Cavs: 3 players still available they could sign in free agency

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3 players still available Cavs could sign in free agency: Garrison Mathews

The Washington Wizards pulled off a complex magic trick this offseason, somehow turning Russell Westbrook and some second round picks into a collection of reliable players, headlined by former Brooklyn Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie. To do so they had to relinquish their rights to shooting guard Garrison Mathews, who is now an unrestricted free agent.

Mathews has two and exactly two NBA skills. First, he is a knockdown shooter, hitting 38.9 percent of his 3-point attempts and 89.1 percent of his free throws. He joined a shooting-starved Wizards team on a two-way contract in 2019 and has bombed away since, leveraging a lightning-fast release to get up shots.

His other strength is defense, as Mathews is a tenacious on-ball defender, with a nonstop motor and a willingness to fling his body into the path of much larger players to fight for rebounds or take charges.

The problem for Mathews is that he doesn’t do much else. He can’t dribble against NBA defenders, is not a threat to drive off-the-catch and isn’t going to finish inside.As such his usage rate was quite low, and across two seasons 83.3 percent of his shots were 3-pointers.

Mathews might be a two-trick pony, but they are two tricks the Cavs could really use. Their starting backcourt of Darius Garland and Collin Sexton are defensively challenged; having two defenders off the bench in Ricky Rubio and Garrison Mathews to cycle into the backcourt would allow the Cavs to present a variety of different looks.

Offensively a team that might be starting Isaac Okoro, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen in the frontcourt badly needs some floor spacers, and Mathews is a movement shooter willing to get as many 3-point attempts up as he is provided opportunities.

Mathews likely has offers with better teams than Cleveland at the minimum, but if the Cavs use part of their Bi-Annual Exception to come in just over the minimum they could lock up a gifted and hard-working player, the spiritual successor to Matthew Dellavedova this roster needs.