Return or Burn: Whether the Cavaliers should bring back each free agent

Return or Burn: Caris LeVert

Two things can be true about Caris LeVert at the same time. First, he is a genuinely great guy, beloved teammate and committed worker who has played hard on defense and accepted his role. That all seems to be true, and the Cavaliers love having him on the roster. He has only enhanced the team’s chemistry even as he has moved into a bench role.

At the same time, the trade at last year’s Trade Deadline that brought LeVert to the team in exchange for a couple of draft picks looks like a mistake. He didn’t help the Cavs make the playoffs last season and, through no fault of his own, is not a great fit on a team with Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. His on-ball creation is helpful to a team lacking that, but the Cavs have two of the league’s best and won’t play a minute without one or the other in the playoffs.

LeVert isn’t good enough off-ball to elevate lineups offensively, and despite his effort, he is a middling defender at best (and probably two steps below average in reality given that he can’t hide in lineups with Garland or Mitchell). He is a much more talented player than guys like Dean Wade or the newly-signed Danny Green, but they are better fits for a playoff rotation.

All of that means if the Cavaliers need to offer a contract comparable to the $18.8 million he made this season, they need to walk away or work out a sign-and-trade to land him elsewhere. Next season they need space under the hard cap in order to use their full Mid-Level Exception, and in future seasons as the team gets more expensive they will get more use out of the salary flexibility than overpaying LeVert.

If he is willing to re-sign for seven figures or less a conversation is more worth having, but that honestly doesn’t pay him what he deserves on a team that can better use his services. He and the Cavs are going to be better off moving on.

Verdict: Burn