Cavs: Proposed 2-way limit lift would be big for Lamar Stevens

This season, it’s been good to see Lamar Stevens make his presence felt. Stevens was an undrafted free agent signing, shortly following the league’s draft in November, and he and the Cleveland Cavaliers then agreed to a two-way deal.

Initially, though I’d expect Stevens to get some burn here and there, I wouldn’t have anticipated him to have this much meaningful run at this juncture.

The Cavaliers have had their share of injury issues this season, though, and for one, Kevin Love has not been in game action since all the way back on Dec. 27. That’s been because of a high-grade right calf strain he initially suffered in preseason, and then in that Philadelphia 76ers game, Love reaggravated that.

Larry Nance Jr. had missed some outings before due to a right wrist sprain, and Nance is still seemingly set to be sidelined through most of March yet in regards to a fractured left hand. And a bit earlier on, Isaac Okoro had endured a right foot sprain, and missed time due to the league’s COVID-19 Health and Safety protocols, and there have been other players that periodically have been banged up.

Cedi Osman was recently out for a few games because of back spasms, and Taurean Prince has been dealing with left ankle soreness.

Anyway, point being, Stevens has had to fairly regularly have a rotational role for Cleveland, due in large part to the injury bug plaguing the Cavs this season, in relation to their 3/4 situation, in particular. Dylan Windler before having missed 13 games because of a fractured left hand was in that realm, too, early on.

All of that said, Stevens has proven to have been a quality find by the Cleveland Cavaliers, and has aided their efforts in spurts and/or some stretches defensively, and in helping provide energy as a reserve.

And for him and the Cavs, feasibly, this report from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium on Tuesday was promising for the rest of the season to boot it appeared.

Charania reported that while nothing is a certainty yet/it’s pending Board of Governors approval, the “NBA and NBPA are planning to eliminate the 50-game limit for two-way contract players this season and to allow two-way players to be eligible for the playoffs,” which would clearly pertain to Stevens.

Charania went on to report how those two-way guys who exceeed 50 games would “then have compensation moved to their minimum based on years of service,” and this would be added flexibility during this COVID-19-affected campaign.

Charania would follow that up with a report that there was “massive support” among NBA executives on a call Tuesday in relation to this proposed plan.

ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported that there were two primary concerns in regards to having this previously passed previously, for these two reasons: “not wanting NBA teams to use them as substitutes for signing players to full roster spots, and to give players currently on two-way contracts leverage to attempt to get converted to standard NBA contracts themselves.”

Bontemps would then state how those who’d exceed the 50-game limit will be compensated by what would end up being a minimum standard deal, as Charania noted, and that with the season nearing the halfway point, the full roster number issue amid this pandemic season isn’t nearly the concern it was previously.

Bontemps in the report also stressed how these two changes are expected to approved by the Board of Governors next week.

This proposed two-way limit lift would be big for Stevens/the Cavs with how he’s helped them.

From the Cavs’ perspective it’s again Stevens that comes to mind here.

For Stevens, it’s apparent that he, whose had 4.2 points in 14.4 minutes per contest this season for Cleveland, is not going to be relied upon as a crucial on-ball scoring presence. He’s not a dude that qualifies as a floor spacer, either, as he’s only hit two of 17 three-point attempts on the season, and Stevens was a 27.6 percent three-point shooter in four collegiate seasons at Penn State.

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Stevens has been a solid defender for the Cavs against opposing wings and primary playmakers on-ball in his minutes-share, though, and at a sturdy 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds, he’s proven to be a viable option against some 4’s even in spurts.

Along with the on-ball viability of Stevens, his team defensvie instincts as a rotator have led to some timely deflections and he’s had some blocks as a rotator here and there as well, which has given a lift. His block rate of 2.1 percent has been noteworthy, and his steal rate per-36 minute of 1.1 for a two-way wing has been decent.

And lastly, at least in regards to some promise offensively, while it’s not counted on a bunch, Stevens has proven to be a capable pull-up shooter in the mid-range area, and his physicality and quickness as a straight-line driver has led to some success for him in set offense.

He’s seemingly improved as a cutter as the season’s progressed, and has shown the ability to finish while taking on contact, but also some below the rim with touch/body control when heading toward the basket, too.

Anyway, for Lamar Stevens and the Cleveland Cavaliers, ultimately, this proposed two-way limit lift would be big for him/his growth, as he proven to be a meaningful reserve contributor in spurts, especially defensively.

Thus far, he’s made 24 appearances for Cleveland, and has continued to provide energy for the Wine and Gold in spurts. With his ability to defend multiple positions, and/or serve as a small-ball 4 presence for spurts even, it’d be great to have that expanded availability for him for the Cavs.

The COVID-19 protocol element, to go with the Cavs’ injuries, has played into it, sure, but Stevens hasn’t played for Cleveland’s G League affiliate, the Canton Charge, in the Orlando bubble to this point. And with the energy/defense he’s provided, and finishing to some degree, I’d expect him to be a legit contributor for the Cavaliers in the season’s second half, too.

We’ll ultimately have to see if this proposed two-way limit lift will be approved, but based on Charania’s report, it seems like it will. Now the playoffs-type thing with the Cavs would likely be far-fetched, regarding what Shams said, but we’ll again, see.

Either way, Stevens has proven to be quite the find, and the 23-year-old could be a meaningful contributor for years to come with a carved-out defensive rotational role, the way things are going, seemingly.