Cleveland Cavaliers: Keeping 15th roster spot open is sound move for now

The Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly likely to hold on to their 15th roster spot for a little while, and that’s a sound move, for the time being.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are a team that is moving on from the glory years of the second stint of LeBron James, and they now need to focus on the here and now. As the 2018-19 regular season starts Wednesday at the Toronto Raptors, the first order of business is deciding whether or not they will fill the 15th and final roster spot. For now, it appears they will leave that open.

According to Sam Amico of Amico Hoops, it seems as though Cleveland will allow their roster spot to remain open for a while, and see what happens.

"“The Cavs do have an open roster spot, though they’re more likely to hang on to it, see how things play out, and fill it in December or January (or later).Right now, the Cavs aren’t looking to make a splash, instead trying to build some continuity with the players remaining from last season’s Finals team and the roster’s younger additions.”"

With Cleveland having young players such as Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson, David Nwaba, Sam Dekker, and veteran reserves such as Kyle Korver, J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson, and Channing Frye having valuable roles at times, it’s hard to see what that last roster spot piece would realistically bring to warrant playing time.

Plus, the Cavaliers have two trade exceptions that will likely expire today from last season involving Richard Jefferson and Kay Felder.

Amico touched on how that ties in, too.

"“The Cavs have two traded-player exceptions that will expire Monday if unused. One is worth $2.5 million, obtained in last year’s trade of Richard Jefferson to the Atlanta Hawks. The other is worth about $1.2 million, obtained via Kay Felder being sent to the Hawks in that same trade.Neither Jefferson nor Felder are still in the league and the exceptions will likely soon go bye-bye, too.Sources say the Cavs aren’t likely to use the exceptions in a deal, though such possibilities have been and may still be explored before the exceptions vanish into thin air at 5 p.m. EST – when opening-night rosters are due.”"

The Cavaliers need to develop their young players, and with playing Cedi Osman, Rodney Hood, Sexton number one option Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr. big minutes, the other reserves will come first.

Not everybody can play, and head coach Tyronn Lue would not be playing that last roster piece other than in garbage time, anyway, so keeping the minutes for the young pieces Cleveland needs to develop as much as possible is probably a smart decision.

Isaiah Taylor, who averaged 4.7 points and 2.3 assists in 16.8 minutes per game and played with the Atlanta Hawks in 67 games last year, is a reasonable option for that last roster spot as the year progresses. He got waived on Saturday by the Cavs, and a stress fracture in his left leg (per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor) couldn’t have helped.

Taylor does have some ability to get into the paint and draw fouls, but his 170-pound frame makes him essentially a defensive liability.

For Cleveland’s last roster spot, I wouldn’t be surprised if they wanted to grab some promising rim protection or a potential project replacement that they could develop into a three-and-D wing or stretch four.

Although it was only preseason and Love only appeared in one of four games, only three teams averaged less three-point makes per game than the Cleveland Cavaliers, per NBA.com. Love is not going to make it nearly as easy to get open three-point looks as LeBron did, and the Cavs need to show more promise from three-point range in the next few months if they are going to be a postseason team.

Moreover, letting the 15th man spot be open for a few months could allow more shots and minutes for the younger players, which is a prudent decision.