2 under the radar veteran forwards that can help the Cavs bench scoring

Last week basketball fans across the world tuned in to watch the 2023 NBA Draft, to see where the league’s newest group of talent would find themselves playing. To the surprise of no one, Victor Wembanyama was selected first overall by the San Antonio Spurs. His selection was followed second by Brandon Miller to the Charlotte Hornets, then the third pick saw Scoot Henderson going to the Portland Trail Blazers. Despite some trade rumors, the Cleveland Cavaliers did not move up into the first round, opting instead to stand pat and take Emoni Bates out of Eastern Michigan with their 49th pick.

The draft is always one of the most captivating times in the NBA – it’s the start of the journey for all of these young players. Some of which are already proven talent, while others might be viewed as more of a project for teams. Regardless, the draft is a fantastic reminder that every player in the league had to start somewhere.

When it comes to the trajectory of the Cavs, they’re at an interesting crossroads in their timeline. While Emoni Bates is certainly an intriguing young piece to add to this roster – it almost seems to make more sense to have Bates spend the majority of his first year playing with the Cleveland Charge in the G League to truly hone his skills as an efficient scorer. It also seems likely he will end up doing so, by way of a two-way deal.

With that being said, the Cavaliers are at a point now where they need to start focusing more on proven veterans to add to the roster, as opposed to waiting on younger players to develop into something they can utilize for another playoff run. That’s not to say Cleveland should not continue to develop young talent and seek it out, however more so to say this team is already fairly young – and by adding some additional veteran talent to it, the Cavs could see a major boost this year.

One area in particular that Cleveland could use some help with, is depth, specifically when it comes to scoring off the bench. Now, the Cavs and Caris LeVert reportedly have a mutual interest in re-signing this summer, at the right price, and while LeVert can be a great scorer for the bench if put in that role, Cleveland should still look to add some more veteran presence to the second unit.

Throughout this piece we will examine two under the radar veterans Cleveland could add via free agency to boost their bench scoring.