the Cavs have offered a reported $13 million per season, presumably to stay under the luxury tax level for another year.

This is one of those situations where both sides are justified in their positions, and the best thing would be for Sexton to take the one year qualifying offer of $8.6 million for next season.

From the wine and gold’s standpoint, Sexton has been a productive player, albeit on real bad teams. He did average 24.3 points and 4.4 assists for Cleveland in 2020-21, but the team went 22-50 that year.

Last year, the Cavs got to the play in tournament and a chance to make an actual best-of-seven series, but Sexton missed most of the campaign with a knee injury, playing in just 11 games.

So, it depends how people view Sexton coming into his fifth year in the league. Is he a budding all-star, a player coming off an injury, or a guy who has demonstrated the ability to put up big numbers on a bad team?

As for Sexton, we are sure he would like a long term deal from the Cavaliers or any other NBA team, but right now, he doesn’t seem to be drawing any interest from around the league.

It could be because most teams are up against the salary cap right now, so the money simply isn’t there to sign a free agent from another team. Or it could be that Sexton is an strange fit, a 6’2″ off guard, who might be best served coming off the bench.

As we said before, we can see both sides on this one. Sexton has shown he can put up numbers in the NBA, but at this point, there doesn’t seem to be a market for him. On the other hand, for the Cavs, he probably was their best player heading into last season, but things change, and right now, he might be their fourth or fifth best player.

Timing is everything, and for Sexton, getting hurt and the Cavaliers having their best season since the departure of LeBron James (and the arrival of Sexton) is unfortunate for the player.

Things may loosen up on the sign-and-trade market once the situations are resolved with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Donovan Mitchell too. The Cavs and Sexton might even be involved to make things work under the salary cap.

Some things in life aren’t fair, but the best option for Collin Sexton might be to play under the qualifying offer this season, show everyone around the league what kind of player he can be, and see what his value is around the NBA.

And if the Cavaliers make the playoffs in 2022-23 and Sexton is a key contributor to that effort, he can and will make Koby Altman dig deep into his pockets to keep him around. If Sexton still wants to be around at that point.

Early Or Not, Guardians Deserve A Chance To Compete

In the last week or so, we’ve read and heard some things about the Cleveland Guardians being ahead of schedule. These people are saying the front office felt like 2023 was the year they could contend for the post-season again.

Our guess is if these folks are in the know, meaning they have talked to high-ranking officials in the Cleveland front office, they are setting up supporters of the team for a disappointing trade deadline.

Look, the truth of the matter is the Guardians are a very young baseball team. Statistically, they are the youngest team in the majors, a half year younger than Pittsburgh among everyday players, and they have the youngest pitching staff in the big leagues, almost a year younger than the Tigers.

We are sure that president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff will not and should not break up the Guardians’ young core, players like Jose Ramirez, Andres Gimenez, Josh Naylor, Triston McKenzie, and Emmanuel Clase. Those guys seem like the foundation for the next few seasons.

On the other hand, the fact is the Guards are sitting just a game out of first place and we are in late July. Future contention isn’t a given either. You don’t know about injuries, poor seasons, and like it or not, the way the ball bounces in a given year.

We are sure the Cleveland brass is looking at ways to help this year’s team. The organization still has a glut of middle infielders both at the big league and high minor league levels, and the last we checked, you can still only play one shortstop and one second baseman per game.

So eventually, the team has to make a decision about Amed Rosario, Gimenez, Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman, and Brayan Rocchio. We have been on record in feeling Arias would be the first one of this group moved.

With Aaron Civale out until August, the Guardians could use another starting pitcher and another bullpen arm wouldn’t hurt, with Eli Morgan and Bryan Shaw leaking oil.

Right now, Cleveland might have Kirk McCarty starting Tuesday night at Fenway Park, which is a scary proposition, considering he’s allowed six homers in 12 innings at the Major League level this season.

Of course, that’s due to the rainouts, but the replacement for Civale is rookie Konnor Pilkington. The southpaw has been okay, but he’s hasn’t produced like the other starters.

There have been rumors about dealing DH Franmil Reyes, citing lack of conditioning or perhaps the willingness to get in better shape. More likely, the Guardians figure Josh Naylor can play more often if he’s not on his feet defensively, and Reyes’ increased strikeout rate this season has made it easier to put him on the bench.

Even though the Guardians are ahead of schedule, that doesn’t make it okay for the front office not to improve the club. Maybe they have benefited from being in a division without a great team, but here they are, right in the thick of it with less than 70 games to go.

