Cleveland Cavaliers: Three Free Agent Point Guards Nearing Return
Help is on the way for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
As the Cleveland Cavaliers gear up for a playoff run, they’ve been hit by the injury bug.
Kyrie Irving missed the last three games with a hamstring injury. Kevin Love missed last night’s contest against the Chicago Bulls with food poisoning. LeBron James has the flu.
The team is also without J.R. Smith, their best catch-and-shoot threat outside of Channing Frye, for about three more months. Unfortunately, after also missing training camp and the preseason while holding out for a better contract, expectations for Cleveland’s favorite son should be tempered when he returns.
Chris Andersen, a reserve center for the Cavs who played with James in Miami, is out for the season with a torn ACL. His absence is notable in the event that the team finds itself without one of their top three big men. Mo Williams, who pulled the old “tell the team you retired but don’t retire” trick out of his hat, is an unknown quantity but isn’t going to be playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers again.
It should suffice to say that the Cavs need more bodies if they’re going to be able to win consistently when their depth is tested. Namely, with the amount of bodies they have on the wings, their depth at point guard and center.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers’ preference seems to be to trade for a backup point guard rather than free up a roster spot by waiving Williams and subsequently eating his nearly $2.2 million salary (a salary they could have stretched over three seasons had they known he wouldn’t be playing this year). Point guards from D.J. Augustin to Deron Williams have been mentioned as possible trade targets for the Cleveland Cavaliers while I have my own list of point guards that they should target.
I’ve even suggested that the Cleveland Cavaliers target the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Joffrey Lauvergne in a trade. An athletic center that can score from all three levels and defend at a high level as well, Lauvergne is a relatively unknown quantity that could make an immediate impact in the Cavs rotation.
Yet, the Cavs still need a backup point guard. This isn’t because point guard Kay Felder, who in theory should be the Cavs third point guard on the depth chart, lacks any talent. It’s because he lacks the experience the Cavs, and James, feel is necessary for a championship run.
LeBron James talks about the Cavs lack of a true backup point guard. pic.twitter.com/JSkzXxd6Og
— Matt Medley (@MedleyHoops) January 5, 2017
So, where does that leave the Cavs?
Trading for a backup point guard when they have other needs?
While there may be centers who used to be big-name players available, such as Hasheem Thabeet and Larry Sanders, there are more questions than answers regarding their potential production on the court.
So where do the Cleveland Cavaliers turn?
In a stroke of luck for the Cavs, three point guards that have familiarity with either LeBron James or the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise are returning from injury. Jarrett Jack, Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole are all veteran point guards that have shown the ability to lead an offense, score and defend.
Jack, who is returning from tearing ligaments in his right knee, is near full health and will host workouts for interested teams according to ESPN’s Marc Stein. The Cavs are sure to be sending someone out to take a look at Jack, who played one season in Cleveland and was traded one year after signing a four-year contract as the front office tried to clear enough cap space to sign James. He’s a heady veteran who has the occasional scoring outburst and will play tough, gritty defense on his man.
Chalmers, who is recovering from a torn Achilles injury, believes he’ll be healthy soon. Chalmers was James’ teammate every year that James was with the Miami Heat and proved himself to be a solid point guard who excelled in his role as a three-point threat and perimeter defender. Whether or not Chalmers will be healthy enough to play at the pace Lue wants to play is questionable with the nature of his injury. Nonetheless, the Cavs have had and will likely continue to have interest.
Cole, a Dayton-native who played at Cleveland State University, would be having a homecoming if he signed with the Cavaliers. In addition, Cole played with James for three years in Miami and quickly became one of his favorite players in that time. Currently, Cole is recovering from a hamstring injury but he has played this season, unlike Jack and Chalmers. Those minutes came with the CBL’s Shandong Golden Stars after they offered him $5 million. In nine games, Cole averaged 19.1 points, 4.3 assists and 1.7 steals in 27.5 minutes per game. Usually, there shouldn’t be much correlation drawn between a players production in the Chinese Basketball League and the NBA. However, Cole’s numbers with the New Orleans Pelicans shows that Cole’s stock is definitely trending up.
Of the three, Cole is probably the safest option. While he’s not a strong three-point shooter, only knocking down 32.6 percent of his three-point shots in his career, he’s the youngest, healthiest and thus most reliable defender.
Which of these three point guards would you sign? Let us know in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.
