Cavs: 3 ways for Cleveland to fill out the remainder of the roster

3 ways for Cleveland to fill out the remainder of the roster: Run it back

The Cavs had about as much movement this offseason as a tortoise, but that’s ok because we all know how the hyperactive hare fares when pitted against the deliberate testudinid. They drafted Evan Mobley, re-signed Jarrett Allen to a five-year contract and traded for point guard Ricky Rubio.

Cleveland is not in a race to win this season, which means they can take their time evaluating and developing their current players. Rather than cut their four players on non-guaranteed contracts just to replace them with similarly-valued players, they can keep what they have, watching how those four develop with another year in the Cavs’ system.

Dean Wade played real rotation minutes for the team last season, and could be a long-term backup for Evan Mobley once Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr. are no longer around. Lamar Stevens is this roster’s only big wing who can step into the right matchups and take on a defensive assignment. Mfiondu Kabengele and Damyean Dotson will have upside to become long-term rotation players.

That leaves one spot on the roster, and the hole that most need to be filled is at backup center. Currently, the team has just Allen as a pure 5, although Love, Nance and Kabengele can all play minutes there. Adding a true backup for Allen would make sense, and it just so happens that his backup down the stretch last season, Isaiah Hartenstein, is still available. The German center is a per-minute force and still has upside to grow into a low-end starting center who can either be a high-end backup for Cleveland or be flipped for value at the trade deadline.