As the Cleveland Cavaliers look to continue to move forward in their rebuild, Alfonzo McKinnie could be a key glue guy in that process.
After having a short stint with the Toronto Raptors, then spending 2018-19 with the Golden State Warriors and going through two 10-day contracts with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Alfonzo McKinnie has found a home for himself in Cleveland. Previously in February, he signed a four-year, $7.2 million dollar contract with the Cavs, a contract that many fans seemed to love for him as he worked so hard to get it.
Of course, after the formal end of 2019-20, McKinnie’s years, beginning next season, are non-guaranteed. But he’s a piece that the Cavaliers would be wise to keep in the fold.
Although McKinnie may not be the best scorer around, there are many other parts to his game that make him so valuable to a team like the Cavs who are still trying to find their identity as they are in the middle of a slow rebuild. In 14.8 minutes per game and 40 games active (of Cleveland’s 65), McKinnie averaged 4.6 points on 42.7 percent shooting from the field, with 2.8 rebounds per game as well.
McKinnie is a solid defender, as he is very versatile in being able to guard 2, 3’s and often 4’s very effectively, thanks to 6-foot-7 size, lateral quickness and athleticism enabling him to contain against drives and pull-ups well to a large degree.
Looking onward, a defensive player in the mold of McKinnie could be a glue guy for years to come for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
McKinnie is always active on the floor, rotating on defense off of screens all the time, helping down low in the paint when needed, and always going after loose balls and diving on the floor for them, too.
Per-36 minutes, McKinnie had a healthy 1.4 steals in 2019-20 for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and that helped lead to transition opportunities/easy offense for pieces such as Kevin Porter Jr., Larry Nance Jr. and Collin Sexton. That sort of thing in terms of heady team defensive feel is nice to have in a rotational player.
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No matter who you asked, I strongly believe that if you asked anyone about what type of player they believe McKinnie is, the answer would be a defense-first player, with that “slasher” ability on offense.
With McKinnie being so active on defense and being able to have a mix of solid size and athletic ability, to go with timing, he can also be labeled as a very productive rebounder as well. A healthy 6.9 boards per-36 in 2019-20 showed that, too.
Having all these characteristics mixed into a guy like McKinnie, who is only going to see limited minutes per game if he sticks around, can provide the perfect spark for a team full of young talent, a prime reason why McKinnie can be a glue guy for the Cleveland Cavaliers moving forward.
As the draft lottery gets closer and closer for the Cavs, it will be exciting to see which young athlete they select to help speed up the rebuild process. In the meantime, look for the Cavs to continue to develop players like McKinnie, guys they can have around for relatively cheap that will give you max effort every night on the floor.
The Cavs would be in the right to keep McKinnie around, either way, as he seems to be a great teammate, highly capable defender and good finisher.
The 27-year-old (28 in September) could be a glue guy for the Wine and Gold for years to come.