With the recent sign-and-trade acquisition of former Miami Heat player Max Strus, most people have assumed that Strus will take the position of the starting small forward spot for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Strus did play 57 percent of his minutes at the small forward spot last season for Miami, so it is fair to assume that he could become the starting 3 for the Cavaliers, who as of now, don’t have that spot filled out. One would imagine that’s the case, at least.
However, the Cavaliers had another signing before Strus, in what was their first move of this free agency period. Caris LeVert re-signed on a two-year, $32 million deal to come back to Cleveland. LeVert did play 38 percent of his minutes at the small forward spot last year, showing that he is capable to play multiple positions.
Isaac Okoro is also another player who could become the starting small forward. Although, considering his inconsistencies on the offensive end, it seems safe to assume he will begin the year off the bench, and only will become a starter if he improves on offense or because of injuries.
So that begs the question: who will be the starting small forward? Max Strus and Caris LeVert both have great cases to be in the starting lineup, but only one player will take that spot. With that question, that is the purpose of today’s article.
Here are some pros and cons for each player starting at the small forward position for Cleveland.
Let’s begin with the positives for Strus possibly landing that role for the Wine and Gold.
Pros for Strus to start
Max Strus got a four-year, $63 million deal, and the Cavs had to move off from Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens to be able to acquire Strus, along with a pair of second-round picks. Losing Osman and Stevens hurts, with what they meant to the Cavaliers’ culture, but being able to get Strus out of those two players, most notably, should be worth trading the both of them.
Strus is a very talented player, and showed in Miami that he deserves to be a starter. In his 33 games that he started last season, he averaged 14.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. Also, in the 2021-22 season, he shot 41.0 percent from distance on 6.5 attempts per night.
A knockdown shooter in Strus definitely should help a Cavaliers team that shot 36.7 percent from distance, a number they’d like to improve, but is still a solid percentage. Also, considering both Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen have not proved themselves to be three-point shooters yet, having Strus to stretch the floor would be amazing, especially considering Donovan Mitchell’s slashing abilities.
Also, Strus is a solid secondary playmaker. 2.1 assists per game isn’t ground-breaking, but having another capable ball-mover in the starting lineup is definitely welcomed, and could definitely help Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell play off-ball more.
Cons for Strus to start
Let’s get the elephant out of the room. Max Strus really isn’t the perimeter defender that the Cavaliers would like from their starting small forward. He averaged 0.5 steals per game in 28.4 minutes per night last season, and there are reasonable concerns about how he was playing in zone a decent amount with Miami, and in playing in Erik Spoelstra’s system.
Also, Strus was inconsistent, to some degree in the 2022-23 season. He shot 35.0 percent from deep last season, which was a 6.0 percent drop-off from the 2021-22 season. He also only averaged 9.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in the playoffs this year. He shot 40.2 percent from the field and 31.9 percent from distance, percentages that aren’t that impressive to say the least. Now, his NBA Finals performance weighed his splits down, but there were still some ups and downs for him throughout the 2022-23 campaign, which were somewhat concerning as a shooter.
More generally, though, Strus is also not really that good at drawing fouls, as he only shot 1.1 free throws per game last year. He isn’t that good of a finisher inside, and one of his only key strengths in his game is shooting the basketball from the perimeter.
Max Strus is only 6-foot-5 as well, so against certain matchups and in the playoffs, that could be an issue that proves to be too detrimental for Cleveland to overcome.
Pros for LeVert to start
LeVert shot 39.2 percent from distance last year, which was actually a career-high by far. The next-best percentage he shot was in the 2019-20 season, where he hit 36.4 percent of his triples. LeVert’s jump shot has shown to be more reliable, as his mid-range game has also been pretty solid as well.
LeVert is also a really nice playmaker. He averaged 3.9 assists per game last year, showing that he is capable of being a lead ball-handler, and that’s been his career average. LeVert is definitely capable of playing the point guard position, or at least handling a considerable share of playmaking duties.
Additionally, LeVert did a nice job in the playoffs, too, and was one of the few Cavaliers players who actually played well against the Knicks. He averaged 15.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in the five games against New York.
Plus, LeVert has a 6-foot-10 wingspan, so he should be able to be a solid defender, and his ball pressure made an impact for Cleveland. He also had a plus-minus of plus-194, which is very impressive, and demonstrated his two-way abilities, which include his slashing and foul drawing.
LeVert is a good glue guy, and could definitely be a great asset to the team if he were to start.
Cons for LeVert to start
Even though LeVert has a plus wingspan for his 6-foot-6 size, his defense can be a problem at times.
He isn’t bad by any means, but he isn’t spectacular; he’s decent defensively. He has all the tools to become a good, or even great defender. However, his consistency on defense does leave some more to be desired.
LeVert has also shown to be inconsistent on offense, which is more of the issue, frankly. Many times he takes difficult or off-balanced shots, which causes his field goal percentage to drop. 43.1 percent from the field is not necessarily awful for a perimeter player, but considering some of the shooting performances he has had, it makes sense that his percentage is not higher.
As was mentioned earlier, he shot 39.2 percent from distance last year, but it is hard to say if LeVert can replicate that success from the three-point arc last year and continue it. He is a career 34.4 percent distance shooter, which is not all that eye-popping.
All in all, both Strus and LeVert have good cases to be that starting small forward for the Cavaliers for next season. Chances are, whichever player does not start, will be the primary 6th man to start the year, as both would be really good spark plugs to have off of the bench.
The preference: LeVert
LeVert as the starting 3 to begin next season seems like the better call. His defensive versatility, secondary playmaking and ball handling, plus his shooting could really help the Cavs. Plus, having Strus as the sixth man could do wonders for this team, and could really give Cleveland a boost come playoff time.
Honestly, though, whichever player starts could have a strikingly similar season to the guy who is slotted to come off of the bench between the two players. Come regular season, we will find out who will be given the keys to the starting 3 position.
As of now, we have to wait and see.