3 reasons why Cavs should sign Alfonzo McKinnie with 14th roster spot

#1: Would be quality SF depth

The Cavaliers, as was touched on, don’t have many players, at least going into the season, that project as reserve small forward options.

Porter as a rookie, though he’s an outstanding athlete, is going to have trouble defending up a position I’d think against NBA 3’s for a while, and that’s understandable, given he’s a rookie and just 19, and the freedom of movement rules in the NBA are an adjustment for any 19-year-old.

With that being the case, and Osman having his share of well-documented struggles on the defensive end last year (though playing against 4’s often didn’t help), McKinnie could be a pretty reliable reserve small forward option for Beilein and the coaching staff, and in the early portion of the season, especially, with the learning curve maybe being fairly steep for Porter.

McKinnie is a great athlete in his own right, and has better lateral quickness than Osman, and though he’s not the most natural shooter, he did at least hit 36.2% of his catch-and-shoot triples last season.

Granted, Golden State’s spacing last year helped, but in minutes playing alongside the likes of potentially a player with great vision in Garland, along with Dellavedova, and in some minutes with Nance or Love, who are both good passing bigs, the hard-cutting McKinnie could also get some high-percentage chances in Beilein’s motion-predicated offense.

Along with that, McKinnie creates his share of extra possessions as well, which shouldn’t be glossed over, as he had an offensive rebounding rate of 7.5% when on the floor last year (per NBA.com), which could bring more energy to the Cavs’ bench.

So once again, given Fedor’s suggestion, I’d be a big fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers signing Alfonzo McKinnie if possible heading into the 2019-20 season with their 14th roster spot.