The Cleveland Cavaliers are scraping the bottom of the barrel. Already without Ricky Rubio to start the season for personal reasons, the Cavs have played without starting point guard Darius Garland in four of their five games thus far this season. Backup point guard Ty Jerome has missed three games, and both Caris LeVert and Donovan Mitchell have missed a game each.
It’s nearly impossible to survive as an NBA offense without a point guard, and Cleveland has effectively been trying to do just that for the past week. They have cobbled together a combination of shooting guards and undrafted rookie Craig Porter Jr. to stay afloat. The Cavs hope to have Garland back soon, but in the meantime, it’s possible that they use their 15th roster spot on an emergency point guard signing.
Which players are available on the open market? Let’s look at a few options and explain why they may or may not be a good fit.
There is no point guard currently available in free agency with more pedigree or name-recognition than John Wall. The longtime Washington Wizards star has seen his career come to a crumbling halt as the long-term effects of multiple leg injuries have sapped his once-prodigious speed and athleticism.
For all that he has lost, however, Wall may still have something left in the tank. He averaged 11.4 points and 5.2 assists per game for the LA Clippers last season, although he struggled to hit shots and was a net negative even playing alongside the Clippers’ stars. When they dumped him in a trade no team was interested in picking him up over the offseason.
Wall could tap into his experience and morph into a more methodical pinpoint passer as a bench guard, but he may just not have enough burst to make it worth it to a team to bring him into a game. This is probably not the answer for the Cavaliers.