5 potential Cavs free agency options for backup PG and backup C
By Mack Perry
5 Cavs potential backup C options – #1: JaVale McGee
Could a possible Cavs-JaVale McGee reunion be in order? It would definitely make sense for Cleveland as they would seemingly like to add a veteran presence capable of giving 8-12 minutes at the position at any given time if called upon. McGee fits that description to a tee and due to having spent some time with many of the Cavaliers on the current roster, he would have an immediate advantage over many other possible options.
The Cavs run so many pick-and-roll sets with the likes of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley that McGee would likely be able to do the exact same thing while also providing excellent rim protection. This is something the team struggled to get out of its reserve bigs last season.
McGee spent the 2021-22 campaign with the Phoenix Suns where he appeared in 74 games, starting 17 of them and made a pretty big impact despite only seeing the floor for about 15.8 mpg.
He was able to reject 1.1 shots per game as well as contribute 9.2 points on a really good 62.9% field goal percentage and he pulled down 6.7 boards per contest as well. Solid production from a backup big and the Cavaliers would be wise to inquire about a possible return to the land.
He was signed using the mid-level last season with a cap hit of $5 million and I believe it would be possible for a team to acquire him with that type of salary again. If so, perhaps Cleveland could split their MLE in half and use roughly one half on McGee.