The Cleveland Cavaliers should target Mario Hezonja in free agency

With little money to spend, the Cleveland Cavaliers will have to target low-profile free agents this summer. Could Mario Hezonja be their perfect addition?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a guaranteed nine players coming back for the 2018-2019 season which means that six spots will need to be filled.

With limited money to spend due to huge, unreasonable contracts given to Tristan Thompson and JR Smith, Mario Hezonja might be one of the quality, yet youthful, additions Cleveland can make.

Players that join the NBA as early as Mario Hezonja have been known to be quit on before being fully developed. This is a mistake the Orlando Magic made as they already declined Hezonja’s fourth year on his rookie contract, making him an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

The Croatian shooting guard is just 23-years-old and in his third NBA season. He came in the NBA at 20, being drafted fifth overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, and averaged 6.1 points per game his rookie season. Shooting just 43.3% in that rookie season, the Magic drafted him with hopes of electric superstar potential.

The fact of the matter is that Hezonja can score. He just hasn’t shown that electricity that the Magic desired from him.

While averaging just over 20 minutes per game, he has put up 9.0 points per game in his third season. Per 36 minutes that equates to 15.7 points per game, significantly more than JR Smith, who is earning over $13 million per year. Smith averaged just 14.6 points per 36 minutes the season before being given his huge 4-year, $57 million contract.

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However, the point isn’t that Hezonja can score more than the Smith. The point is that Mario Hezonja could help create the league’s best bench if paired with Cavs current dynamic bench duo in Jordan Clarkson and Rodney Hood. Also, if the Cavs could find a way to attract him to the Land, they could use him as a valuable trade option further down the road, if things take a turn for the worst.

Koby Altman and his staff proved this past trade deadline that they plan on looking more for youth moving forward. He sent out aging veterans in Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert, and Dwyane Wade, bringing in three 25-year-olds to replace them.

Herzonja, who would join this group as one of the younger and more inexperienced players, might be in line for a larger contract than Cleveland can offer.

In the past, we’ve seen players like Tim Hardaway Jr., Allen Crabbe, and many others given contracts for subpar play mainly rooted in the fact that the potential is there.

Well, the potential for Mario to develop into a star with the right coaching staff around him is still there. He’ll be just 24 and is already a dynamic shooter, averaging over a three per game while having a career-high 55% true shooting percentage.

Hezonja would also be a perfect fit with the Cavs second unit. Clarkson and Hood, two players guaranteed to be coming back next season, naturally play the point guard and small forward position respectively. Hezonja is a tall shooting guard, standing 6-foot-8.

With the ability to branch all the way out to the three-point line, the Cavs would have at least three capable three-point shooters on that second unit, a feature most teams wish for.

The Cavs, in order to stay reasonably within the luxury tax, won’t be able to give Hezonja anything more than $5 million per year unless someone is traded or LeBron James decides not to re-sign. However, Hezonja would be able to play for a team that for starters won’t give up on him and secondly would be able to allow him to finally compete past the regular season.

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Hezonja is the perfect free agent for Cleveland, and he should be their priority target after their season concludes.