And you can’t underestimate the boost it can give a team when they know the front office believes in it enough to add to the roster.

In 1995, Cleveland didn’t need to do anything at the deadline, they are ahead by 20 plus games, but GM John Hart traded for Ken Hill anyway. The players said it signaled the organization wasn’t satisfied with making the playoffs, they wanted the ring.

So, whether they are on schedule or not, the front office should be willing to give this 2022 edition of the Guardians a chance to compete for the post-season. You go for it when you have a shot.

Dreaming Of Soto In Cleveland (It Won’t Happen, But We Can Dream)

By now, everyone is aware that Washington Nationals’ slugger Juan Soto will likely be traded before the August 2nd trade deadline. His agent, who quite enjoys seeing his name in lights, turned down a 15-year, $440 million offer from the Nats.

Washington will be looking for a boatload of prospects in exchange for the 23-year-old (he won’t turn 24 until after this season) slugger, and so the Cleveland Guardians, who may have the deepest farm system in the game were linked to Soto in some articles.

Now, let’s start by saying we understand the likelihood of Cleveland dealing for Soto is extremely slim. That’s not how this organization has done business over the years. Heck, Jose Ramirez left a lot of cash on the table to remain in town for hopefully, the rest of his career.

However, should the Guardians be interested, especially with the supposed influx of cash coming into the team from new minority owner David Blitzer?

If ever any team would make a gigantic financial commitment to a young player, it would seem to be Juan Soto, who again will start next season at age 24.

Soto led the National League last season in on base percentage at .465, and has already belted 118 home runs in his five years in the big leagues.

And he’s 23-years-old. The prime seasons for a typical major league baseball player are age 27 to 29, meaning Soto should still be getting better over the next few seasons. He was a seven win player last season.

If there is anyone a team like the Guardians would be willing to deal top prospects from a loaded farm system, it would be someone like Soto, and it’s not like Cleveland would have to deal every one of their current top ten either.

We talk ourselves into thinking that every minor player who puts up big numbers is going to wind up playing their way into Cooperstown. That’s simply not the case.

Here were Cleveland’s top prospects five years ago (2017):

Francisco Mejia
Bradley Zimmer
Triston McKenzie
Brady Aiken
Bobby Bradley
Yu Chang
Will Benson
Nolan Jones
Erik Gonzalez
Greg Allen

Granted, in 2017, the Cleveland farm system was not nearly as good and deep as it is now. Certainly, McKenzie has paid off, and hopefully Jones will too. And Mejia was used to get Brad Hand.

You have to figure Washington would want George Valera in a deal for Soto, so if you packaged him with say, Gabriel Arias and Logan Allen in the trade, you still have a very good prospect pool to work with.

Everybody loves Valera, and with good reason. At 21, he’s hitting .272 with 13 homers (857 OPS) at AA Akron, in a pitchers’ league. But will he ever be as good as Soto?

The equalizer is you would get six years of service from Valera, while Soto has only 2-1/2 years before he is eligible for free agency and with his agent being who he is, he’s going to take that route.

We have two points here. First, not all prospects, no matter how highly we think of them turn out to be superstars.

Second, if you can move prospects, even highly regarded ones, for a young, proven superstar, it should be considered. Let’s say Soto winds up being as good as Mike Trout. What would you give up for the last five or six years Trout put together. (Don’t consider the Angels’ record, that’s not Trout’s fault).

Guardians’ Biggest Surprise? Division Is Up For Grabs

Baseball’s unofficial half way point of the season has arrived, and the Cleveland Guardians are just two games out of first place in the American League Central Division.

Is that a surprise? That really depends on how you view it.

We felt the Guardians would finish slightly below the .500 mark this season, projecting them with 79 victories. Since they are 46-44 right now, a mere two games above the break even point, they really cannot be considered shocking.

However, we are surprised they sit just two games out of first place.

What is eye opening is that the favorites coming into the season, the Chicago White Sox, have battled injuries and bad defense and sit at 46-46, a game behind Cleveland and three games behind the division leading Minnesota Twins.

So really, the surprise is the mediocrity of the division, not the Guardians’ record.

Still, the Guards have battled through a number of rainouts and therefore, doubleheaders, and a shift in the organizational philosophy, starting to depend more and more on a healthy farm system to replace non-productive players.

