Dylan Windler’s preseason absences for Cavs aren’t doing him any favors

Through two preseason games for the Cleveland Cavaliers, it’s still not a certainty as to who will ultimately land the starting 3 spot going into the new season.

Caris LeVert and Isaac Okoro do appear to be the most likely candidates to land that role, but others are reportedly in the running. Dean Wade, Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens and Dylan Windler are said to be others also competing in training camp/preseason for that role.

Granted, Osman, Stevens and Windler don’t seem too likely, and it’s uncertain if they’ll realistically be in the rotation from the outset. Stevens could be a defensive specialist, and I’d be on-board with him playing legit stretches, either way, and I do firmly believe that Wade will end up being a regular rotational player for Cleveland.

LeVert has started both of these contests, and while Cleveland didn’t play well overall on Monday against the Philadelphia 76ers, their opponent again, LeVert started another outing and I do have to give him credit, as he was a bright spot. Wade, as an aside, rolled his ankle, although he was on the bench and I wouldn’t think that’s overly concerning; he should get his rotational chances, too, as a two-way presence.

Circling back a bit, anyway, while I don’t necessarily think it’d change a whole lot, Windler missing Cleveland’s first two preseason games because of an ankle sprain hasn’t aided his already cloudy rotational outlook. He was not able to be in action in those first two preseason contests, and was not in action during the Cavaliers Wine and Gold scrimmage on Saturday.

Windler’s preseason absences thus far for the Cavs aren’t doing him any favors.

Generally speaking, Windler being in the rotation to begin the 2022-23 season seemed fairly unlikely. That’s despite Windler reportedly looking good to begin training camp, and dating back to last month in workouts it seemed.

Of course, much of the issue with Windler throughout his time with the Cavaliers has been the injury bug. His formal rookie year was wiped out due to a stress reaction in his lower leg, and the next season, he was in 31 of 72 possible games, and his season then was cut short because of surgery to address knee tendinopathy concerns.

Last season, Windler appeared in 50 games, and was healthy, mostly. But, he was not a factor in the rotation, necessarily, for real stretches of games for Cleveland with others involved and when the opportunities were there, his shooting with the Cavs just didn’t pop. He connected on 30.0 percent of his threes, albeit on 1.4 attempts in 9.2 minutes per game.

He didn’t look to be confident at times, though, when the chances arose, pretty early on, and feasibly in the closing stretch of the regular season. The season prior, he had some very encouraging flashes, however, the shooting hesitation at times was still there it seemed, and him hitting 33.8 percent from three in 16.5 minutes per outing wasn’t quite what one would think he’s capable of.

Regardless of the circumstances, or injuries not enabling him to establish a shooting rhythm with the Cavaliers through three seasons nearly enough, it’s tough to foresee Windler having any sort of minutes consistency.

And while the starting 3 spot is still not set yet, LeVert is probably the likely pick, and I’d imagine Okoro and Wade will factor in the rotation a bunch. Wade I would think should play some at the 3 and 4, and his ankle roll I wouldn’t expect to be much of a concern. For what it’s worth, Wade got the start on Monday because of Kevin Love having a banged up knee, of which was nothing serious; Love was out due to precaution in preseason.

As far as Windler is concerned, he is reportedly progressing with his ankle injury, and per J.B. Bickerstaff, he “should be able to partake in standstill shooting” soon, via Evan Dammarell of Fear The Sword and Right Down Euclid. So that’s a positive.

Unfortunately, Windler missing out on opportunities to prove he can be a legit rotational guy on the perimeter with these two preseason absences is less than ideal, and I can’t say I’d anticipate he’ll be playing in the closing two preseason contests.

Now, the 26-year-old has given the Cavaliers solid defensive minutes, and he’s rebounded the well in his time with the Wine and Gold. I give Windler that, and it can’t be glossed over.

The problem is, with him set to be in the last year of his rookie deal, and with a bunch of others involved, the clock seems to be ticking. And realistically, it’s getting harder and harder to envision a scenario where Windler really has a future with this Cavs team, to echo our own Josh Cornelissen’s point.