The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed 2016 second round pick Kay Felder. He played three seasons at Oakland University before entering the NBA Draft.
Kay Felder has signed a contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Cavs announced Saturday. He was the 54th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft.
Felder, 21, has been an underdog his entire basketball career. He is 5-foot-9, 176 pounds which gives him a disadvantage in the eyes of many at the NBA level, however he has been told that his whole life.
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Felder grew up in Detroit, MI and was talented enough to play at bigger schools, but his size kept him from that. He landed at a local division-1 university where he became the star point guard. The Oakland Golden Grizzlies were glad to have Felder, who helped draw national attention to the program.
In his final season at Oakland, Felder excelled as a playmaker and a scorer. He was the only player to rank in the top five in points (24.4 per game) and assists (9.3 assists.) He’s also a human highlight real because of his quickness and 44-inch vertical.
Felder shined with the Cavs’ Summer League team in Las Vegas. He played in all seven games, starting six, and averaged 15.3 points, 3.9 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 0.9 blocks per game. He showcased himself as a two-way point guard and proved he could hold his own despite his lack of height.
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Felder could factor into the point guard mix for the Cavaliers, after the departure of Matthew Dellavedova. Dellavedova was a two-way guard that excelled on the defensive end, but his void gives Felder an opportunity to compete for the backup point guard position.
Felder is an aggressive defender that is willing to stick to his man up the entire court. He can afford to do that with his quickness, but it can burn him in a halfcourt setting. His aggressiveness pays off, however, by getting into passing lanes and getting a steal to start a quick break.
He also has the ability to defend vertically. Though he is one of the smallest point guards in the NBA, he can contest shots and block shots with his elite leaping ability.
Offensively, Felder sees the court well but doesn’t always make the best pass because of his height deficit, which will lead to turnovers. He uses his quickness to find ways to find the open passing lanes and set up his teammates. He showed in the Summer League that he does have good passing ability.
Felder loves to drive to the basket with his quickness. He uses ball-screens to free himself from his defender and to get into the paint. From there, the ball is in his hands as he can score through contact, drop the ball off to an open big man or find an open shooter. He also likes to utilize a pull-up jumper from the elbow off of ball screens. His handles are also very good, which sets himself up for his signature step-back jumper.
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Felder will have an opportunity to compete for the backup point guard position in camp. He has a good shot to win the job against an aging Mo Williams and a ball-dominant Jordan McRae.