Cavs reportedly claiming Alfonzo McKinnie off waivers was logical going into 2019-20

The Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly claimed small forward Alfonzo McKinnie off waivers on Monday, bringing their roster count to 14 players, and this was a logical move by the team heading into the 2019-20 season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers appear to have their roster now set, at least for the moment, heading into the 2019-20 season.

With rookie wing Dylan Windler, who was set to be Cedi Osman‘s backup at small forward, reportedly still likely to miss some of the start of the regular season due to a stress reaction in his left leg, though, and no really other natural small forwards on the Cleveland roster, the newest pickup for Cleveland is a logical one.

The roster count for the Cavaliers is now at 14 players, as the team claimed small forward Alfonzo McKinnie off waivers on Monday, as was first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

McKinnie, who was waived by his former team, the Golden State Warriors, over the weekend, is a nice pickup.

Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor actually suggested McKinnie as a potential target for the Cavaliers that they could feasibly land over the weekend, and as I detailed following that, McKinnie could be a quality reserve for head coach John Beilein and fit the culture Beilein and the team is trying to build.

McKinnie was a solid contributor with the Warriors in 2018-19, which was really his first in the NBA.

More from King James Gospel

• 3 possible starting lineups for Cleveland Cavaliers in 2023-24
• The Cavaliers may have snagged a hidden gem in Craig Porter Jr.
• 4 players the Cavaliers should pursue in 2024 free agency
• 6 players Cavaliers might replace Jarrett Allen with by the trade deadline
• This stat is one to keep an eye on for Cavaliers’ Max Strus in years ahead

He rarely appeared in 14 games in 2017-18 with the Toronto Raptors and was waived by them last offseason, but again, was a meaningful contributor in Golden State’s rotation last year, as he had 4.7 points and 3.4 rebounds in 13.9 minutes per game in 72 appearances, per Basketball Reference.

McKinnie, though his numbers don’t scream All-Star, or starter, really, is a player that worked his way into a roster spot before last season with the Warriors, and can give the Cavaliers small forward depth and be a player that can bring productive minutes, particularly on the defensive end, as a reserve.

With Windler’s aforementioned injury, and with rookie wing Kevin Porter Jr. being only 19, though he’s talented, it makes sense to bring in a veteran that can further help the Cavs bring Porter along slowly, particularly one with experience playing in the NBA Finals even, to give Cleveland some more depth behind Osman, at least at the season’s outset.

McKinnie isn’t the best on-ball defender, but gets through off-ball screens well to contest, has solid off-ball IQ, and is usually in the right position and can hold his own with some 4’s even, and though he’s not going to do much off-the-bounce offensively, he’s at least going to create extra offensive possessions and can hit catch-and-shoot three-pointers when open.

The 6-foot-7, 215-pound McKinnie, who logged 71% of his minutes at the 3 position last season (per Basketball Reference), had a healthy offensive rebounding clip of 9.0% and hit a respectable 35.6% from deep last season.

Along with that, though I wouldn’t expect McKinnie to play tons of minutes this year for Beilein, he’ll fit right into the culture the Cleveland Cavaliers are trying to build.

The 27-year-old was unfortunately let go due to an injury to Warriors big Willie Cauley-Stein leaving the team short on bigs going into the year and leading them to keep training camp and former Cavs big Marquese Chriss on the roster, but McKinnie has a huge fan in Golden State head coach Steve Kerr.

Kerr had nothing but a glowing endorsement when it comes to McKinnie after he was waived by the Warriors last week, as was transcribed by the Mercury News‘ Shayna Rubin (and h/t Fedor).

"“It’s a really, really difficult move to make because we have so much respect for Zo and not only his talent on the court, but character off the court,” Kerr said. “He’s been fantastic, just a real pro. He’s the kind of person you want on your team. And he’s an NBA player. He helped us win a lot of games last year; helped us get to the Finals. He’s everything you want from a player in your locker room in terms of being a great teammate and great worker.”"

With the way the Cavaliers and Beilein have put an emphasis on players having an outstanding work ethic, and being of the highest character in this rebuild, this McKinnie move makes all the sense in the world.

He’ll help set the right example from a professionalism standpoint for the young pieces on the Cavs, such as Porter, Windler and rookie guard Darius Garland, and again, this was a quality signing for a 14th roster spot.

Moreover, the Cavs being able to have the first priority when it comes to claiming McKinnie was really fortunate for them.

The New York Knicks, who were the only team slated ahead of them for waivers, already having a full 15-man roster, as Fedor alluded to, was great for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

According to Fedor, McKinnie’s contract, which is non-guaranteed and worth roughly $1.5 million, “doesn’t have any specific trigger dates.”

This McKinnie move appears to have filled out the roster, considering the team has reportedly planned to go into the 2019-20 season with 14 players throughout the offseason and it also will keep Cleveland below the luxury tax threshold, as Fedor has hit on.

The Cavs now have their two two-way spots filled with undrafted rookie bigs Dean Wade and Tyler Cook, and again, this Cleveland claim for McKinnie off waivers was a logical move.

I’m also sure Beilein will be a big fan of McKinnie’s in no time, based on Kerr’s comments.