Steven Kwan, who did not have a big league at bat coming into the season, has played in 78 of the team’s 90 games, and has hit .279 with a .361 on base percentage.

Oscar Gonzalez played in 32 games before being injured and another player without MLB experience coming into the season, Richie Palacios, has been in 39 games.

And no doubt, Nolan Jones should be the next rookie to hit the 20 game plateau.

You would think unless some of the younger guys hit a wall, playing an extra 20 games in a season, the Guardians should be better in the second half because of the experience they have gained thus far.

The health of the pitching staff has been good (knock on wood). Only Aaron Civale has been on the injured list to date and he is currently on the shelf. Cleveland has only used eight starters this year, mostly because another rookie, Konnor Pilkington has been slotted in as the doubleheader starter.

He earned that role by being solid when Civale was injured earlier in the season.

However, with Civale out again, and more twin bills coming, the depth of the organization will be tested. We would guess another rook, right-hander Peyton Battenfield might get the next look, unless a trade is made.

Whatever the organizations’ plan was for this season should be adjusted because the division hasn’t played out how most people thought and is very much up for grabs. Even though the Guardians are in some ways conducting tryouts for young players, they are in the mix for a post-season spot.

We aren’t suggested going all in on a rental player, but we are sure the front office will be looking for players who can help now and over the next few seasons.

And remember, Cleveland still has a glut of middle infielders on their 40 man roster, and will need to clear more spots to protect more players coming through what now maybe the best farm system in the sport.

The big surprise is that no one has taken the AL Central Division and ran with it. Cleveland is right there. And maybe it wasn’t in the plans in March or April, but the Guardians are a contender.

Let’s hope the brass thinks they are too.

Being Creative With Guardians’ Catchers

For many years, the Cleveland Guardians organization treats the catching position differently. They value defense and handling the pitching staff above everything else, and offense simply doesn’t matter for them.

And that’s fine. That’s their philosophy and the usual results of the pitching staff shows it has been successful by and large.

They had some years where the catchers have contributed with the bat, and as we know from the past few seasons, that’s the best-case scenario. In 2013 and 2014, Yan Gomes had very good offensive seasons, putting up OPS of 825 and 785 in those seasons, provided Terry Francona with great hitting and defense at catcher.

In 2019, Roberto Perez had a career year at the plate, belting 24 homers.

Still in reviewing those early years in Francona’s tenure, even if Gomes or Perez weren’t having very good offensive seasons, they still hit somewhere between .220-.230 meaning they were mediocre at the plate.

However, since 2020, the offense at catcher has really dropped off. That season, Perez hit .165 (480 OPS), Sandy Leon hit .136 (539 OPS) and Austin Hedges went 1 for 12.

Last season, Hedges hit .178 (527) and Perez .149 (564). This year, it’s more of the same, Hedges at .172 (497) and Luke Maile is at .174 (537).

So, the question is, why not treat hitting for this group the same as National League teams viewed a pitcher batting? If the #7 hole hitter (Cleveland’s catchers usually hit 8th) leads off and gets on base, have the catcher bunt him over, at least it would be a productive out.

We would also carry a third player who can catch, and the Guardians have a player who fits that bill in Columbus in David Fry, who has played 34 games at 3B, 26 games at 1B, and four games behind the plate.

In total, he has started 127 games in his minor league career behind the dish, including 29 last season with the Brewers’ organization.

Having a third catcher on the roster would enable Francona to pinch hit for the catcher a second time in a game, an option he doesn’t have right now, although he would be hampered in this regard by carrying 13 pitchers.

It would bring to mind the way the Oakland A’s handled second base at times in their glory days of the early 1970’s. The starter was Dick Green, who was a poor hitter, but they would carry two other infielders on the roster, so when that position came up in a clutch situation, they would pinch hit, and Oakland always had some veteran pinch-hitters on the roster just for this circumstance.

Too many times recently, the Guardians have had rallies short circuited because either Hedges or Maile comes up in a key situation.

And this isn’t a knock on either catcher, as we said at the top, this is the philosophy of the organization, and they aren’t on the roster for their hitting.

However, maybe there can be a better plan than letting players who are not good hitters go up there and hope for the best. And because they are catchers, if they hit the ball on the ground hard, it’s likely a double play.

We understand there is a designated hitter in both leagues now, so the use of the bunt is a thing of the past. Francona has always used this tool more than most, so why not use it with the catchers?

As we said, at least it would be a productive out.

