The Cleveland Cavaliers are not expected to make any big-time NBA free agent additions in 2020.
Even with that being the case, that does not mean that the Cleveland Cavaliers won’t look to add veteran role players to their roster. While recent reports indicate that Andre Drummond is undecided regarding his $28.7 million player option decision, it’s still hard to foresee him not exercise that.
So, it’d appear that the likely options for Cleveland could be the $9-10 mid-level exception, in terms of free agency.
And Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor (subscription required) reported that Derrick Jones Jr., Josh Jackson, Pat Connaughton and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist could be targets, aside from bringing back Tristan Thompson. That was seemingly confirmed via report from Sports Illustrated’s Sam Amico, too, who noted Cleveland could take a look at “several others,” too.
Albeit, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald did not note Cleveland as a team that’s expected to pursue Jones, and a report from Amico, also of Amico Hoops, said the Cavs “do not have an interest in Jones,” but one interesting player linked to Cleveland is Connaughton. That wouldn’t appear to be via the full MLE.
Anyhow, Connaughton, who will turn 28 years old in January, is a five-year NBA veteran who averaged 5.4 points in 18.6 minutes per game for the Milwaukee Bucks this past season.
Connaughton is a solid player. He is a decent catch-and-shoot player, and hit 33.1 percent from three-point land, was a good defender for the Bucks, and his athleticism was displayed by his performance in the 2020 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. There is no denying that Connaughton is a good player who would contribute to any team that he becomes a part of.
But if Connaughton were to sign with Cleveland, his fit on the Cavs young roster would definitely be questionable. The Cavaliers have plenty of needs across their roster. More guards is not one of them.
With Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, Kevin Porter Jr., Dante Exum and Dylan Windler (more likely a 3, though) all needing minutes to further develop, the addition of Connaughton would likely steal some of the playtime that J.B. Bickerstaff could allocate to his younger guards.
That’s if he were to play there. That said, Connaughton could log minutes at the 2 and 3 spots. But still, the Cavaliers have some level of interest in Connaughton, and his addition would bring a welcomed veteran presence to the young team.
If the Cavaliers do add Pat Connaughton through unrestriced free agency, what would his role be on the roster? How would he be able to affect the Cavaliers rebuild in a positive way?
Here, I’ll lay out two main goals for Connaughton to reach if he is signed by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
We’ll get started with the first.