15 worst free agent signings in Cavaliers history

Worst Cavaliers free agent signings No. 8: Kevin Pangos, 2021

Sometimes an offseason win turns into a loss once the ball is tipped and the games actually begin. That’s what happened to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2021-22 season, when offseason acquisition Kevin Pangos was not quite the slam-dunk signing he appeared to be.

Kevin Pangos is a 6’1″ point guard who played college basketball at Gonzaga, following in the footsteps of John Stockton (also a Gonzaga alum). He went undrafted coming out of college but became one of the best players in Europe in 2020 and 2021, leading to a two-year contract from the Cavs in the summer of 2021.

With Darius Garland the expected starter and Ricky Rubio a high-level backup, Pangos didn’t need to be a starting-level point guard. Even so, his success in Europe built the expectation that the Cavs had a steal on their hands.

That was certainly not the case, as Pangos was bad whenever he was pressed into duty. He shot just 23.1 percent from 3-point range, played just 166 total minutes, and didn’t provide value on either end of the court. When Rubio tore his ACL and Darius Garland missed time, Pangos was absolutely atrocious in relief and led to drastic scrambling to find other options at the point. Pangos was signed to be an emergency option, and when the Cavs had an emergency he was an abject failure.