Pros and cons of Cavs signing T.J. Warren in free agency

Cons of Cavs signing T.J. Warren in free agency

There are two main drawbacks to signing T.J. Warren to a contract. The first is the uncertainty of his health. We just extolled all of his virtues as a player using stats from 2019-20, because he essentially hasn’t played since then, suiting up for just four games over the past two seasons.

It’s possible that Warren took the time off and is fully healthy and ready to play, but most likely any team that signs him will need to limit his playing time, especially early in the year. He’ll be on a minutes limit, sit out back-to-backs and most likely miss a few stretches when the injuries flare-up.

That, of course, is if he can stay reasonably healthy at all. The Cavs will need to look closely at his medicals if he does show interest in coming. Is he going to even make it to the playoffs, when the Cavs will need his shot creation the most?

The other issue is with his contract. T.J. Warren will likely have offers to join contenders at the minimum, similar to what Otto Porter Jr. did last season, to rehabilitate his value and go for a larger payday next summer. The Cavs could entice him to move over one state to the East with a more lucrative deal, but that comes with plenty of downside risk.

If Warren joins the Cavs on a 1+1 at the non-taxpayer Mid-Level Exception, a deal that would pay him around $10.3 million this season, the Cavs could get a bargain for this season if he plays at the level he did two seasons ago. They could also waste that valuable salary slot if he is injured all season.

Yet even if he plays very well, that upside is erased by Warren then opting out to sign a new, more lucrative deal, with the Cavs or elsewhere. If he recaptures his prime, perhaps the Cavs wouldn’t mind giving him a modest raise next summer using Non-Bird Rights, but if they do open up cap space they may have bigger fish to fry than just Warren. There isn’t much upside for the Cavs in a deal beyond this season.