Caris LeVert didn’t end up being quite the difference-maker the Cleveland Cavaliers were hoping for from the Indiana Pacers post-trade deadline they were hoping for this season, particularly with Collin Sexton being out.
LeVert did have some nice outings as he began to found more balance with Cleveland, and I’m not glossing over those. Overall, though, he had 13.6 points per contest, which were not nearly the 18.7 he had averaging with Indiana during this season prior to his trade acquisition by Cleveland.
It’s not as if he was a total dud, in my opinion, and he was seemingly receiving too much unwarranted heat among Cavaliers fans, to me, in the closing stretch of the season. I know LeVert was somewhat underwhelming, based on what the expectations for many were, and I get that.
His foot sprain coming out of the All-Star break, which caused him to miss Cleveland’s first nine post-All-Star games, didn’t help. It took LeVert even more added time on top of the in-season trade to get into a rhythm and flow with the Cavaliers, and that’s something that too many appeared to disregard.
With next season in mind, provided he is back with the Cavaliers, I do think it will pay dividends to come off an offseason with Cleveland to get further acclimated, and he should be able to have some better rapport with other guys. In other words, it won’t be entirely new for him.
Nonetheless, LeVert next season is set to be on an expiring deal, and naturally, rumors of a potential extension have been a topic of conversation. In that realm, on a recent episode of The HoopsHype Podcast with Michael Scotto, Scotto said the following in a report on the subject, with Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com making an appearance in that episode.
"“Scotto: One executive told me, ‘I think Caris LeVert will get around $20.5 million per season on an extension. That’s a little too rich for me, but I think Cleveland will pay him that if they want to extend him.”‘ “Another executive said, ‘Caris is interesting due to his injury history. A short-term extension around the number he’s on would be good value.'” He’s making around $19 million. From what I’ve heard, Cleveland would like to keep LeVert. That’s why they traded for him with that intention… I’d surmise that both sides would like to make this (extension) happen at this point.”"
From there, he was Fedor’s follow-up to Scotto’s report/comments on the topic.
"“I think they would too, but I think there’s another layer to this. The Cavs don’t have to do anything. He’s under contract next year, so if the contract negotations don’t go the way they want them to go, he’s still under contract in the final year, making it a potential trade chip. I’m not saying that’s what they ultimately want, but that’s in their back pocket, just like last year’s negotiations with Sexton.”"
It’s abundantly clear that the Cavs have to consider all the factors involved with a potential LeVert extension.
Both Scotto and Fedor essentially echoing how the Cavaliers seem interested in a LeVert extension wasn’t surprising, with how the team traded for him. That was what many had to have been thinking upon Cleveland swinging the deal for LeVert.
The results weren’t the greatest for LeVert, as we alluded to, and he converted on just 31.3 percent of his three-point attempts in his 19 regular season games post-trade with the Cavaliers.
Granted, deep shooting has not been necessarily what he’s been known for much of his career, most of which was with the Brooklyn Nets prior to him being dealt to Indiana as part of the James Harden-centric deal early on in 2020-21. LeVert’s a career 33.3 percent shooter from three.
He’s a polished pull-up player inside the arc, though, and LeVert is a capable playmaker that can at times be a primary facilitator for stretches as well. There were some stretches where he was pretty impactful as a playmaker with Cleveland, too.
In any case, when it comes to a LeVert extension, as both of these reports seemingly alluded to, the potential for an extension is obviously there, and it’ll continue to be a topic of conversation throughout the offseason. But with that in mind, it’s clear that the Cavaliers must consider all the factors involved with a possible LeVert new deal.
The injury history is there, and will he be more consistent with the Cavs next season?
As Scotto’s report hit on, LeVert has had an extensive injury history. He’s had foot issues, which previously a foot dislocation, had a cancerous mass removed on his kidney following his trade to Indy last season, which thankfully he then fully recovered from, and has unfortunately had other ailments. That included early on this season involving a stress fracture in his back.
Overall, LeVert had only appeared in 58 games this season, 47 last season, 45 the season prior (regardless of 2020-21 and 2019-20 being COVID-19-shortened regular seasons), and 40 in 2018-19. The most amount of games LeVert has played in a regular season, also with a full regular season in this sense, has been 71, back in 2017-18 with Brooklyn.
The point is, with a potential LeVert extension, the Cavaliers should be patient here, as Fedor especially expressed. LeVert had injury troubles in his short stint thus far post-trade deadline with Cleveland, and that’s been part of the book on him in his career through six seasons.
Now, LeVert is still a quality player, and I get that he’s a guy that can ease some of the playmaking and scoring load on Darius Garland. As he got more time with the Cavs, we saw more evidence of that, albeit with a rough outing in Cleveland’s first play-in loss to Brooklyn. He was better in their second play-in loss to the Atlanta Hawks, on a positive note.
However, the injury history is there, and LeVert has had some ups and downs, somewhat due to him being some of a self-starter, and at times settling too often it appears.
And if the Cavaliers were to extend LeVert along the lines of what Scotto’s reports stated, even if that’s for a short-term deal, with Darius Garland reportedly likely to receive a max extension, one would have to question the possibility of a Sexton extension.
The Sexton element, and LeVert as a potential trade piece
It still to a large extent appears that Sexton could very well be extended, but Fedor in the same podcast appearance mentioned how a potential extension could seemingly be in the $16-20 million range it seems. That’s with Cleveland more so aiming towards the $15-18 million spectrum, with Sexton/his camp in the $18-22 million realm, per Fedor’s report.
Sexton is of course coming off a season where he was only active in 11 games because of a torn meniscus, and did not play well. He was adjusting to a newer role, but he did only have 16.0 points per outing, and shot just 24.4 percent from three.
There are still sometimes where Sexton is forcing it too much and will have blinders on; fortunately, he’s shown growth over his time with Cleveland, and despite the splits, did demonstrate some continued strides as a passer early this season.
We’ve seen the scoring capabilities from him, anyhow, and he’s a capable catch-and-shoot guy from three, a valuable slasher that’s lightning quick, when healthy, and is a player that, no matter the circumstances, did have 24.3 points per outing in 2020-21. Sexton has hit 37.8 percent from three in his three-plus seasons.
Sexton was mostly healthy in his previous three seasons, and has not had injury issues at other levels. The guy will still only be 24 next January, which will be his fifth season, and he made strides as more so a secondary playmaker in Year 3, and in general, I do believe is a player Cleveland should want to have around, and they reportedly do, similarly to LeVert.
However, while there could potentially be a possibility for both to be around in the near future, it’s tough to say right now, and as Fedor hit on, LeVert’s deal ($18.8 million) could potentially be an expiring trade chip used next season.
I do get the reasoning for LeVert, who is a Columbus native, too, maybe sticking around, or Sexton possibly being moved, which Scotto did touch on Sexton perhaps being a trade chip whether that’s sign-and-trade or him being traded down the road.
To me, though, if they had to choose, which seems realistic, I’d probably Cleveland lean toward extending Sexton, despite LeVert being 6-foot-6 to Sexton’s 6-foot-1, and LeVert having better vision at this juncture. That’s also more so with another their upcoming #14 overall pick, potential for a solid backup point guard signing, and with the team having Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Isaac Okoro, Lamar Stevens and others for defense.
Anyway, what we’re getting at is the Cavs have to consider all the factors with a potential LeVert extension. While it’s not as if the Cavs aren’t, and they definitely are involving LeVert (who turns 28 in August), these Scotto and Fedor reports reiterated that.