7 players the Cleveland Cavaliers held onto for way too long

No. 6: Damon Jones

The Cleveland Cavaliers invested heavily in free agency in the summer of 2005, trying to build a contender around a young LeBron James. One such player they signed was Damon Jones, a guard who had a career year in Miami the season before.

That spike in efficiency stayed in Miami, however, as Jones’ shooting came back to earth and he failed to provide anything else to the team. Yet despite this lack of an impact, the Cavaliers kept him around for three entire seasons. He never averaged more than 6.7 points per game, shot under 40 percent from the field and and was a wreck on defense, but he maintained a rotation role for three entire seasons. The time to pull the ripcord was after season one.

No. 5: Ira Newble

A common issue for the Cavaliers during LeBron James’ first tenure was the lack of offensive firepower around him. The Cavs largely fielded elite defensive units but couldn’t surround LeBron with shooting, secondary scoring or playmaking. That was triply the case with Ira Newble.

The Cavs signed the 6’7″ wing in the summer of 2003 and he provided above-average defense during his tenure. On offense, however, he was a non-entity, essentially forcing Cleveland to play 4-on-5. He couldn’t shoot, score, handle or pass. Yet the Cavs held onto Newble for a whopping 4.5 seasons, playing him in 230 games and even starting him 111 times. They should have moved on from Newble years before they did.