Cavs: 2 things the team is getting with Kevin Pangos

Zenit St. Petersburg guard Kevin Pangos looks to pass. (Photo by Anatolij Medved/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
Zenit St. Petersburg guard Kevin Pangos looks to pass. (Photo by Anatolij Medved/BSR Agency/Getty Images) /
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Kevin Pangos, Cavs
Zenit St. Petersburg guard Kevin Pangos brings the ball up the floor. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) /

#1: Some playmaking help for the Cavs if needed/depth

Although I wouldn’t anticipate Pangos having a crucial role for the Cavaliers next season, it was rumored that they could interest in signing a third point guard.

Darius Garland looks to be Cleveland’s long-term answer at the starting 1, and I’d say that’s a reasonable outlook, considering the bounce-back season he had last year. I’d expect him to build on that in Year 3 as well, and hopefully look to be more aggressive at times.

With Rubio, even with him maybe being a potential trade piece as he is expiring, or possibly being a player that could sign elsewhere next offseason, I do believe he’ll have a key bench role.

Rubio has had 9.1 assists per-36 for his career, and while he has bounced around via trade in recent seasons, he is still a highly capable playmaker and should be able to aid in easing the playmaking burden on Garland, and to some extent, Collin Sexton.

That said, Pangos is a player that if needed, could be a guy that could help the Cavaliers in spurts/perhaps at times stretches from a primary playmaking standpoint, too.

The 28-year-old does not have any NBA experience, but he has shown in recent seasons in Euroleague play, as some have stressed, that he has good vision and has nice timing in hitting cutters and has feel for hitting lobs over-the-top.

I could foresee Pangos, in some minutes on the floor if needed from a depth perspective, having rapport with bigs such as Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, for one. And he could seemingly be more than able to hit looks to movement shooters, such as Kevin Love/Lauri Markkanen/Dylan Windler.

Secondly, while again Pangos likely won’t have a crucial role, he could provide some pick-and-roll viability off-the-bounce in spurts, scoring-wise.