Dylan Windler could become Cavs’ most important bench piece in near future

Dylan Windler has not appeared yet for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but in the near future, he could very well become the Wine and Gold’s most important bench piece.

It’s been unfortunate that the Cleveland Cavaliers have not had the services of Dylan Windler, and likely won’t at all during the 2019-20 season due to a stress reaction in his left leg, even with the current campaign on hiatus until further notice due to concerns regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic.

In the near future, though, I foresee Windler establishing himself as one of the better players in Cleveland’s rotation in coming years for Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

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It will of course take Windler some time to get acclimated next season, whenever the season ultimately does start.

That being said, I’d imagine Windler could fit just fine as next season progresses in meaningful minutes perhaps alongside Cedi Osman, who I’d expect to eventually be a reserve 3, along with the likes of Kevin Porter Jr., Collin Sexton and/or Darius Garland, and a potential 2020 NBA Draft selection such as Auburn’s Isaac Okoro.

Eventually, I could see Windler becoming the Cavs’ most important bench piece in the near future.

He could provide valuable spacing for Cleveland’s driving threats, some occasional secondary playmaking/pick-and-roll creation, and with him hitting 40.6 percent in four years at Belmont from three-point range, as noted by Sports Reference, I expect he’ll be a highly functional catch-and-shoot player.

Windler has a quick release and a clean stroke, and he’s more than capable of hitting looks in the pull-up game, too. Plus, as Windler gets his legs under him, he could also improve Cleveland’s shooting off movement as next season progresses, and at 6-foot-6 with very good timing, projects to help out Cleveland considerably on the glass as well, as KJG’s Robbie DiPaola highlighted.

Now, is Windler a player that will be able to create nearly the same amount of separation off the bounce as say, Porter or Sexton, and/or Garland, who has a great handle, at times?

No, I’m not expecting that to be the case.

Factoring in how Porter is a player I’d expect to start a bunch of instances going forward, though, and being an upgrade, in my opinion, over Osman, even at the 3, and with how the ever-improving Larry Nance Jr. could feasibly start in coming years with the Cavs reportedly likely to seek out trade suitors for Kevin Love, I’d expect a possible sharpshooter in Windler to play an integral role in the near future.

He could be a bench knockdown catch-and-shoot/off-screen specialist.

Windler projects as Cleveland’s best bench floor spacer, and I’d assume as next year progresses, he could definitely play nearly half the game in plenty of instances as a sound ball mover, highly effective cutter and again, him being a player with really deep range could give Garland, Sexton, Okoro and others an easy bail-out option late-clock or on drive-and-kicks.

Even while the Cleveland Cavaliers’ man and ball movement had been better leading up to the season’s suspension, as evidenced by Cleveland being sixth in the NBA in assist rate post-All-Star, per NBA.com, the Cavs could still very well have plenty of use for a player that put up 21.3 points per game in 2018-19 at Belmont in Windler. Along with that, on the season, the Cavaliers are also just 23rd on the season and are currently 24th post-All-Star break in bench scoring.

A player with the touch and overall feel of Windler, who is a good athlete that is a quality finisher with both hands near the rim, too, could give the Cavs a huge lift as a reserve next season, and Windler’s team defensive feel is at least a positive, albeit he’ll need more polish in getting around off-ball screens to contest. I firmly believe as he gets more comfortable, though, that Windler could become the Wine and Gold’s most important bench piece, especially with KPJ likely starting a bunch of occasions.

Additionally, though he has not played at this level yet and again, it will take time for him to adjust, Windler being involved with the day-to-day grind of the NBA already and having off-floor rapport with his teammates, and being 23, should allow him to contribute as an older quasi-rookie in a sizable way pretty early on so long as he can get healthy.

Windler could help the Cavs’ rotation in a variety of ways in the near future, and most notably, for a team that needs more floor spacers, his shooting range and pull-up touch on the floor could make others around him better.