It’s nearing on that time of year again, with training camp for the Cleveland Cavaliers around the corner. Before we know it, the 2022-23 campaign will be here, and I, for one, can’t wait to see how the new-look Cavaliers do.
There are still some questions that the Cavs will have to figure out in training camp, to some degree, and in the early portion of the upcoming season, though. Following the Donovan Mitchell trade, it’s going to be up to Cleveland head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and company to find ways to get Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley going game-to-game, sure.
The group has to get others in-rhythm, too, and who ends up starting at the 3 is going to be a key storyline to watch. Isaac Okoro and Caris LeVert could be among the favorites, but other guys such as Dean Wade and Lamar Stevens could have cases for that, too. I’d prefer Cleveland go with Wade on that one; I’d be somewhat surprised if that happened, still.
One thing that does seem fairly certain, though, is that, among perimeter guys involving the 2 and 3 spots, Dylan Windler would appear to be on the outside looking in.
Windler has had some very encouraging moments in his time with the Cavaliers, on a positive note; the issue is it’s been more a flash in the pan type of thing with him. A significant part of the reasoning for that has been, well, injury issues. Windler’s first season was of course wiped out due to a stress reaction in his lower leg, and regardless of another shortened NBA campaign in 2020-21, he was active in only 31 contests.
There have been flashes from Windler, who was previously a late-first-round selection in 2019 out of Belmont, but him warranting meaningful minutes would seem to be far-fetched for this coming season, at least currently.
So with that caveat, does Windler have any case for Cavs rotational minutes in 2022-23?
It’s difficult to foresee that being a realistic scenario at the moment.
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.
There have been some moments, but the shooting potential just hasn’t materialized for Windler
There were again some flashes from Windler in his de facto rookie season in 2020-21, when Windler had 5.2 points per contest in 16.2 minutes per appearance. Then, he shot 33.8 percent from three, which wasn’t great, but there was something to build on. The injury issues and reported knee soreness just didn’t help him end on a high note, nor get in a rhythm nearly enough.
Then as far as last season, Windler simply looked hesitant far too much as a shooter when early opportunities came, and then again later on after his stint with the Charge, when I personally thought him playing over Osman, to some extent, was odd in late season.
To reiterate, the defense from Windler was a bright spot for him also in 2021-22, but him shooting just 30.0 percent from three was far from encouraging. He only played in 9.2 minutes per outing, however, the dude just either seemed to be off, or in other instances, was not firing away when the looks were seemingly there for him off ball-swings or kickouts.
So with the other guys in the fold here, it’s difficult to rationalize meaningful minutes at this point for Windler, unless there’s injury blows to Cleveland, or if the shooting does pop from him if there’s play early on in 2022-23.
Realistically, Windler minutes, at least somewhat regularly aside from garbage time, seem far-fetched. Perhaps I’m wrong and he becomes the confident, impact catch-and-shoot and even movement shooter I was hoping he could be coming into the league.
It’s tough to see him being able to have a notable impact during this upcoming season, and him being a potential trade candidate before and/or during this season as part of a package could be the case it seems. Windler, who is set to make a guaranteed $4 million in 2022-23, was a suggested trade candidate for Cleveland to create more space from the luxury tax threshold to sign Collin Sexton prior to his sign-and-trade, for what it’s worth.
Anyway, no, the case for the soon-to-be 26-year-old Windler doesn’t look to be a very legit one, for now.