Watching Summer League Through A Real Lens

The NBA decided this year to award championship rings for the winner of their Summer League, which is akin to giving out a trophy for winning the Cactus League for Major League Baseball.

On one hand, for some of these players, this is the closest they will get to playing in the NBA. And if they win the title, we guess there is a sense of accomplishment and as we always say, winning is better than losing.

But is it really a competition when several teams aren’t even trying to win? The Orlando Magic had the top player taken in this past draft, Paolo Banchero, play two games in Las Vegas, and then decided they had seen enough of the player they hope will be the backbone of their squad the next time they advance to the post-season.

In terms of the Cavaliers, it is great that Ochai Agbaji has played well in the three games the wine and gold’s entry in the league has played. The first-round pick from Kansas scored 24 points last night, hitting 4 of 8 three-point shots.

However, he is likely the only player on this team that will make a meaningful contribution to the 2022-23 edition of the Cavs.

Cleveland’s highest second round pick, Khalifa Diop isn’t playing in the league and supposedly will not be reporting to training camp in the fall. Isaiah Mobley was signed as a two-way player, so he will likely be toiling a lot for the Cleveland Charge, and the last pick, Luke Travers, will be playing in Australia.

We have read some ardent Cavs’ fans touting another two-way player, R.J. Nembhard Jr., who is playing in Vegas, as someone who may be able to contribute to the club this season.

A few weeks ago, we wrote about how the Cavs needed to upgrade the bottom of their roster so they weren’t reliant on guys like Lamar Stevens, Dylan Windler, and Dean Wade to succeed. If we feel that way about those three players, you can understand why we are skeptical about Nembhard Jr.’s prospects of making an impact.

The best players in the league are the first round picks this year coming into the league and the second-year guys who were in the NBA last season, and most of the top rookies from last season aren’t playing in summer.

So, if a player like Agbaji isn’t playing well against this competition, it’s more of a red flag than a great feeling if he plays well. He should be doing good things. He was heralded as someone who could shoot the ball, particularly from distance, and he’s done that.

We haven’t seen anything that wasn’t expected. And that’s a good thing.

In watching the games, we haven’t seen anyone else who can make an impact for a team who should be in a position to make the playoffs next season. In fact, the next best player we’ve seen is Travers, and he’s a developmental player.

While it’s fun to watch and gives hoops junkies actual games to see, the NBA Summer League is a bunch of glorified exhibition games with most of the players being guys you will never hear from again.

Look at it that way, and you won’t fool yourself into overhyping someone.

All Year, It’s Been Out With The Old, In With The New For Guards

There is a clear organizational philosophy change in terms of player development with the Cleveland Guardians. It’s been evident for much of the season, but fans were reminded of it again in the past few days.

Since the beginning of the year, the team has cut ties with several players who have been around for a long time, and maybe, just maybe, the lack of success those players have had in other places has emboldened the team to keep making these moves.

First, on Opening Day, the Guards traded Bradley Zimmer to Toronto, basically opening up a spot for Steven Kwan.

Zimmer has continued his struggles up north, going 8 for 71 with two homers, and 31 strikeouts against five walks for the season.

The next to go was Bobby Bradley, a power hitter with contact issues. Bradley went unclaimed after being designated for assignment and is currently playing at AAA Columbus, where he is hitting .186 with five dingers and a 632 OPS. His contact issues have continued in the minors as well.

Yu Chang might be the ultimate test because he went to Pittsburgh on waivers, went 7 for 42 there with a home run, was released and picked up by Tampa Bay, where to date he has gone 2 for 7, albeit with three strikeouts.

We say Tampa is the test case, because they have some kind of voodoo magic with players like Chang. If they can’t find a way to use him so he can be a productive big-league player, there isn’t an organization out there who can.

Oscar Mercado was DFA’d, claimed by the Phillies, suffered the same fate there, and came back to Cleveland.

On Friday, the Guardians brought up Nolan Jones, formerly their top prospect, but a player who fell down those lists after an injury plagued poor season last year.

He changed his stance over the winter and was hitting .311 with a 917 OPS at AAA when he was recalled, and in the four games he played at the major league level, he certainly made an impact, knocking in a run in his debut, homering on Saturday, and driving in two more runs last night.

Prior to last night’s contest, the organization decided to designate Mercado again in favor of 27-year-old Alex Call, who was having a good year at Columbus, hitting .281 with 11 homers, and his strikeout to walk ratio, once very high on the swing and miss side, was even.

