The Cleveland Cavaliers are signing free agent point guard Jose Calderon.
According to Jose Calderon’s agency, Priority Sports, the 12-year veteran has agreed to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
A big congratulations to our guy @JmCalderon on reaching an agreement with the @cavs!
— Priority Sports (@PrioritySports) July 2, 2017
Calderon, who has started 559 games in his NBA career and has shot 40.9 percent from three-point range over his career, has lost the bit of athleticism he had coming into the league. As a result, he’s not a player who should be expected to breaking the defense down off-the-dribble on the way to the rim. He’ll get his points in spot-up situations and in the pick-and-roll.
As a pick-and-roll ball-handler, Calderon shot 53.8 percent from the field last season. He made 35.3 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes.
Calderon, who was at one time one of the better facilitators in the league, will be a player who head coach Tyronn Lue trusts to run the offense while Kyrie Irving or LeBron James sits. To that point, he’s a player who Lue will put beside Irving and James as he weaponizes his dynamic duo.
With the Cleveland Cavaliers being so cash-strapped and Calderon’s athletic decline (due to his age at 35-years-old), expect the Cavs to bring Calderon on with a veteran’s minimum contract worth $2.3 million annually.
Per The Vertical’s Shams Charania:
Free agent Jose Calderon has agreed to a one-year minimum deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, league source tells The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 2, 2017
The Cavs have also expressed interest in veteran forwards Anthony Tolliver and Zach Randolph.
While the Calderon signing doesn’t seem like the type of move that will help the Cavs, Deron Williams’ performance in the 2017 NBA Finals was uninspired as he started the series 0-11 from the field. The bench’s inability to hit open shots was an issue and Williams’ all-around ineffectiveness made it difficult for Lue to get Irving significant rest.
Getting a veteran point guard who is a stopgap solution bodes well for Kay Felder, a point guard who the Cleveland Cavaliers named as their backup to Irving before 2016’s season opener. Though a concussion threw the start of his career out-of-whack, Felder has worked hard to develop his game since being drafted, in hopes of being an Isaiah Thomas-like player.