Cavs: 2 realistic expectations for FA target T.J. McConnell with CLE

#1: McConnell provides the Cavs with quality primary playmaking minutes off the bench, and helps some as a scorer

The first realistic expectation for McConnell if he were to sign with the Cavaliers would be for him to provide quality primary playmaking minutes off the bench, mostly in non-Garland minutes.

McConnell, who tied a career-best with 6.6 assists per outing last season with Indiana, similarly to Matthew Dellavedova, is such a heady veteran point guard that’d do a great job of getting both rollers/cutters and catch-and-shoot threats involved. For his career, with the Philadelphia 76ers overall too, he’s had 8.2 assists per-36 minutes, to just 2.6 turnovers.

McConnell could mesh well in stretches with Sexton, if Collin’s still around/has the opportunities, and McConnell could also work well with the likes of Green, for example.

Along with that, I’d think McConnell could work well in pick-and-roll situations with the likes of Mobley, if Cleveland were to select him, or with Jarrett Allen/Isaiah Hartenstein. T.J., like Dellavedova, times up his deliveries to rollers/cutters and is more than capable of getting his teammates good lob feeds.

Point being, the 29-year-old McConnell would ease the playmaking burden on Garland in feasibly 18-22 or so minutes per game.

Plus, while he’s not necessarily a three-point shooting threat (a 32.9 percent clip lifetime) and is not going to take those much, he is a capable pull-up presence and he has nice touch on push shots and is a polished mid-range shooter. For his career, he’s knocked in 48.6 percent of his shot attempts from 10-16 feet.

For a reserve lead guard, he could aid Cleveland’s bench scoring efforts some too, and while it didn’t knock anyone’s socks off, he did have a decent 8.6 points per outing last season with the Pacers.

He’s capable as a pick-and-roll scorer as well, which could help out the Wine and Gold, and can aid his playmaking efforts game-to-game.

So moving on, we’ll examine how McConnell could fare defensively for the Cavs.