Weighing pros and cons of Cavs potentially moving on from Cedi Osman

Cons of the Cavs potentially moving on from Cedi Osman

Let’s just look at some stats for now. Last season, there were five Cavaliers who had a plus-200 or above plus-minus last season. Four of them were Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. That makes sense, all four played a lot of minutes and were the Cavs’ four best players.

As for the fifth player above plus-200, that player is Osman. Also, as it related to bench plus-minus in the regular season, Osman ranked third in the whole NBA. The only players ahead of Osman were Sixth Man of the Year candidate Immanuel Quickley and Oklahoma City’s sharpshooter Isaiah Joe. To put that into perspective, Osman had a higher bench plus-minus than Malcolm Brogdon, who won Sixth Man of the Year.

Cedi Osman also shot a solid 37.2% from distance on 4.1 attempts per game and can still give Cleveland quite a spark off the bench. Sure, he didn’t average double digit points, the first time outside of his rookie year. However, he still is a solid playmaker for a small forward, averaging 2.7 assists per-36 minutes, and only turned the ball over an average of 0.7 times in 2022-23.

Plus, to reiterate, Osman is a fan favorite, and he is also a great locker room presence. He’s just a great person, and his impact on the team doesn’t just come on the court.

He is still only 28, and will not even turn 30 until 2025. Osman is actually one of the oldest members on the Cavs, as only Ricky Rubio and Caris LeVert are the only players older than Osman on the roster. Robin Lopez, Danny Green, and Raul Neto are older, but all of those players would seem to be hard-pressed to play for Cleveland next year, unlike Rubio and LeVert.

With all of that said, Osman should stay in Cleveland for next season, and should return back after his contract is up, as well. Will he be traded or waived? That remains to be seen, but his contract is too team-friendly to get rid of, and the players and staff on the Cavs love Osman.

However, if he is to be out of Cleveland next season, then us Cavs fans wish him the best of luck.