4 Cleveland Cavaliers players who surprised this season

4 Cavs that surprised in 2021-22 – #4: Lamar Stevens

Last but not, least, I have to shoutout Lamar Stevens.

Stevens was not a rotational regular all of the time for the Cavaliers, with others involved, such as Isaac Okoro, Cedi Osman, Lauri Markkanen and Dean Wade, among others, but Stevens often made his presence felt when he was.

I’m not going to say there was a sizeable leap for him in terms of production, but he did have 6.1 points per contest, and his minutes per game went from 12.5 in his rookie year, when he was initially a two-way player, to 16.1 this season.

Whether or not it was due to injuries at times to Isaac Okoro or Dean Wade, for instance, Stevens did still have 13 starts as well, and had 63 appearances, as opposed to 40 with Cleveland in Year 1, shortened season or not.

There still are some warts with Stevens, who was previously again a two-way player, however, he showed the ability to defend multiple positions at a more than respectable level this season, and on offense, his cutting and off-ball feel improved.

He also demonstrated on a number of occasions that at times, he can create his own offense from drives, where he is a gifted finisher at the rim, and he flashed some of the mid-range play he displayed in four seasons at Penn State.

I can’t say definitively if Stevens will be back next season, but he assuredly made his case in Year 2 to be. He’s on a team-friendly deal for next season and the year following, albeit with those being non-guaranteed.

The 6-foot-6, 230-pound forward turns 25 in July, though, and with what Stevens was able to do with more opportunities this season, I’m bullish on him moving forward, and I’d imagine there’s a good possibility he could be back.