His first year in the Cleveland organization, 2019, after coming over from the White Sox in a trade for Yonder Alonzo, he fanned 93 times at Akron against 22 walks.

Clearly, the organization has decided to stop looking at the same players over and over again and are willing to look at players who are succeeding in the highest level of the minor leagues.

We are sure part of this is based on having to make decisions on the 40-man roster this winter, but it is refreshing, nonetheless. With Oscar Gonzalez on the injured list, we are sure Call will get some at bats for the Guardians.

The more success players like Kwan, Gonzalez, and Jones have, the more confident the organization will be in giving more young players a chance.

Maybe, they will use the same theory in regard to the bullpen…

Guardians’ Bullpen Issues Tough To Ignore

The Cleveland Guardians have a problem with an unlikely spot, the pitching staff. For all the talk about the team’s “pitching factory”, the club currently ranks 10th in the American League in staff ERA.

The starting pitching hasn’t been dominant, but for the most part, it’s been pretty good. Four of the five starters have ERA’s under 4.00 and Aaron Civale is the lone starter who doesn’t, but he’s been good in three of his four starts.

Zach Plesac is 2-6 record wise, but has pitched at least six innings and allowed less than three earned runs in six of his last seven starts. And Triston McKenzie has been prone to the gopher ball this season, but he was dominant against the Yankees to close out the last home stand and yesterday in Kansas City.

The real problem has been the bullpen. Outside of Emmanuel Clase, it doesn’t seem that anyone trusted by Terry Francona and Carl Willis is going a good job.

Against Boston, New York, and even Detroit, there were many instances where the starters left the game in a very competitive situation, only to see relief pitchers take a one or two run ballgame and letting the opponent put it out of reach.

We have said over the years that the two things relievers cannot do is give up home runs and/or walk people. The first helps teams get back in the game, the latter gives the opponent hope of getting back in the contest.

The two leaders in allowing the long ball out of the Guardians’ ‘pen are two pitchers Francona seems to really trust: Eli Morgan and Brian Shaw. Both have allowed a half dozen dingers, Morgan in 38-1/3 innings, Shaw in 28-1/3.

Morgan was dominant until a June 11th outing vs. Oakland in which he allowed a grand slam home run. Including that performance, he’s pitched 10-2/3 frames and allowed four home runs. You simply can’t use pitchers who give up that many home runs in the late innings.

He has blown four leads in that span.

Then you have the pitchers who can’t throw strikes consistently. Nick Sandlin has walked 18 hitters in less than 20 innings, and we don’t think anyone feels comfortable that James Karinchak is going to come in and throw strikes either.

Left handers Sam Hentges and Anthony Gose (now on the IL) have had issues with control, as has Shaw (which really makes you wonder why he is used in high leverage situations).

That leaves Enyel De Los Santos and Trevor Stephan has guys Francona should find reliable, but as of late, he hasn’t turned to them, and we find that curious.

Stephan gave up a run on the fourth of July to Detroit, the first run he allowed since June 12th. And he pitched out of an incredible jam against the Twins in the 10th inning to help Cleveland win 11-10.

De Los Santos was part of the problem giving up late runs in close games over the past two weeks, but generally, he’s been pretty good, and he’s only allowed two home runs all year.

If Cleveland wants to stay in the race, and they should, they are only 3.5 games out, they have to solve the bullpen issue and get Clase, who should make the All-Star Game, some help. There are always relievers available the trade deadline, but can the current group hold on until then.

Bad bullpens make good teams look bad. Hope that is not happening to the 2022 Guardians.

Guards’ Offense, Record Sagging

A few weeks ago, the Cleveland Guardians were on a roll, and so was their offense. They had won 17 out of 21 games and there hitting ranked in the top three or four in the American League in runs scored.

Now the Guards are scuffling. They’ve lost 11 out of 15, and they have dropped to seventh in the league in runs scored at 4.29 per contest. Since an 11-10 victory over Minnesota at Target Field on June 22nd, Cleveland has scored just 39 runs in the 15 games played hence, an average of 2.6 per game.

That’s not going to win a lot of ballgames.

However, the team remains in the post-season race, although their only opportunity will likely be as the AL Central Division winner. And as of today, they are still just 4.5 games behind Minnesota.

Jose Ramirez is in a bit of a down cycle, hitting just .232 (13 for 56, 630 OPS) over the past 14 days, knocking in just one run.

