JaVale McGee will be a viable backup 5 for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cleveland Cavaliers recently acquired JaVale McGee in a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal that also netted them a future second-rounder for Alfonzo McKinnie and Jordan Bell. McGee is on an expiring/one-year deal after he opted into his $4.2 million player option for next season.
Cleveland has had a very slow offseason, which was kind of expected after Andre Drummond picked up his $28.7 million for next season, which was to be expected. Any idea of them potentially making any aggressive moves has gone out the window, it would seem, for now, though Drummond would seem to be a potential trade piece during next season on an expiring deal.
But it’s evident that for the Cavs, mostly, they’ll be focusing on internal development and growth from their young core.
The veteran and recent NBA champion McGee’s future with the team remains unknown, albeit we’ll examine a few areas of emphasis for him for next season.
Here, we’ll highlight two goals for his upcoming season with the Cavs.
The first goal relates to McGee continuing to provide what he’s been known for on the floor.
#1: Be an active interior presence for the Cavs at both ends
The first goal would be becoming a formidable shot blocker and finisher on the bench, and averaging 8 points, 5 rebounds and 1.5 or so blocks per game on 18 minutes per night would indicate he’s doing so. For context, he had 6.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 16.6 minutes per outing in 2019-20 with L.A.
McGee should be a more than serviceable backup 5 to Drummond and these numbers are ideal for someone that can come off the bench and make an impact near the rim.
JaVale has provided teams with good shot-blocking abilities for years now and has gotten better at finding his role with the team and doing it well.
In his most recent season with L.A., the 7-foot McGee finished a solid season by having 3.0 blocks per-36 minutes and finishing with a career high 2.1 defensive box plus-minus. Now, the Lakers’ great team defense aided McGee, but his length/activity in the paint definitely played into their defense success, too.
Cleveland’s defense, conversely, has been a weak spot for years now. McGee has the opportunity to help that off the bench this season.
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He also helps smaller lineups with his athleticism. Cleveland is set to have two point guards starting and only have two players starting who are 6-foot-7 or taller, that’s if Okoro gets the nod at starting small forward, which would seem feasible.
JaVale can play in a number of lineups because of his athleticism and ability to defend on the interior to aid perimeter players.
He can also be useful in Collin Sexton and Darius Garland’s pick-and-roll game with his ability to set screens and finish at the rim, and he could be a nice rolling lob threat for the recently re-signed Matthew Dellavedova as well.
McGee, for reference, hit 70.2 percent of his shot attempts in the restricted area in 2019-20, per NBA.com’s shot tracking data, which was the vast majority of his shot attempts, as has always been the case.
With interior defensive/shot altering and finishing abilities at the rim at the other end, this is going to help him find minutes on the floor game-to-game on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The second goal for McGee has more to do with the team/locker room dynamic.
#2: Have an impact on the Cavs’ young core as a teammate
Even during a rebuild, younger, inexperienced players need veterans to help them in their progression, and from a locker room perspective.
That relates to how veterans can be very useful for curving their growth and understanding of the game, of course. But adding someone who isn’t just a veteran, but a three-time champion in McGee that’s accepted his roles on the Golden State Warriors previously, and on the Lakers, can be even more useful.
McGee has been around the best in the game, including Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant on the Warriors, and LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the Lakers more recently. He has won three rings in the past four seasons.
McGee has been surrounded by winners, and potentially the most valuable thing he can bring to this team is teaching the young core some of the things he has learned from being surrounded by those superstars.
This can help Cleveland get rid of some bad habits and help build that tough, winning culture that Cavs general manager Koby Altman wants to build here.
The 32-year-old McGee’s future and role with the Cavaliers are uncertain, but there’s room for him to make his presence felt this season and those two goals will help him achieve that.