Does Dylan Windler have any case for rotational Cavs minutes in 2022-23?

Heading into the 2022-23 season, that’s probably a no for Windler

When it comes to the 2 and 3 spots, Mitchell will get the lion’s share at the former, and will seemingly function as a de facto lead playmaker for stretches. LeVert, I’d assume, provided he sticks around, should get minutes at the 2 and 3, whether he starts or is a reserve scoring presence.

From there, Okoro could be in the same boat, and as we noted, the likes of Wade and Stevens have a case for defensive minutes. It remains to be seen what sort of approach Bickerstaff and company will use, but with what he displayed when opportunities were there last season, both Wade, particularly as a spot starter, and Stevens made their imprints on games.

And lastly, while it seems as if he could be on the outside looking in for wing minutes, Cedi Osman did still show on a number of occasions last season that with role clarity as a bench shooter, he can give Cleveland a notable bench lift for stretches. The inconsistencies and defensive concerns are the two things that are always the hesitation involving Osman’s outlook, but with ample playmaking around him for stretches, Osman as an off-ball shooter can get hot.

Now, in fairness, Osman and LeVert have been rumored potential trade candidates, so we’ll have to see on that front.

Either way, though, the case for Windler is far from a strong one, if the Cavaliers are mostly healthy, or at least have the majority of the wing rotation available.

As we touched on, Windler has shown that when he’s been available for Cleveland, his defense has been a positive typically. He can be effective against opposing guards and some wings for stretches with his positional feel and sound contests.

Plus, he has proven he can make plays digging into driving lanes as a team defender, and is a very impactful rebounder when given opportunities; through two seasons when he’s been active, he’s had 7.3 rebounds per-36 minutes.

To his credit, he was mostly healthy last season, when he played in 50 games; there were just fairly regular DNPs with others involved, and Windler spent a number of games playing with the Cleveland Charge to get more meaningful reps seemingly.

Nonetheless, the glaring blemish with Windler to this point has been the lack of off-ball shooting production, when the chances have been there that is when he’s been able to be healthy for legit stretches of contests.