Cedi Osman is a player that’s been hot and cold over the course of his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and, given his role, that hasn’t been a surprise.
In the past two seasons, there’s been of the same in that way with him, after which he’s been shifted to mostly a bench role.
Osman did not have the season one would’ve hoped for in 2020-21, as he hit a career-low 30.6 percent of his three-point attempts. It wasn’t all on him, with some role inconsistencies, and on the plus side, he was better with more role clarity last season, connecting on 35.7 percent of his three-point attempts. He had 10.7 points per outing last year overall, which I thought was fine.
That being said, Osman’s opportunities were trimmed down to a large degree as last season wore on, and while I still believe he can help the team in games, it’s difficult to foresee him being a rotational regular next season at this juncture.
Osman seems to be on the outside looking in regarding the Cavs rotation, if he’s back.
Osman can still be a useful for the player in stretches for the Cavaliers. I thought last season, on a number of occasions, he gave the squad much needed energy, and his catch-and-shoot play off the bench was far better than the season prior.
As we alluded to, part of the reasoning for him being more efficient was him having more of a defined role, as opposed to in 2020-21, which paid off. He had his share of big moments for the Wine and Gold, and he has had those at times throughout his Cavs tenure. That’s part of the reasoning why his teammates seem to love him, and he’s an energy guy that fans will still always have appreciation for.
At this point, though, with Lauri Markkanen still seemingly the de facto 3 often, and others involved there/on the perimeter, such as Isaac Okoro and rookie Ochai Agbaji, Osman appears to be on the outside looking in regarding the rotation.
Similarly to the previous season, Osman registered several DNPs in the closing portion of last season, and despite those being odd occurrences to me, they were somewhat telling in terms of next seasons’ outlook for him. Defensive concerns did play some into the minutes scarcity at times in the closing stretch of the regular season for him, and that’s continually been an area of weakness, at least on-ball, for context.
So, generally, while Osman has been a player who can get hot and give the Cavs a notable lift off the bench as a shooter at times, he’s definitely a player that can be way off for extended stretches of games, as many would acknowledge. The defensive limitations are there too, as we emphasized previously.
And with other guys in the fold, relating to Markkanen, Okoro to some degree, and likely Agbaji somewhat, based on shooting potential combined with his athleticism, Osman at this point seems hard-pressed to be a rotational regular next season. Maybe he still is, and I end up wrong in thinking that, and the 27-year-old wing has had his moments that have been encouraging in a rotational role.
However, it still does not seem to be a certainty that Osman is back next season, given how he’s often been a suggested potential trade candidate, perhaps as part of a package involving future draft capital and/or Dylan Windler, for instance.
Osman could maybe be a guy who benefits from a change of scenery, though, and with him being a solid cutter off-ball, and demonstrating some movement shooting ability, he could be a flyer for another team to buy into. But objectively, him being on an essentially expiring deal after next season with 2023-24 being non-guaranteed for him might play more into that possibility.
Whether or not Cedi is back with the Cavaliers next season, he’s seemingly on the outside looking in regarding the rotation, though. In that sense, I also could see a legit argument for Lamar Stevens, for defensive purposes, and for Dean Wade being maybe favored over Osman at times.