3 players the Cavs can sign with the Mid-Level Exception

3 players the Cavs can sign with the Mid-Level Exception: Otto Porter Jr.

The Golden State Warriors are in the NBA Finals because of their star players, particularly Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, but also because of a deep roster of players who can all be used in the gauntlet of the playoffs. A few of them are players the Warriors “bought low” on this past summer and who have gained value in a significant way.

Otto Porter Jr. is one such player, a guy who signed a rookie-maximum contract at one point in his career but then was knocked down by multiple injuries. He’s by no means the healthiest player in the league now, but he has shown that when available he does the things well that winning teams need in their rotation.

Porter is a career 39.8 percent 3-point shooter; he hit 37 percent of his perimeter shots this past season, and 42.5 percent in the playoffs thus far. At 6’8″ he can play either forward position and is a good enough rebounder to survive as a smallball 5 at times, although on the Cavs that would be the unlikeliest of scenarios.

The Cavs need a traditional small forward on the roster, either to start in place of Lauri Markkanen or to back him up. Having Porter, Dean Wade and Kevin Love as the backup frontcourt players would give them a stout rotation and protect them from injury absences on the starting line. Porter is the kind of player every team can use, but the Cavs especially should be aggressive in adding a true 3-and-D forward.