Cavs hope change of scenery pays off for Denzel Valentine

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been a team that’s been rumored to have interest in potential wing free agency targets such as Denzel Valentine and Garrison Mathews, and I’d have thought James Ennis III.

Cleveland does have Isaac Okoro as far as its likely starting 3 for next season, and while he’ll need to step up on the offensive end and I believe he definitely can, it was clear that wing depth has been needed.

The likes of Dylan Windler and Cedi Osman could help Cleveland to some degree, but Windler’s injury concerns are there, and with Osman, the inconsistency is glaring.

To that point, while I’m not the biggest fan of it, it was recently reported on Friday night that the Cavs signed Denzel Valentine via two-year deal, albeit one that’s partially guaranteed. The initial report was from Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, with the details from there reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

As seemingly a corresponding move, the Cavaliers have reportedly waived Damyean Dotson, who mightily struggled last season after having been a team-friendly signing last offseason. That’s per Kelsey Russo of The Athletic.

Fedor reported how the first year for Valentine is partially guaranteed, whereas the second year is non-guaranteed. Fedor’s report stated how Valentine is currently fully healthy, as an aside.

The Cavs hope a change of scenery pays off for Valentine.

Valentine has had problems in recent seasons with the Chicago Bulls with himself being often out of then-head coach Jim Boylen’s rotation in 2019-20, and last season, while he had his moments, it was far from a notable campaign. He had 6.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game, of which he had 62 appearances.

In 2018-19, which was set to be his third season formally, Valentine had a tough setback too, as he missed the season due to ankle surgery, and that was a tough bout of luck after he had a season where he seemingly turned a corner in Year 2. That season prior, he had his best season to date with 10.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 77 appearances, 37 of which were starts for Chicago.

So what could the Cavaliers be seeing with this Valentine signing, then?

Clearly, it’s wing depth, as while he’s had his ups and downs with the Bulls, Valentine has shown the ability to create his own offense as a bench 2/3 at times for stretches, and he could be a viable secondary playmaker, to some extent, for Cleveland.

Now, throughout his career with Chicago, while he has been injury-prone unfortunately with other ailments, Valentine has again proven that he can create for himself to some degree, which could provide a lift for the Cavs bench.

As far as a spacing element though, he’s been streaky from three, as his first two seasons, he hit 35.1 and 38.6 percent from deep, but the last two seasons, regardless of circumstance, has hit only 33.6 and 33.1 percent.

In theory, however, Valentine, from a wing shooting perspective, could give Cleveland a boost, and could perhaps provide insurance in relation to Windler, and could maybe make the likes of Cedi Osman expendable. That’s if Valentine can find a rhythm, and stay healthy, of which we’ll have to see about come next season.

Maybe the 6-foot-4 Valentine with a change of scenery can be an impact player off the bench for the Cavs, and could perhaps take some burden off of Okoro from a shooting/creation standpoint, and/or Collin Sexton a bit?

I do question that though, and defensively, the former Bull is not going to be a player Cleveland should be relying on to provide much.

But although he’s not a player that could nearly be the contributor of fellow former Bull, Lauri Markkanen, who will have a significant role, maybe a change of scenery could help bring a jolt to his career, too.

We’ll have to see in regards to that for Valentine, who will be turning 28 in November.