3 guards the Cavs should consider adding for playmaking lift

#3: Dennis Smith Jr.

Dennis Smith Jr. was recently waived by the Portland Trail Blazers after playing 37 games for the team this season, starting in four of them. The athletic point guard has been looking for an opportunity to revive his career after a disappointing second season with the Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks.

Coming out of college, Smith Jr. was known for his high-flying dunks and explosiveness around the rim. The league has gone away from that style of play, but he was too explosive to pass up at 9th overall in 2017. During his rookie season, he averaged 15.2 points per game and 5.2 assists per game. Since then, he’s played on four different teams in four years, averaging 8.6 points per game and 3.8 assists per game.

He’s struggled with nagging injuries that have kept him out of rotations at times and has lacked the ability to shoot consistently from three.

However, he has proven that he is a capable playmaker and he still has the ability to get to the rim and score. In the four games that he’s started this season for Portland, the 24-year-old has averaged 15.8 points per game, 6.5 assists and has shot 543% from the field.

No, he hasn’t lived up to the expectations his draft selection might’ve suggested, but he is still a capable player that can rise up when called upon. That is exactly what the Cavs need while dealing with injuries.

These players won’t change life in Cleveland, and they shouldn’t be treated that way either. They are simply players you can lean on when Garland, LeVert and Rondo are forced to miss time with injury, and in bench spurts.

I believe that if one of these players were given a chance to prove their worth under a 10-day contract with the Cavaliers, they have the tools to impress the coaching staff enough to stay on board for the rest of the season.