Cavs: Predicting 3 most impactful bench players in 2021-22

Predicting the Cavs’ three most impactful bench players – #3: Lamar Stevens

From there, though it might be one that’s a bit of a surprise, I could foresee Lamar Stevens, even with him set to be on a non-guaranteed deal from here, being a key defender in bench stretches for Cleveland.

Stevens showed last season how at 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds, that he has the fluidity needed to contain opposing wing scorers, and at times demonstrated that he can get into and bother primary playmakers.

And as KJG’s Josh Cornelissen noted, with Cleveland sending out Larry Nance Jr. to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of the Markkanen deal, that Stevens, to some degree, can help make up for what Nance brought defensively when healthy and has more of a rotational case.

Stevens could end up having a very meaningful role for stretches for the Cavs, based on how what he provided defensively when he was a rotational regular when Nance/Kevin Love were dealing with injuries last season, in particular, too.

I could foresee the 24-year-old showing that once again in 2021-22, and while I wouldn’t expect him to be an every-game contributor necessarily, with his three-point shooting limitations, but as more so a defensive presence, he could function at the 3/4 for Cleveland in stretches.

That could help ease the defensive burden, regarding against 3s, for Isaac Okoro, for example, and furthermore, Stevens can at least help Cleveland offensively to some extent, given his finishing/rim pressure.

Stevens had only 4.1 points in 12.5 minutes per game last season, in fairness; however, with Markkanen, Sexton, Garland and others in mind, Stevens could have a much more carved-out role than say, Cedi Osman.

Osman struggled mightily last season, no matter how you slice it, and despite moving to mostly a bench role, was underwhelming in hitting only 30.6 percent of his three-point attempts. Even after hitting 38.3 percent from deep in 2019-20, he has historically had his ups and downs and is not a factor defensively. And Dylan Windler, though he could be an impact shooter, has been hampered by injury in his two seasons, and didn’t appear in his true rookie year.

We’ll have to see if Cleveland adds a wing before next season, and per Fedor, Denzel Valentine or Garrison Mathews could be in-play there, and both Valentine and the Cavs seem to reportedly have mutual interest.

But as a big wing rotational defender that could help lessen the defensive workload for Okoro somewhat, I could see Stevens being one of Cleveland’s most impactful bench players. That’s when forecasting the season as a whole.