5 point guards the Cavs could sign to back up Darius Garland

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a great position at the point guard position. Darius Garland just completed his third season in the league, just barely old enough to order alcohol, and made the All-Star Game this season. His star is bright and should only get brighter; we ranked him 10th at the position leaguewide.

The Cavs can pencil him in for 34-36 minutes per night running the point, but that still leaves more than a quarter of the game when they need someone else to run the offense. They had that last season in Ricky Rubio, but Rubio’s injury and subsequent trade out of town leave the position vacant. Rajon Rondo was better than nothing last season but hardly a difference-maker; it’s unlike he is back.

The Cavs have a need at backup point guard and will likely look to free agency to fill it. Which point guards could be options for them to sign this summer?

To fill that need the Cavs could look to the NBA Draft, but they seem linked to wings more than point guards with their first-round pick. Adding a guy in the second might be a great, low-cost idea, but they can’t rely on that player to be the full-season backup for a team planning to make the playoffs.

Thus their best avenue to adding a high-level backup point guard is in free agency. The free agent point guard class this summer is fairly robust, giving Cleveland plenty of options. The top-tier guys are off the table, guys like Kyrie Irving and Jalen Brunson; the Cavs can’t afford them and they don’t need them. They’re looking for a backup, not a starter.

The Cavs can sign a player using one of a handful of exceptions; the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception is the largest, starting just north of $10 million, but the smaller Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception and the Bi-Annual Exception are another couple of possibilities above the minimum. Here are five point guards available at a variety of price points that the Cavs could sign to back up Darius Garland.