Cleveland Cavaliers: Should They Look Into Lakers Guard Jose Calderon?

Why Cleveland makes the deal:

Calderon is an experienced veteran who not only can run an offense smoothly but at 35-years-old, can still play a fast-paced game.

The Cavs want to play as fast as possible in order to both keep the defense on their heels as the ball-handler attacks the rim and collapse the interior of the defense so that the ball-handler can kick it out to shooters. So, in short, Calderon is the perfect floor general for them. In just thirteen minutes he averages 2.4 points per for the Los Angeles Lakers because he’s a “pure” point guard who can fling a smart pass to a teammate with either hand.

As a scorer, Calderon, to that point, isn’t a shabby three-point shooter himself. The marksman shoots a cool 41.2 percent from deep. Though he won’t always get to the rim, he’s able to shoot it consistently from any part of the floor. He’s a sneaky good finisher at the rim as well and able to convert a fair number of his layup attempts (65.2 percent for his career).

Defensively, as you’d expect from a 35-year-old point guard who wasn’t the most athletic player to begin with, Calderon has more weaknesses on this end. Nonetheless, Calderon is a smart player and will work well within the Cavs group as a team defender. He typically tries to give the ball-handler space so as not to be blown by, so Iman Shumpert or DeAndre Liggins may have to defend the point guard while he’s on the court. At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, Calderon should be able to hold his own against a wing player like Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics, a team the Cavs may meet in the Eastern Conference playoffs.