The 2021 NBA Draft is under a week away now on Thursday of next week, and the way it appears things are likely to turn out, Evan Mobley could very well be on the Cleveland Cavaliers via their #3 overall pick.
That in itself would be a heck of a get for Cleveland, as Mobley could have superstar potential as a two-way big, and I do believe he could be a unicorn-type big that can play both the 4 and 5. Or maybe Jalen Suggs, or Jonathan Kuminga could be in-play there; I wouldn’t expect that, though.
From there, while the Cavaliers are not set to currently have other picks, they could possibly end up having one via Collin Sexton trade perhaps, with say, the Golden State Warriors via their second first-rounder at #14. That is rumored to be a possible framework of a deal, and from there, the New York Knicks could reportedly be interested in offering one and/or both of their #19 and #21 2021 NBA Draft picks as part of a package.
That said, while in theory, I could understand the Warriors #14 pick, to go with Jordan Poole, as a move for Cleveland involving Sexton, I’d still rather them keep him, given that he’s a player on the rise and had 24.3 points per game in 2020-21. A potential deal with the Knicks, conversely, would be an awful move.
Okay, so from there aside from the draft/Sexton, and maybe trades involving perhaps the to-be expiring Taurean Prince and/or Cedi Osman, both of whom were previously mentioned in trade rumors, it does seem that Cleveland could add a piece or two in 2021 NBA Free Agency.
Rumored potential targets that have been suggested have been the likes of T.J. McConnell and Alex Caruso, for example, involving the backup point guard position, and wings such as Reggie Bullock and Doug McDermott have been. So has Josh Hart, who could be a restricted free agent, but is reported to want a “fresh start.”
Those are players that, via the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, set to be roughly $9 million, I’d be on board with; I would think those players could maybe be had for say, $5-6 million of that too, although the wing shooters maybe a bit more.
Anyway, while I’d be fine with Cleveland pursuing any of them, feasibly, in this case, here, we’ll focus on Caruso, who again, was recently mentioned as a potential free agency target in a report from Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. As were most of the aforementioned others in that report.
So what are two key sellers for Caruso for the Cavs, then?
We’ll examine those two here, beginning with #1.
#1: Caruso would help the Cavs defense, and would be multi-positional there
The first key seller for Caruso is how he’d help Cleveland’s defense, feasibly in bench minutes.
He’s more than capable of guarding 1s and 2s, and while him playing with the Los Angeles Lakers hasn’t hurt, his positioning there on-ball is sound. And in non-Darius Garland minutes, or with him, whether or not Sexton is traded, Caruso could handle things against key guard scoring/playmaking threats.
He is a player whose ball pressure makes him a factor in preventing penetration, and that could give Cleveland’s defense a boost with his point-of-attack work allowing others to be more aggressive.
Off-ball, Caruso is also a player that the Cavaliers could trust to be in the right spots as a rotator to aid in contesting shooters, and his recognition and effort makes him impactful stunting to drivers/slashers and his activity level makes him a threat jumping passing lanes/skip feeds. Caruso in the past two seasons has had 2.1 and 1.9 steals per-36 minutes for LA.
In turn, that could very well help the Cavs get some more transition production in games, admittedly, in a similar way to McConnell in that sense.
But a stark contrast between those two, as was touched on, with Caruso being 6-foot-4, even with him on the thinner side, with his feel and ability to shut off driving lanes even against 2s, and being more viable in deterring pull-ups, he’s very effective against 2s on-ball, too.
So the defensive abilities, to go with the multi-positional stuff, is one key seller for Caruso as a 2021 NBA Free Agency target for Cleveland.
#2: Less Garland playmaking load for the Cavs, but he could also get more off-ball opportunities
Secondly, Caruso could lessen Garland’s playmaking workload. Whether or not Sexton is traded, in the event Isaac Okoro were to move more so to the 2 in that case it’d seem, Caruso in minutes off the bench could help run things in non-Garland minutes, for one.
He’s not a player that is Matthew Dellavedova or McConnell in terms of vision, but he would be suitable as a bench 1 for stretches, and could aid in getting shooters involved.
And if Sexton sticks around, he could work in spurts with him, and in pick-and-roll, Caruso does have the feel and requisite timing to hit rollers/lob threats such as Jarrett Allen/Evan Mobley/Larry Nance Jr. as a counter to initiate productive ball-swings/sprayouts.
So in that sense, Caruso, who had a decent 4.7 assists per-36 minutes last season (you have to factor in Dennis Schroder and LeBron), could more than get the job done as a backup playmaking presence, I would think.
Now, Caruso, who has had 5.9 points in 18.9 minutes per outing in his career with LA, is not going to be a player that I’d expect to be a key scoring bench presence for Cleveland if he’s signed, but he could play some with Garland, too. And Caruso could help Garland, who is a polished shooter, get more off-ball opportunities.
Caruso is a pass-first player that, while Sexton has improved as a passer, could be able to help generate more off-movement shot chances for Garland than Collin, as Caruso has better feel for hitting skip feeds than Sexton in that realm, and/or seeks out movement shooters more, comparatively, when he’s in.
So that last bit is something I’d consider part of a selling point for Caruso for Cleveland as well, for what it’s worth. Albeit unlike McConnell, who I wouldn’t think could play with Garland much, Caruso, with the defensive element, could for spurts; both could play with Sexton more so, though, I’d think.
But overall, Caruso, given the reasons stated, I could foresee the Cavs potentially signing; we’d have to see as far as the interest, of course.
And as a brief side note, while Caruso was arrested last month at Easterwood Airport in College Station, Texas before trying to board a flight for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, it was reportedly related to less than two ounces of marijuana. He was released after posting bond seemingly soon after, per online records and as noted by ESPN, and I wouldn’t imagine this would be a huge red flag or anything to the Cavs.
That arrest shouldn’t weigh into things, and based on Fedor’s report, I wouldn’t expect it to.
We’ll see as far as Caruso and the Cavaliers regarding upcoming free agency, anyhow.