3 intriguing candidates to fill Cavs’ 15th roster spot

Candidates for Cavs’ 15th roster spot: Sharife Cooper

Sharife Cooper is a player who has been on the radar of the Cleveland Cavaliers for quite some time. He played in high school with Isaac Okoro, who went to Auburn one year ahead of him and was drafted fifth overall in the 2020 NBA Draft. Cooper starred at Auburn a year later, averaging 20.2 points and 8.1 assists as a freshman before going 48th in the 2021 NBA Draft.

The big knock on Cooper is his shooting, as in he doesn’t do it. In extremely limited minutes for the Atlanta Hawks last season he hit only one of his six attempts across 13 games. The G League offers a larger sample, and he hit 35.9 percent of his long-range attempts there, while averaging 19.2 points and 5.5 assists.

Cooper can play, and he is an awesome passer. His talent level is higher than many players available on the open market, and if he can improve that shot his playmaking skills are intriguing enough for him to carve out a backup role in the NBA. The Cavs can also benefit from having Cooper playing with the Canton Charge, giving the other players a better environment with which to develop playing alongside a distributing point guard.

There are massive strengths and massive flaws to Cooper’s game, and the Hawks just weren’t willing or able to be patient in trying to help Cooper find a balance. The Cavs are well-stocked at small guard, but Cooper might just force his way in anyway. There is at least a sliver of hope that he can be a long-term part of this roster moving forward.