Cleveland Cavaliers: 2 goals for Dylan Windler in 2021-22
By Dan Gilinsky
#1: Cement himself as a regular rotational contributor for the Cavs as an impact shooter
For the first goal for Windler for next season, it’s pretty self-explanatory. Windler was selected 26th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft by Cleveland to be a key movement shooter for the team, and to aid in spacing the floor.
He knocked down 40.6 percent of his 534 three-point shot attempts in a four-year collegiate career at Belmont, and in 2019 Summer League play, his deep range was on display in games.
The problem is, Windler has not been able to get into a consistent rhythm since having been drafted by the Wine and Gold, and thus, we haven’t seen the shooting abilities from him materialize in-game nearly enough yet.
If he can get himself going some in preseason play, that could aid the former Bruin’s case to cement himself as a regular rotational contributor for the Cavs, particularly with how Cedi Osman mightily struggled last season. Part of that was an adjustment for Osman as being mostly a bench piece, but he has had inconsistencies throughout the last two seasons anyway.
Windler does need to prove himself, though, as he didn’t do so nearly enough last season to firmly establish himself as a rotational regular coming into this season.
But if he can show that he’s capable of knocking shots down at a pretty nice clip in preseason and/or early on next season, at say, 36 or 37.0 percent on a few attempts, that, and moving without the ball well couldn’t hurt his case.
I’d hope that if Windler can be available, that him doing that consistently next season, mixed in with some pull-ups here and there could lead to him being an impact rotational shooter in his bench minutes.
We’ll have to see as far as if Cleveland does end up adding a rotational wing via free agency or trade, of which you can view more reported information on here.
It’s apparent that Windler could very well make his presence felt next season/feasibly onward if he accomplishes this first goal in 2021-22, though. The chances should be there, too.