Clock may be ticking, but Cavs retaining Cedi Osman would be reasonable

Cedi Osman has had his ups and downs in recent seasons and over the years with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Since he’s been mostly a bench contributor in the past three seasons, he has shown he can give Cleveland a lift for stretches, and he’s had his hand in notable runs.

Osman had his moments during this now-past season for the Cavaliers, too, and even with him being a player that’s had his share of inconsistencies with his minutes in recent years, he still has made his presence felt.

In the 2022-23 campaign, he capped the regular season off having knocked in 37.2 percent of his three-point looks, in what amounted to 4.1 attempts per contest. In 20.1 minutes per game, he posted 8.7 points on average in his 77 regular season appearances.

To his credit, Osman has done a solid job of staying ready for when his number is called for the Cavaliers in a rotational sense, but it’s safe to say at this point that his impact is still streaky, and there are some limitations for him defensively.

With those things in mind, with the Cavaliers in need of wing/shooting help and needing to help shore up their small forward outlook, Osman could be a rotational player whose clock could be ticking with Cleveland. His deal is for next season is non-guaranteed, also.

Still, the Cavs keeping Osman around, at least going into next season at minimum, would be a sensible call.

The clock may be ticking on Osman with the Cavs, but them retaining him would be reasonable, at least heading into next season.

Osman is not a player without flaws, as we previously expressed, and over the years, it’s been proven how, by and large, he should be mostly a bench contributor.

Despite that realization, he’s still a meaningful bench piece for the Cavaliers to have, and can get hot. Now, the playoffs are a different story, and moving into next season, Cleveland does need to shore up their small forward outlook for closing situations, and one would expect them to address their depth in free agency and/or potential trade.

With all of that said, Osman is still a rotational wing who can help ignite runs with his catch-and-shoot play and transition leakouts, and he’s always been a good ball-mover. He has nice chemistry with Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, which enables him to consistently receive some quality looks in stretches, and he avails himself well playing off of Cleveland’s key offensive threats.

Additionally, while it’s not a prerequisite for keeping him around, Osman has always been an exemplary teammate over his time with the Cavaliers. From the rookie days with his time with LeBron James, to the early rebuilding days, and as the Cavs have started to turn things back around, Osman has always been terrific in that regard over his six seasons.

There’s assuredly going to be others in the fold, whether or not Caris LeVert is re-signed, and Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, and Lamar Stevens could all factor into the rotation. One could argue Danny Green could be a sensible player to bring back also, aside from LeVert. One would again assume Cleveland will seek adding wing help this offseason as well, for what it’s worth, anyhow.

But at least going into next season, it’d behoove Cleveland to keep Osman on the squad, and realistically, if they were to move a rotational wing as part of a package, it’d be more sensible to trade Okoro, given his offensive limitations. Wade could be a player who can still be a viable three-and-D presence for Cleveland, however, injuries are a concern and confidence at times seemingly can be as well.

It wouldn’t be the biggest surprise in the world if Osman, conversely, were to be potentially traded this offseason, with him being a player often mentioned in trade rumors in recent seasons and offseasons, to clarify. It’s possible Osman is waived by his June 29 guarantee date for next season, too, alternatively; if he were traded, his full $6.7 million salary for 2023-24 would be guaranteed, though.

Those details aside, going into next year, he’s still a player who would be sensible to have for the rotation, and the 28-year-old Osman is definitely a glue guy. Perhaps Osman eventually is a trade piece anyway, I’d just foresee that being more sensible in-season and/or by the 2024 trade deadline with him set to be expiring, depending on his then-current contract structure. We’ll have to see what transpires.