Cavs: John Henson could be a valuable reserve piece for contenders

Traction involving the unselfish Henson should pick up

Along with his defensive and rolling presence, Henson’s passing vision and feel when he’s been out there for head coach John Beilein and the Cleveland Cavaliers has impressed me, too. Henson’s 15.6% assist rate, as documented by NBA.com, is nothing to sneeze at.

Additionally, Henson’s on-floor assist rate of 62.0% is the second-highest on the Cavaliers in 2019-20, according to NBA.com. I understand Henson’s not playing big minutes, but the team clearly moves the ball well when he’s in there, and he’s a bouncy lob threat, too.

Again, with what the veteran big man has shown this season, I’d imagine Henson could be a player contenders would be interested in pursuing in trade talks in coming weeks leading up to the February 6 trade deadline. With Cleveland, at least still, having Tristan Thompson on the roster, to go with Larry Nance Jr. and young big Ante Zizic, a viable 5 option in some games (but whose 2020-21 option was not picked up by Cleveland making him expiring, too, anyhow), the Cavaliers trading Henson would probably be sensible.

Given the team feasibly looking to trade Kevin Love by the deadline or perhaps near the 2020 NBA Draft with him seemingly having two feet out the door and the squad rebuilding and not likely being a huge free agency player, I don’t see Henson being a long-term rotational piece for the Cavaliers, anyway.

Henson, as I’ve expressed, could be a valuable piece for a contender, in postseason time, in particular, though.

I’d expect plenty of traction in that realm in coming week for his services, too, but we’ll see.