Dylan Windler should get plenty of burn at 2, 3 for Cavs in his minutes-share

Next season, Dylan Windler should get plenty of burn at both the 2 and 3 positions in regards to his minutes-share for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

It was truly unfortunate that we did not get to see Dylan Windler play for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2019-20 season. That was due to complications involving a stress reaction in his left leg.

While Windler could’ve reportedly maybe made his debut if the Cavs had a bit more regular season games via season resumption in Orlando at Disney World, that won’t be the case.

The Wine and Gold, who had the league’s second-worst record going into the season’s novel coronavirus-induced hiatus, were one of the league’s eight worst teams left out of Orlando.

Looking at next season, though, I firmly believe Windler, a knockdown shooter, could be a key player for the Cavaliers. He’ll likely take some time to get his bearings/his legs under him, but Windler should bring pop, at least in a bench role.

Windler was expected to be Cedi Osman’s primary backup this now-past season, albeit we didn’t see it. Albeit the plus side, to an extent, to that was Kevin Porter Jr. getting plenty of minutes, and he flashed tons of potential, and had 10.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.9 steals per outing.

Next season as well I’d expect Porter to get some minutes again at the 3, too, even with Windler, because I could see Porter start over Osman at some point, with KPJ’s on-ball talent level.

Plus, with how Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff early on after he took over in that role hit on that he’d like to see Porter run the 1 some down the stretch, factoring in Porter’s at the 2 and 3, he should get time at three positions.

So how about Windler, then, to clarify?

Expect Windler to get considerable burn at both the 2 and 3 positions for the Cleveland Cavaliers, regarding his minutes-share.

I personally foresee the 6-foot-6 Windler and KPJ as being viable in terms of positional versatility for the Wine and Gold next season.

Focusing on Windler here, he should plenty of burn in his minutes on the floor, at least off the bench, at the 2 and 3 positions. Windler could mesh really well alongside KPJ in some minutes with KPJ at the 1, and Windler could be a good rotational option at the 2 alongside Darius Garland or Collin Sexton for stretches.

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Windler is a player that has a good handle, is a polished cutter/finisher and pull-up shooter, and he has nice ball movement instincts. The most notable attribute for Windler would be seemingly his perimeter shooting ability, though, both spot-ups and in shooting off of movement.

Windler moves without the ball especially well, and in operating at the 2, feasibly in stretches with Osman or Alfonzo McKinnie at the 3 a fair amount, Windler should be a rock solid 2 man option.

Windler shot 40.6 percent from three-point range in a four-year collegiate career at Belmont, per Sports Reference. He also hit 42.9 percent from downtown on 7.1 attempts per game as a senior, and had 21.3 points per game.

For at minimum a rotational 2, Windler should help open up driving lanes for KPJ, Collin Sexton, McKinnie and help space the floor for lobs from Garland/others inside.

A bit more, though, Windler would seemingly fit in/appear at the 3 for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Quite frankly, with Windler feasibly being even more of a floor spacer than Osman and being more polished in the off-the-bounce game/as a finisher, we could see him or perhaps KPJ overtake Osman at some point at the starting 3.

I can’t say that about Windler definitively, though, and a more capable starting option as an upgrade at some point next season could perhaps be Auburn’s Isaac Okoro, by way of the 2020 NBA Draft.

Anyway, if Osman does again man the starting 3 still next season, Windler should still get a bunch of meaningful burn as a rotational 3 with his varying shooting skill set, secondary playmaking feel, and his finishing.

I’d imagine that Windler could again fit in seamlessly in stretches with McKinnie, a highly capable defender against 3’s and 4’s and good cutter, too, with Windler getting good burn at the 3 and McKinnie at the 4.

However, in Windler’s case, again, for the Cleveland Cavaliers, with his handle and versatile offensive game in the scoring sense, he should get considerable burn at the 2. That’s with still perhaps Garland or Porter some manning the lead guard role.

Given that he’s such a capable reserve point guard option and an outstanding teammate, I could very well see Matthew Dellavedova be re-signed by Cleveland this upcoming free agency period, too. Delly would mesh with Windler, whether Windler is at the 2 or 3, as well in instances on the floor together.

Moreover, I’m pumped to see how Windler does next season, and likely in stretches at both the 2 and 3. That’s with him getting some burn with Osman still at the 3 at times I’d imagine, too.

Perhaps we could see some glimpses of Windler’s potential in a bit of play if he’s able to physically in a bubble-type set of other games involving non-0rlando teams to be a restart-type format to 2019-20.

That’s considering some of those clubs are reportedly pushing for some of those potentially via the televised variety, along with training/playing against one another at least via centralized location, per The Athletic‘s Sam Amick (subscription required).

Amick noted how Las Vegas could maybe be an option for that, along with Houston/maybe other spots, and the Minnesota Timberwolves offered themselves in that realm/others, but given COVID-19, it’s tough to say if that could happen.

NBPA executive director Michele Roberts, per Amick, strongly questions how that’d play out with the safety risk, and it’s hard to say for non-postseason teams with COVID-19 reported upticks in the U.S. It could help rebuilding teams a bit, sure, but we’ll see.

Regardless, looking at 2020-21, I’d expect we’ll see Windler make a key impact at both the 2 and 3 positions in relation to his minutes-share.