The Cleveland Cavaliers are already beginning to feel the attrition of the NBA season. With Ricky Rubio and Dylan Windler out indefinitely, shorter-term absences to players like Dean Wade, Jarrett Allen and Kevin Love have strained the Cavs’ depth. Thus far J.B. Bickerstaff has chosen to shorten the rotation, but that’s not sustainable for an entire season.
The Cavs have an open roster spot, and it might make sense to add a 15th player to the roster to fill out some minutes during the long regular season. The pool of free agents is fairly picked clean, but the G League represents a group of players that are game ready and starting to prove themselves against other fringe NBA competition. Mid-season call-ups have a long history of being able to fill a role for good NBA teams.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have an open roster spot. Which standouts on the Cleveland Charge could be candidates for the Cavs to sign in free agency?
The first place to look is the Cleveland Charge, a team playing a similar system to the Cavaliers and with at least a few players who spent time with the Cavs in training camp and the preseason. Are there any players performing well in the G League that could be worth a look?
The answer is unequivocally yes. The Charge are 6-2 with some really strong wins, with four players averaging at least 18 points per game. Part of that effort has been the play of the Cavs’ current two-way players, Mamdi Diakite (23 and 22 points in his two outings) and Isaiah Mobley 20 points and 8.6 rebounds per game in five appearances). The rest has been from players who are available to be signed anytime.
Which of the Charge’s standout players could the Cavs sign? Let’s take a look at three options.
3 Cleveland Charge standouts Cavs could sign in FA: Sharife Cooper
In making a list of the best players in the G League thus far this season you would be forced to mention Sharife Cooper, who has been absolutely balling out for the Charge. He has played in every game this season, averaging 34.9 minutes per game and leading the offense.
He is averaging 27.9 points per game, 6.3 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals. His speed in knifing into defenses has been nearly unstoppable at the G-League level, and his court vision is special. The problem with Cooper has been his shooting, but in the admittedly small sample size of eight games he is shooting 46.8 percent from 3-point range and 80.6 percent from the line.
The Cavs have used an interesting approach when Darius Garland or Donovan Mitchell have been forced to miss time, handing the ball to the other and playing more wings off the bench. The problem is that they don’t have a ton of useful wings. If they added Cooper, they would have an emergency point guard who could be deployed in double-PG lineups with Garland or Mitchell.
Cooper is far from a perfect prospect, with his 5.3 turnovers per game and his limited defense. Yet players who can competently run an offense are valuable in the NBA, and if Cooper’s shot can truly stabilize at an above-average level, he deserves another shot in the league.
3 Cleveland Charge standouts Cavs could sign in FA: Jamorko Pickett
Jamorko Pickett was the “wait, who?” player on the Cavs’ Summer League team and in training camp. He was far from a star on a series of poor Georgetown teams and went undrafted, on the radar of only the truly locked-in draft analysts. Yet his brand of garbage-man do-it-all basketball has a place in the league, and he is making a difference for the Charge’s fifth-ranked defense.
First, Pickett has been scoring at a career-best rate, dropping in 18.2 points per game. He is hitting 39.5 percent of his 6.3 3-pointers per game and shooting 86.7 percent from the line, both excellent signs. If his offense game can show signs of life, it will help him get onto an NBA roster.
Defense and hustle plays are where Pickett butters his bread, however, and he has been everywhere for the Charge. He is pulling in 10.8 rebounds per game, and his 65 total rebounds in six games puts him among the league leaders despite playing fewer games than those in front. He is chipping in a block and a steal per game.
The Cavs are getting plenty of run out of Lamar Stevens, and they could essentially “call up” another version of him, a player with fewer on-ball skills but better rebounding ability. Especially if Kevin Love is forced to miss extended time, Pickett can come in, rebound and play hard, even for just a few minutes. He isn’t skilled enough to be in the regular rotation, but he is a reasonable option for that 15th spot.
3 Cleveland Charge standouts Cavs could sign in FA: Sam Merrill
Sam Merrill was a late second-round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, a pure shooter who had enough scoring and passing verve to be worth the flier despite his poor athleticism. Unfortunately, Merrill’s shortcomings doomed him on the Bucks and Grizzlies and he ended up being waived heading into this season.
The Cleveland Charge took advantage and drafted him first overall in this year’s G-League Draft. He has played in all of the Charge’s games thus far, averaging 8.5 3-point attempts per game to lead the team. A poor shooting weekend dropped his 3-point percentage to 35.3 percent but his form is pure, he is perfect from the line and history suggests that will float back up to his normal percentage above 40 percent.
Merrill is functioning well as a secondary playmaker for the Charge and is doing so without a glut of turnovers, the bugaboo that has otherwise plagued the Charge’s offense. He isn’t much of a defender and can’t create his own space, but his off-ball work is top-notch. He still has a chance to make it in the league as a bench gunner, and the Cavs could find that is just the sort of player that they need.
There are other players making an impact on the Charge as well, from guard Nate Hinton stuffing the stat sheet to Chander Vaudrin spraying assists when he is on the court. The Cavs have put together a team in the G League where players can thrive and they just might find their 15th man among its ranks.