Cleveland Cavaliers Targeting Trio Of Balanced Guards

The Cleveland Cavaliers are targeting guards that can get it done in all facets, not shooting specialists.

The defending NBA champions have a conundrum at the point guard position. Their current backup point guard, Mo Williams, is expected to retire, General Manager David Griffin announced during his opening statement at Cleveland Cavaliers media days.

The depth behind him is inexperienced, which is unfortunate because there’s a 15-to-17 minute void in the team’s rotation with Williams’ absence.

In replacing Williams, the Cavs are looking at point guards who can shoot, defend, and make smart decisions on the court. To that point, Norris Cole, Mario Chalmers and Kirk Hinrich are current targets, according to Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon. In fact, KJG’s Chris De Silva took a look into the Norris Cole and Mario Chalmers possibilities earlier this summer.

Cavs contacted Norris Cole, Mario Chalmers, Kirk Hinrich to replace Mo Williams @clevelanddotcom https://t.co/gbYWy7bTEJ
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) September 26, 2016

Cole, at 27, is the youngest point guard of the group. Cole had a career year last year with the New Orleans Pelicans, averaging career high averages in points (10.6 per game), rebounds (3.4 per game) and assists (3.7 per game).

Cole has improved his confidence and his decision-making out of the pick-and-roll. The result has been his increased ability to set up teammates or himself for easy scores. However, Cole remains an inconsistent shooter. Defensively, Cole has the athletic ability to be an impact defender and has an aggressive mentality as an on-ball defender.

Chalmers was LeBron James‘ teammate for four years with the Miami Heat. In that time Chalmers demonstrated an ability to get to the rim, jump passing lanes, and a flaming-hot three-point shot.

The 30-year-old Chalmers is a career 35.8 percent shooter from deep, but has shot above his average in five out of nine NBA seasons. Chalmers drives to the rim nearly as much as he shoots the three-point shot and finishes at the rim consistently with layups and floaters. Defensively, Chalmers has averaged 1.5 steals per game over the course of his career.

Hinrich, at 35, is the oldest guard in the group. He is known for three things above all else: his defense, his toughness and his shooting.

Hinrich is a career 37.5 percent shooter from deep. Offensively, Hinrich is also the most accomplished facilitator of the group averaging 4.8 assists per game, a figure that has dipped as he got older.

Defensively, Hinrich is a focused on-ball defender and is always in the right spot. This has helped him average 1.1 steals over the course of his career. Off-the-court, he is a teacher and the biggest locker room presence out of the three point guards.

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A point guard in this group would likely be signed after training camp ends and head coach Tyronn Lue has had time to assess his current roster.

The Cavs hope that second-round pick Kay Felder can be the team’s backup point guard. Therefore, they’re holding off on signing one of the veterans in the event that Felder meets and exceeds those expectations.

The 5-foot-9 Felder is a supremely talented point guard with the ability to contribute in all phases of the game. Despite his size, it wouldn’t surprise anybody if he is able to handle the backup point guard role by himself.

The Cleveland Cavaliers biggest questions this summer have been if they’re re-signing J.R. Smith and who their backup point guard will be. The Cavs are attempting to solve those issues.

With the news that Cole, Chalmers, and Hinrich are targets for the team, Cavs fans should be confident in the point guard position.

What do you think of the Cleveland Cavaliers free agent targets? Do you think the team is already set or should they be looking at other names? Let us know in the comments section or tweet @KJG_NBA and @30for30Albertie.