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: Mine the market

While the frenzy to sign available free agents kicked up a cloud of dust punctuated by the Twitter announcements of contract agreements, not every player found a home. Now that the dust has settled it is clear there are still plenty of options available on the market.

No one is going to change the course of a franchise, but the Cavs would be well served to shuffle a few roster spots at the end of their roster to take a chance on some of those players still available, especially those with the talent and pedigree to still contain upside if put in the right position. That doesn’t mean the Cavs need to violate their measured offseason approach and throw money at a player such as Lauri Markkanen, but they can carefully sign players at a bargain to improve on the margins.

Cutting Damyean Dotson and Mfiondu Kabengele could give the Cavaliers three open roster spots, and they can fill in across the roster at a few different positions. At point guard the team could bring in Frank Ntilikina, the former New York Knicks lottery pick who has become a high-level defender but struggles on offense. He played well for France in the Tokyo Olympics and only just turned 23 years old.

On the wing the Cavs still need shooters, and one obvious name available on the free agent market is Garrison Mathews. Scooped off the undrafted player heap by the Washington Wizards, Mathews established himself as a legitimate 3-and-D option at the 2 or the 3. Svi Mykhailiuk is a restricted free agent, making him difficult to acquire, but he would similarly add a jolt of shooting to this roster. JJ Redick could be a veteran option who comes in to mentor the young players.

Finally, the Cavs could take a flier at center on any of a number of names. We previously mentioned Isaiah Hartenstein who remains available. The team could also take a chance on Harry Giles, who maddeningly still boasts upside as a switch defender and solid passer at the 5, but can’t seem to put things together. Jontay Porter is an incredibly talented offensive big who can’t seem to stay healthy but deserves to find a landing spot somewhere.