The Cleveland Cavaliers know they will need to take risks this summer. To reshape the players available to head coach J.B. Bickerstaff on the roster, they will need to hope to find a contributor who the market is undervaluing enough for Cleveland to sign him. They don’t have gobs of cap space or extra draft picks to use; they need some help.
Whether that’s a player signing for less than he’s worth, a team selling off a player for cheap, or even getting creative with lineups to bring in an atypical player (think starting Lauri Markkanen at the 3 two seasons ago), the Cavs need to be creative and take risks.
That doesn’t mean they should sign just anyone, however. There are certain players on the market that the Cavs should avoid at all costs, for a variety of reasons. That starts with a divisive, pesky guard it would be a mistake to sign.
No. 5 free agent to avoid – Patrick Beverley, Chicago Bulls
The Cleveland Cavaliers have a pair of small starting guards, leaving them at a defensive disadvantage. Patrick Beverley has proven over the course of his career that he is a pesky, rugged defender who uses strength and energy to slow down his mark. On the surface, it may make sense for the Cavs to consider signing him.
That would be a big mistake. Beverley has shot 34.3 percent or worse from 3-point range in two consecutive seasons, and at 6’1″ and 24 years old he can’t make any more of an impact defensively than Isaac Okoro. If the Cavs want a backcourt defender who won’t be guarded they have one already, and he doesn’t come with all of the baggage that Beverley does.
No. 4 free agent to avoid – Jae Crowder, Milwaukee Bucks
Jae Crowder was one of the hottest names on the trade market this season, as everyone knew he would be traded. He held out for a better role and didn’t play in any of the Phoenix Suns’ games this year, but he was viewed around the league as an instant rotation player available via trade.
There was competition to land him, but ultimately the Milwaukee Bucks traded five first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets, who routed Crowder to Wisconsin after he was included in the Kevin Durant – Mikal Bridges trade. What did Crowder do in Milwaukee? A whole lot of nothing. Crowder played just 41 minutes and missed every 3-pointer he took.
Crowder will now hit free agency and presumably be gettable for the right price. When the Bucks traded for him it seemed fait accompli he would be retained, but he played so poorly that’s now up in the air. Given all of the moving parts and financial burdens, the Bucks could let him walk.
If so, the Cavaliers need to stay away. The idea of Crowder is intriguing, a combo forward with size, good defensive chops and a willingness to shoot from outside at high volume. The problem is that Crowder is streaky as a shooter, streaky with his effort and not someone the Cavs can rely on. Given that he will command most or all of the Full Mid-Level Exception (MLE) and the Cavs need to stay away.
No. 3 free agent to avoid – Rui Hachimura, Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers have played better than expected throughout the playoffs, and while that success is driven by their superstars, the supporting cast has been excellent. That includes multiple players acquired at the NBA Trade Deadline, among them Rui Hachimura.
Hachimura was on fire for the Lakers’ first-round series win over the Memphis Grizzlies, and for the playoffs is shooting 55.2 percent from deep (through 11 games). The Cavaliers can absolutely use an offensively-talented forward who can bomb it away from deep. The problem is that the Hachimura of the playoffs is a very different player than the Hachimura of the last four years.
For his career, Hachimura has hit just 34.7 percent of his 3-pointers, and on just 2.4 attempts per game. He’s not a stretch big; he’s more of an occasional shooter who sometimes gets hot and usually stays cold. When you add in that he’s a subpar defender and an incredibly poor passer, the theory of signing and playing Hachimura goes away.
He has something to offer a team as a bench scorer who isn’t completely anemic from beyond the arc, but he is going to sign a new contract based on his hot playoff run. That’s a deal the Cavaliers should avoid when looking for a way to spend their MLE.
No. 2 free agent to avoid – Kelly Oubre Jr., Charlotte Hornets
The Cleveland Cavaliers want to spend their MLE on a 3-and-D forward. They may end up using it for another reason, but ideally, they will find a balanced, two-way player who can start at small forward and both defend on the perimeter and knock down 3-point shots.
That may lead them to look at Kelly Oubre Jr. in free agency. He’s a long, athletic wing who can guard smaller players but is long enough to interfere with bigger forwards. He also likes to get up 3-pointers, and he has hit as many as 10 3-pointers in a single game before.
Oubre has also missed a whole lot of 3-pointers, shooting just 31.9 percent this season and 33 percent for his career. He has increased his volume significantly, but that hasn’t resulted in greater accuracy. He will be ignored by opposing defenses in the playoffs.
Oubre has also shown he thrives on bad teams and struggles on good teams. His best seasons have been on lottery teams; his worst on teams trying to win something. The Cavs have no track record that suggests he will be a player to lean on in the playoffs. Cleveland should let someone else sign Oubre.
No. 1 free agent to avoid – Christian Wood, Dallas Mavericks
The Cleveland Cavaliers don’t need another big man. They have two of the best in the league with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. They especially don’t need a defensively challenged big man who couldn’t be relied on by the Dallas Mavericks when they desperately needed someone to step up as their season fell apart. But that doesn’t mean there is no scenario where the Cavs spend their limited exception money this summer on a center.
The first is if they trick themselves into the “value” of such a signing. Christian Wood essentially put up 20 and 10 and 18 and 10 in consecutive seasons before this past year, and that kind of production earns players the money that Allen is earning. If Wood could be signed for half of that, would that trick the Cavs into signing him?
The other scenario is that Cleveland finds a way to trade Jarrett Allen for help on the wing and sign a big to replace him. That’s not an unfathomable situation, but Christian Wood is absolutely not that player. The Cavaliers are built on a defensive identity, and Wood is one of the worst defensive bigs who get significant minutes in the league.
The Cavaliers have to find help this offseason, but they also have limited assets. They need to be careful not to spend the money they have on players who won’t actually solve the problems that the Cavs have. They need to avoid these five free agents at all costs.