But it’s not Ramirez that should be blamed, he’s basically carried the team since day one of the season.

The league average OPS is 699, and besides Ramirez, the only hitters way above that Terry Francona can put in the lineup everyday are Josh Naylor (842) and Andres Gimenez (834). And Naylor needs periodic rest for the leg he shattered last season, so there are days he is not available.

The Guardians really seem to miss rookie Oscar Gonzalez, who although he was slumping when he got hurt, had given them a spark. Even though he tailed off, he still has a 746 OPS with 14 extra base hits in 130 plate appearances.

The next two highest OPS figures among the everyday players are right at the league average. Steven Kwan, who has a .357 on base percentage, which is very good considering he is leading off, and Amed Rosario, who although he has been hot is still sitting with a 701 OPS.

Again, Rosario has a solid batting average at .276, but he doesn’t walk, in fact, pitchers seems to have to really work to walk him, he keeps swinging at pitches outside the zone, and he is slugging just ,383.

He only has 20 extra base hits for the year.

Franmil Reyes seems to be heating up, but he’s still has a 606 OPS, mostly because he’s walked just 12 times all season, but has fanned 80 times.

Although the Guardians have struck out the least number of times in the AL, they haven’t walked a lot, ranking just 10th in the league. The next step for the offense is learning the zone, perhaps players like Kwan will set an example.

Myles Straw in particular has stopped walking. He had drawn 27 walks through the end of May, but has taken just 11 free passes since. And he’s hitting just .122 in the last month. The offense is missing his on base capabilities.

Cleveland will hit the half way point of the schedule this weekend in Kansas City, so we can certainly say it’s not early anymore. And although they rid themselves of the swing and miss players like Bobby Bradley, Bradley Zimmer, and Yu Chang, there are still too many holes in the batting order.

How long before we see Nolan Jones and/or Tyler Freeman on the big league roster? You have the get more production from the hitting.

Cavs Ink A Trio, But Haven’t Addressed A Huge Need.

The NBA free agency period started last week, and the Cavaliers did sign three players to help the 2022-23 roster, although they still haven’t addressed their biggest need.

We are sure every fan of the wine and gold are thrilled by the return of Ricky Rubio. The veteran was a key to the Cavs fast start last season, averaging 13.1 points and 6.6 assists in 34 games before tearing his ACL, and then being dealt to Indiana right before the trade deadline.

Rubio provided a veteran playmaking role and was a great mentor to Darius Garland.

He likely will not be able to play until January, so the front office went out and signed another veteran point guard in Raul Neto, who has averaged 8.1 points over the last two seasons with Washington. He had a three to one assist to turnover ratio last year and will be Garland’s backup until Rubio is ready.

They also added veteran big man Robin Lopez. And for those questioning adding another center, remember the Cavaliers were forced to use Moses Brown when Ed Davis showed he could no longer provide quality minutes. He did average 7.1 and 3.5 boards in 36 games with Orlando last season.

However, the team still needs help at the wing position. Yes, they did draft Ochai Agbaji, who should help, but he’s a rookie. You simply cannot count on him.

When looking at the team’s depth chart, we will assume for now Caris LeVert as the starter at the #2 spot, so the starters would be Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and Lauri Markkanen up front with Garland and LeVert at the guards.

Who is the next five? Obviously, Kevin Love and Collin Sexton (assuming he’s resigned) and Neto will be in the mix. Folks are going to mention players like Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens, and Isaac Okoro, but we would submit those guys aren’t good enough if you are a playoff contender.

Those guys can be contributors and can help in spots, but really the wine and gold need a veteran, someone they can count on.

Stevens and Okoro are solid defenders, but opposing teams aren’t really going to devote much attention to them on the offensive end. Okoro did hit 35% of his three pointers a year ago, it’s just that he’s hesitant to shoot. Stevens is a solid guy, and normally knows what he can and can’t do on the floor. That’s a good thing.

But if you have your sights set on home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, which Cleveland should, your second unit has to be better.

We also have to mention the strategy for the three second round picks in the draft were odd. Two of the three picks are guys (Khalifa Diop and Luke Travers) who clearly won’t be playing in the NBA this season, and the third is Mobley’s brother.

That doesn’t really help this year’s team.

Now, we are very early in the off-season, so there is plenty of time to improve the roster, so no time to be really concerned as of yet. But although we don’t have a problem with the free agents the Cavs inked, they still haven’t addressed a big need.