Cavs: Dylan Windler clearly needs to be involved in rotation early

I’m one of the Cleveland Cavaliers fans that’s probably more bullish on Dylan Windler‘s outlook than most.

Yes, as those that are into the Cavaliers know, Windler has not been available often through two seasons. His first year was wiped out because of complications involving a stress reaction in his lower left leg, and in his de facto rookie year last season, he was only active in 31 games, a COVID-19-affected season notwithstanding.

On a positive note, after his past season ultimately ended in late April in relation to knee surgery to address ongoing “patella tendinopathy concerns,” Windler was reportedly taking part in voluntary scrimmaging in weeks prior to training camp starting.

Based on his comments from earlier this month, he is seemingly in a good place mentally and physically, and his left knee doesn’t appear to be having any issues, either.

After the first preseason two games in which Windler was not given many opportunities to get some rhythm, including a DNP at the Atlanta Hawks, he has gotten more in the action. He had 12 points against the Indiana Pacers on Friday, and his deep shooting range was on display, as he hit four-of-five three-point attempts in 22 minutes.

The shot wasn’t as on versus the Chicago Bulls in a close loss on Sunday, though he did help in other ways, was active defensively and had four assists.

To me, though the likes of Collin Sexton, Isaac Okoro and Cedi Osman/Lamar Stevens look to be involved in the 2/3 rotation, Windler does need to get opportunities early on, provided he’s available.

That’s not as much in regards to Sexton, who is Cleveland’s best scorer, and Okoro could seemingly be in there with Windler some anyway, but Windler should get his looks in at least spurts at the jump, in my opinion. Lauri Markkanen, in a supersized 3 sense at times, and Dean Wade, based on these comments from Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, via Evan Dammarell of Fear The Sword and “Locked on Cavs” podcast, could factor into the 3 man rotation, too, for what it’s worth.

Cavs: In any case, it’s clear that Windler needs to be involved in the rotation early.

Simply put, while I’m a fan of Wade, and could foresee Stevens getting some rotational minutes early as a versatile defender, Windler could be a nice natural wing shooting option in minutes Okoro or Sexton is off the floor early. But as we noted, I could foresee Windler at times playing with Okoro, anyway, or with Sexton, as Windler I believe will be an impactful presence off-ball.

Granted, Windler was fairly underwhelming last season when he was in there. He shot 33.8 percent from three, and had 5.2 points in 16.5 minutes per contest, and while he was reportedly dealing with pain related to his knee, he seemed out of sorts even when he was seemingly mostly healthy.

That said, Windler again is in a good place leading into the season, and although we’ll feasibly see Markkanen at times at the 3, I do still believe Windler should be involved early in some capacity at the 2/3. It was not at this level, but Windler did hit 40.6 percent of his three-point attempts in a four-year collegiate career at Belmont, and we’ve seen the potential at times with Cleveland.

If he can get into a shooting rhythm, even in 14-15 minutes or so of playing time typically, he could give the Cavaliers a real spark offensively, and provide another movement shooter to deploy aside from Markkanen in bench minutes.

It’s simply difficult to trust Cedi Osman in that realm, and while I do like Wade, Windler I could foresee having more range, and is more natural off-movement; he can help in the team defense defensively as well, too, and had 7.5 rebounds per-36 minutes, which was notable.

Perhaps Stevens could get spot minutes from a defensive standpoint, however, if Windler can stay healthy, with Sexton and Okoro in the fold, I’d more so see Stevens as a situational guy that’s injury insurance for now. We’ll have to see in relation to Denzel Valentine, from there.

But to reiterate, with his off-ball abilities, as a cutter/finisher, too, and with how he could capably play off of Darius Garland/Ricky Rubio and others, to me, Windler should clearly be involved in the rotation early on for Cleveland. The 25-year-old can give this Cavs team a lift in bench minutes, and can feasibly play impactful minutes at the 2 and 3, provided he can stay healthy.

Whether the chances come game-to-game at the beginning of the season remains to be seen, though.