Predicting the Cavs’ top catch-and-shoot players for next season

The Cleveland Cavaliers season ended about three weeks ago and about a week or so ago was general manager Koby Altman’s end-of-season press conference.

In this press conference, Altman discussed the intentions of the Cavaliers this offseason, talking about how the team wants to “supplement” the talent already established on the team. The talent refers to the “core-4” players on the team in Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, Jarrett Allen, and Isaac Okoro.

Pieces that fit the core refer to players with length, athleticism and those who can shoot the ball at a great rate. With this in mind, many can envision that the Cavs could look towards bigger wings with off-ball shooting abilities.

Looking at the Cavaliers’ three-point shooting last season, injuries, lack of talent, and the lack of shots attempted all played a part in the team ranking third-worst and dead-last in three-point attempts per game and three-point shooting, respectively.

Luckily for the Cavs, this offseason is one where they envision to aid the club’s outlook in that way, and with many shooters being available during the draft and free agency, it is likely Wine and Gold will look to add a couple. Pair that with the fact that the Cavaliers already have some established shooters on the roster and this team should become competent from this area next season.

With all of that said, here, we will look at and predict who the Cavs’ top catch-and-shoot players can be for next season.

First, we’ll touch on a few in-house.

Projecting the Cavs’ top catch-and-shoot threats for 2021-22: Dylan Windler

Next year is a prime opportunity for Dylan Windler to have an effective season for the Cavs. The to-be third-year player has had an unfortunate start to his career, having season-ending injuries in back-to-back years. At 24 years old, Windler’s time is now to show why the Cavaliers selected him in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Looking deeper into that, coming out of Belmont, Windler was a sniper who was thought to become that three-point specialist for the team. In his senior season, Windler averaged 21.3 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, shooting 42.9 percent from three. Looking into advanced stats, Windler scored 1.361 points per catch-and-shoot jump shot in his senior year, which ranked in the 94th percentile, according to Synergy Sports.

This hot shooting hasn’t seemed to translate into the NBA but, the Cavaliers may have seemed to find a solution. After Windler’s games on Feb. 23rd and 24 where he shot nine-of-nine from deep, he stated in a postgame interview, via Spencer Davies of Basketballnews.com, that “it’s a lot easier to make shots when you’re moving as opposed to just spacing out in the corner.”

Next season with this in mind as well as being healthy, Windler should be able to succeed in his off-ball role. As the wing position looks to be tweaked, this could also mean more opportunities for the Belmont product.

Predicting the Cavs’ top catch-and-shoot threats for 2021-22: Dean Wade

In a season full of injuries and dismay, the Cavaliers were able to find a bright spot in terms of giving an opportunity to those end-of-rotation young players.

The best one has been Dean Wade as the opportunity helped establish him as a steady role player for Cleveland’s future. Wade averaged 8.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, shooting 37.2 percent from three on 4.5 attempts over his last 40 games.

Looking at his off-ball ability, Wade shot 36.6 percent on catch-and-shoot threes in 2020-21, with 65.6 percent of his shots coming from this area, per NBA.com’s shot tracking data. Similar to Windler, Wade’s competition isn’t set in stone as Kevin Love’s time in Cleveland may be coming to an end at some point.

And while we’ll have to see of course if it were to play out, opposing general managers do believe Love and the Cavs will eventually come to a buyout agreement either before or at some point during next season. That’s per a recent report from Sam Amico of OutKick, Forty Eight Minutes and Hoops Wire. Albeit we’ll again see.

In any case, the question for next season is whether or not Wade can be consistent in a larger role, all while playing more meaningful basketball.

So, moving on, a possible free agent target for the Cavs could aid perimeter shooting in a big way, too.