Next season, I’m not going to say that I expect Lamar Stevens to be starting coming out of the gates for the Cleveland Cavaliers. I still would think that Lauri Markkanen should be getting the nod at the starting 3, or de facto 3, which ever way you want to slice it.
From there, the Cavaliers will likely involve Collin Sexton/Isaac Okoro at the 2, with Okoro playing some 3 I’d think still, and Caris LeVert and if he sticks around, Cedi Osman look to be involved at the wings. Cleveland could seemingly look to select a wing prospect come next month’s draft, too, for context.
Even still, to me, with how he came on this season, and was one of the teams’ bright spots post-All-Star break, I believe that we could definitely see Stevens have more opportunities in the early going next season. I don’t gloss over Dean Wade in the forward/wing mix, either, as a side note, and it’s a plus that he’s reportedly recovered from a partial meniscus tear and is back to on-court activities.
I could foresee those two in lineups together some, though. Also, in Stevens’ case, he’s a player that finished strong this season, when he had 9.2 points in 21.5 minutes per contest in his last 18 regular season appearances, to go with 3.8 rebounds.
I’ll always acknowledge with guys like Stevens that there’s others involved, but to me, he should warrant more chances to make an impact.
Stevens needs more chances to keep his momentum going next season for the Cavs from his close to Year 2.
In his first season, Stevens demonstrated some quality defense against opposing wings and 4s, and had some flashes as a slasher and nice interior finisher through contact when the chances came for him in meaningful minutes.
During his second season, while injuries at times to Isaac Okoro, Lauri Markkanen and/or some to Dean Wade did have some to do with it, Stevens did have more opportunities in legit play, and his minutes were often encouraging.
In Year 1, he had 4.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game in 40 appearances, whereas he showed growth in Year 2, and had 6.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 16.1 minutes per game, and registered 63 appearances. He had 13 starts in 2021-22, too, and as we alluded to, in the closing stretch of the regular season, had a considerable share of minutes pretty regularly, and had five starts in that aforementioned 18-game span.
In his second season, Stevens at numerous times displayed improvements with his cutting and off-ball timing, and while he’s more so going to get a defensive label for his role, he was sneaky good on drives, and as a finisher, does a great job of playing through and/or absorbing contact.
Those aspects of his game, Stevens’ sturdiness and toughness at 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds, and his multi-positional capabilities defensively, in my opinion, could definitely cause him to register his share of rotational minutes early on next season. As we touched on, there’s others involved too, and provided he’s good to go physically, Wade, a solid 3-and-D-type guy, could be a player that is essentially chosen in some lineups over Stevens.
I personally believe we could see both in for stretches, though, or with Cedi Osman, if Osman sticks, but in general, whether or not a wing is selected by the Cavaliers next month, Stevens should have opportunities to carry his momentum from this season forward.
Granted, I acknowledge Stevens has some head-scratching plays at times, and this year, while there was some positives in the catch-and-shoot game here and there, he did still hit only 27.7 percent from three in 2021-22. That’s obviously an area where he has to improve over this offseason, to help his case.
All of that being said, Stevens is a player that could push Isaac Okoro for more minutes this next season, with Stevens having more on-ball viability in set offense, to some degree, regarding the mid-range. And defensively, Okoro is quicker, but Stevens is arguably more impactful in the team sense, and Stevens is a player that is more viable against bigger forwards, and part of that is due to his four-year collegiate career at Penn State, as compared to a one-and-done in Okoro at Auburn.
Needless to say, while Stevens is a player whose deal is non-guaranteed once again for next season, and it’s not necessarily a guarantee he’s back, I’d imagine he more than likely will be, and he should receive chances early on.
The former two-way player and Penn State product, who turns 25 in July, will be entering his third season in 2022-23 and is set to make nearly $1.8 million, and currently has a club option for 2023-24 for roughly $1.9 million.