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

5 point guards the Cavs could sign: Eric Bledsoe

The first two candidates on this list would be in line for the full mid-level exception, starting just north of $10 million per season. Ricky Rubio’s market is very up-in-the-air, but non-star players rehabbing a serious injury often get squeezed by the market. Yet even so it’s clear that with Eric Bledsoe we are now looking at players that could be available for the Bi-Annual Exception, which starts at $4.05 million or $8.3 million over two seasons.

Bledsoe’s value leaguewide has plummeted over the past few seasons, ever since the Milwaukee Bucks moved him to New Orleans in the Jrue Holiday trade. While he still is a rugged defender, his offensive game has tanked; back on the LA Clippers last season, where he began his career, he could muster just 9.9 points per game on 42.1 shooting from the field.

Bledsoe landed in Portland at midseason but sat out the remainder of the year and didn’t actually play a game for Rip City as he rehabbed an Achilles injury. With Portland needing to pay for a couple of new contracts for players and also looking to upgrade, it looks like Bledsoe could be on his way out; his $19.38 million deal for next season is guaranteed for just $3.9 million, so he will almost certainly be a free agent this summer.

He would bring defensive toughness to the backcourt and provide the secondary ball-handling that they are looking for. Cleveland will have to hope they can rehabilitate his outside shot and end up with a player worth more than his salary. At 32 Bledsoe may still have something left in the tank, or he could be on his way out. It’s worth a low-cost flier to find out.