Cleveland Cavaliers Preview: Where do Kay Felder And Jordan McRae Fit In?

Now that Summer League is in the rearview mirror, it’s time to assess where Kay Felder and Jordan McRae fit into the Cleveland Cavaliers plans next season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers don’t have too many young players for fans to fawn over.

This isn’t Philadelphia, where #TheProcess has delivered them Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, four young, exciting players hoping to drag the 76ers out of the proverbial dungeon and back into the playoffs.

One of the most fun and fulfilling things about being a loyal and, sometimes delusional fan is watching young players grow into transcendent talents who can change the fate of the franchise. Fans feel a certain kinship with “homegrown” players. They watch these players grow from youngsters to contributors to (ideally) stars.

Cavs fans had the luxury of watching this transformation during LeBron James‘ first stint in Cleveland. He grew from a skinny, timid teenager into a burly, unstoppable force who repeatedly dragged a rag-tag team with a subpar coach to the Eastern Conference Finals and, on one occasion, the Finals.

We’ve watched Kyrie Irving undergo a remarkably similar transition these last two years and he’s shone no signs of slowing down. He’s only 24 years old and is the unquestioned future face of this franchise.

The Cavs have two other young, talented players in Jordan McRae and Kay Felder, both of whom played for the summer league team in Las Vegas this past month. These two young guns showed off their talents, leading the team to a few upset wins and establishing themselves as NBA-caliber players. But what will their respective roles be on the defending champions? How will they find minutes with so many veterans on board?

Felder has the best opportunity to step in and carve out a role for himself as an off-the-bench jitterbug who can score in bunches. Matthew Dellavedova‘s departure leaves a gaping hole at the backup point guard spot, one that isn’t likely to be filled by fan favorite Mo Williams, who, at this stage of his career, has trouble staying healthy.

In Las Vegas, Felder showed that he can be the conductor of a successful offense. But he struggled from long range, converting just 22.7 percent of his three-point shots. If you’re a point guard sharing the floor with LeBron, you have to make outside shots, plain and simple. That’s what made Delly so valuable. He didn’t need the ball in his hands to make an impact.

Felder is used to being “the guy” so it remains to be seen how he’ll transition to being just “another guy” on a team full of capable playmakers and scorers. While he needs to improve his outside shot, he displayed other skills in Vegas that will translate immediately.

He’s already a dogged and determined defender. In Vegas, he was picking up full court on defense. He has quick feet, good lateral quickness and a low center of gravity, allowing him to quickly contort his body to counter any quick, sudden movements from his opponent. However, other teams in Vegas recognized his affinity for full court pressure and stationed a big man right past half court to set menacing screens.

Effectively navigating and getting through screens will be a problem for Felder because of his diminutive stature. Since the modern NBA is predicated on the screening game, Felder will have to improve this facet of his game right away.

Fans who grew so used to watching Delly these past three years will see a completely different player next year in Felder. He consistently and relentlessly attacks the rim. He’s not afraid to travel into the paint and battle big men. He’s a remarkably strong finisher around the rim considering his size limitations.

His work out of the pick-and-roll this summer was a thing of beauty. It wasn’t so much his scoring or shooting, but his decision making that was so impressive. On so many occasions, he made the right pass, whether it be a pocket bounce pass to a rolling big man or a cross court dart to a shooter in the corner to beat the defense’s rotations. He knows when to look for his own shot and when to create for others. He showed enough promise this summer to warrant an opportunity to vie for minutes in the rotation.

There’s an inherent problem with having a team as talented as the Cavs, and it’s that certain players with immense talent get overlooked. This will be a huge problem for McRae this upcoming season.

McRae surprised a lot of people in Vegas, including myself, by putting on a scoring display. He finished third among all qualified players in scoring, chipping in 24.3 points per game. Make no mistake about it, he knows how to get buckets.

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The issue is that he doesn’t do so efficiently. He shot a paltry 37.6 percent from the field on roughly 18 shots per game. He proved himself to be a volume scorer, someone who needs to have the ball in his hands and take a lot of shots to have an impact. And if the shots aren’t falling, then he’s in real trouble because he doesn’t bring many other skills to the table.

He’s an adequate playmaker, at best. In Vegas, he averaged 3.41 turnovers compared to just 2 assists. That’s too-be-expected for a high usage player but it’s still just plain bad.

Barring significant improvements, which appear unlikely considering he’s already 25, McRae projects as a high usage, ball dominant player who struggles to create for others. As grim as that projection sounds, there is a spot in the league for these types of players. Think Jamal Crawford or Louis Williams, guys who provide instant offense in spurts off the bench.

It’s entirely possible that, one day, McRae becomes a significant contributor on a contender but, for now, it looks like the Cavs don’t have much of a need for a player with his skill set.