Last season, Cedi Osman posted career-lows, aside from his rookie season. He posted his lowest minutes per game at 20.1 minutes a night, and he averaged 8.7 points and 1.5 assists, and only started two out of his 77 games. Yes, Osman may not be a starting-caliber player anymore, but that doesn’t mean he is not still effective.
Osman seems to be a fan favorite in Cleveland, everyone loves his personality, hustle, and most importantly, his incredible hair. He is 28 years old, and won’t be 29 until next year, so he’s still in his prime as of now.
Osman’s contract becomes guaranteed June 29, so the Cavs still do have time to release him and not have to pay Osman anything for the 2023-24 season. Osman is slated to make $6.7 million next season, so if the Cavs were to waive him, they would save that money.
That raises the question: should the Cavs waive Cedi Osman? That’s a valid question, and there are good arguments for both sides. He is currently the longest-tenured Cavalier on the roster, but if he is to be waived, then that’ll mean Darius Garland will be the longest-tenured Cavs player. In fairness, just because Osman has been on the Cavaliers the longest doesn’t mean that should prohibit Koby Altman from releasing him, but it is something to mention.
Additionally, even though Osman does not play a lot of minutes, he always seems joyful and excited to see his teammates succeed, which has to have played some into him sticking him around to this point.
With that out of the way, and without further ado, here are the pros and cons of Cleveland potentially moving on from Osman.
Let’s begin with the pros.
Pros of the Cavs potentially moving on from Osman
Let’s get this out of the way. Cedi Osman is obviously not the player he used to be. He is not as impactful as he has been in recent years. He arguably is not as competent of a defender that he has been in seasons prior, but that’s fine. He’s still a solid rotation piece and versus bench players, that’s not as much of a concern.
$6.7 million is a good portion of money. Waiving Osman could mean picking up a new player in free agency. Also, if the Cavaliers were to trade Osman, that could also be a viable option. Let’s say another NBA team wanted to cut costs. Trading a player with a similar contract to the Cavs for Osman would save them a good amount of money, given his deal structure for next year.
For example, Gary Payton II makes $8.7 million next season for the Golden State Warriors. If Golden State were to cut costs, then maybe a trade involving Osman and the Cavs’ 2023 second-rounder (via the Warriors) could entice Golden State.
Another player could be Boston’s Payton Pritchard. It seems that Pritchard could be on the move, as Boston already has a good amount of point guards on their roster and he’s rumored to be in favor of being dealt.
If Osman could be dealt for Pritchard and salary filler such as Mike Muscala, then that would save Boston money, and give Cleveland a better backup point guard. If Boston were to want to extend Jaylen Brown and give him the supermax contract that would pay him $66 million in the last year of that deal, then trading for Osman could be a smart idea.
Chances are, the Cavaliers will be over the salary cap next season. That’s in the event Caris LeVert were to leave in free agency. If LeVert is back in Cleveland, then the Cavs would have a bigger cap sheet. Not to mention, Darius Garland’s max contract begins next season at $33.5 million. Osman might have to leave if Koby Altman wants to have his deal off the books.
There is reason to believe that Osman will be back in Cleveland, but there is also a reason to think that he’ll find another team next season. Also, if the Cavs were to draft a wing in the offseason, potentially plan to sign for one, or trade for one (which would seem to be a good possibility), then that’d reduce the need for Osman.
Dean Wade, Isaac Okoro, Lamar Stevens, and Caris LeVert are all capable wings that could get more minutes than Osman. Even though the wing position isn’t necessarily super talented in Cleveland, it still has a bit of a logjam, which could hurt Osman’s playing time.
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.