After Lauri Markkanen was one of the pieces involved in the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ trade to land Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz last week, along with Ochai Agbaji, the starting 3 spot is something to watch.
Guys such as Caris LeVert and Isaac Okoro could be options there, one would think, and for differing reasons. Okoro defensively is far better, whereas LeVert is far better offensively.
For the Cavaliers currently though, I’d prefer the team to lean Dean Wade in that spot for now heading into the season. Wade has done a fine job in rotational minutes defensively when he’s been called upon, by and large, and as a spot starter last season with more opportunities to get into a rhythm, did nice work in his role.
He’s viable off-ball as well, and if Cleveland wanted to go with a similar style as last season, when the team was mostly healthy, the 6-foot-9 Wade is a player who could do so.
Lamar Stevens could be another option for that role, and should have his chances in training camp as well seemingly, but for now, some specialist opportunities should again be there for him, in my opinion.
Specialist minutes could definitely be there for Stevens now for the Cavs.
Stevens was a rotational contributor who demonstrated encouraging growth last season, and could be a guy who can fill in some if needed in spot starts. He’s not a dude who is going to regularly put up big traditional numbers, per se, however, he is a solid defensive option, and can help in defense of opposing wings and forwards.
The 6-foot-6, 230-pound Stevens could realistically log some notable minutes if given the opportunities in the early portion of this coming campaign, too, I’d imagine.
His frame and ability to hold his ground can make it tough on drivers to hit gaps, and while there still are some rough moments, Stevens’ shot contests got better as the year wore on, and he’ll build on that.
Also, in regards to the team aspect, with more experience, he showed signs of being a meaningful defensive playmaker in stretches with his timing and aggression as a helper. So that could make a difference in rotational minutes, perhaps, again this coming season if the chances are there.
As we alluded to, Stevens is not necessarily a significant offensive piece game-to-game, though there were a number of positive signs in his second season in 2021-22. He had 6.1 points per outing, to go with 2.6 rebounds, in what was an average 16.1 minutes per game.
And when there were more chances for him in the closing stretch of the season, he had 8.4 points and 3.5 rebounds in 20.5 minutes per outing in his last 21 regular season appearances, which included five starting appearances. The plus-minus was minus-1.6 during that stretch for him, which wasn’t outstanding; still, his underrated driving and finishing was on display, and he was a bright spot amid a rough stretch, somewhat due to injuries.
But in general, with this Cavs team post-Mitchell trade, and with Markkanen and Agbaji, somewhat, elsewhere, Stevens’ should have a legit case for defensive minutes to aid the team versus opposing wings and forwards for stretches, as we’ve expressed.
He does need to improve as an off-ball shooting threat looking onward, as he did exhibit some development there last season, albeit only with a 27.7 percent three-point shooting clip. That and some clunkiness still I’d think wouldn’t lead to him regularly starting near the beginning of 2022-23; we’ll have to see if a trade were to commence as well, as an aside.
Overall, though, the 25-year-old Stevens should definitely have some specialist minutes for his multi-positional defensive play and attacking style. And he’s proven to give the team juice for stretches when his number is called; if success for him leads to him being favored over Okoro or LeVert, in theory, so be it.
Cleveland should be looking to keep him around, for what it’s worth, as his deal is non-guaranteed for the coming season, similarly to Wade, and I’d think both will. Stevens’ contract has the same structure through 2023-24 as well.