Edy Tavares receives NBADL Defensive Player of the Year award during Game 3

Cleveland Cavaliers’ center Edy Tavares received the NBA Development League’s Defensive Player of the Year award before Game 3’s tip-off.

During the Cleveland Cavaliers’ matchup with the Toronto Raptors before Game 3, center Edy Tavares received the NBA Development League’s 2016-2017 Defensive Player of the Year award.

Tavares played for the Raptors 905 in the NBA D-League, the Toronto Raptors’ exclusive NBA D-League affiliate team. In the above photo, tweeted by the Cleveland Cavaliers’ official Twitter account, Tavares is pictured with Raptors 905 head coach Jerry Stackhouse (left).

Stackhouse, who played 19 seasons in the NBA before being named as an assistant coach for the Raptors in the 2015-2016 season, won the NBA D-League’s Coach of the Year award in his first year as head coach for the 905.

The 905 defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers’ exclusive NBA D-League affiliate team, the Canton Charge, on their way to winning the 2016-2017 NBA D-League championship.

Tavares, who was signed by the Cleveland Cavaliers on the final day of the regular season along with shooting guard Dahntay Jones, averaged 10.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game for the 905 last season. At 7-foot-3, Tavares’ ability to protect the rim goes past the numbers. He’s able to slide his feet well and extend his arms to what’s a 9-foot-10 standing reach.

The rim is only ten feet above the floor, and Tavares seemingly has to little more than position himself correctly and in a timely fashion if he wants to alter shots around the rim. To get an idea of how easy it is for Tavares, here’s a video of him blocking six shots in 24 minutes of action.

That occurred in Tavares’ first and only regular season game for the Cavs and was, ironically, against the Raptors.

Tavares signed a three-year deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The length of the deal is indicative of the Cavs’ confidence in Tavares’ ability to be a solid contributor when his name is called.

While the Cavs should continue to target centers in free agency, Tavares’ spot on the roster should be safe. At 25-years-old, he’s young and bursting with potential. After his Cavs debut, he likely boosted the organization’s faith in him.

Besides, Tavares is more of a traditional center than a New Age center that can move his feet well enough to guard players on the perimeter. A player like Tristan Thompson.

Larry Sanders, Eric Moreland, Josh Smith and Brandon Bass are all names to watch this summer as they look to fill that role.

Until then, the Cavs will have a center who’s more like Timofey Mozgov than Thompson but that’s alright. Mozgov was a great acquisition. Tavares has midrange ability too.

Nonetheless, I’d expect Bass to wind up with the Cleveland Cavaliers next season. He has the athleticism, instincts, mindset that will fit with the Cavs along with the ability to be a knockdown midrange shooter.

However, at 6-foot-8, Bass won’t be able to provide the rim-protection that Tavares can. That’s why he’ll have a role on this Cavs team for the foreseeable future. What he can do for the Cavs, there’s no player that can.

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What do you think of Edy Tavares winning Defensive Player of the Year for the NBA D-League? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.