The weaknesses of last season’s roster were clear for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They had every aspect of their approach that wasn’t rock-solid completely exposed by the New York Knicks in the first round, cutting short what could have been an exciting playoff performance.
From lack of shooting at the wing, to having no backup bigs able to take the load from Jarrett Allen, to Ricky Rubio not being who he was for the Cavs last season, there are plenty of problems for the team to address.
The only caveat? Much of their money will either be saved to prepare for the impending extension to Evan Mobley or spent on finding an upgrade at the starting three. This leaves little in the budget for finding a quality point guard off the bench for Darius Garland.
Luckily for the Cavaliers, there is an abundance of point guards available in free agency this year who are expected to sign a minimum contract.
What should the Cleveland Cavaliers look for in a backup point guard?
Two of the biggest things that the Cavs need off the bench are playmaking and defense. When Garland sat, the offense became stagnant, but the perimeter defense for the Cavaliers was suspect all season long.
While finding shooting would be wonderful, it isn’t a necessity. They have shooters off the bench who will likely stay such as Danny Green and Caris LeVert, both of which played major roles for the team, especially down the stretch of the season.
They will only need about 10-20 minutes per game from their backup since both Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell are All-Star caliber players and will carry a heavy minute load.
Now with all that out of the way, let’s dive into who the Cleveland Cavaliers should consider signing to play the backup point.