The revolving door the Cleveland Cavaliers have at the two-way spots keeps spinning. A new face has just entered the place.
Cleveland recently kicked Emanuel Miller to the curb to make room for Darius Brown II. Miller landed on his feet with the San Antonio Spurs shortly after. The same cannot be said of Brown, who replaced him on the Cavaliers roster. His time with the franchise has come to an end.
The Cavaliers released Brown from his two-way spot to make room for Olivier Sarr. Michael Scotto reported the deal on Tuesday evening after sources let HoopsHype know of the move.
For those wondering about the name connection, yes, Olivier is indeed the older brother of Washington Wizards sophomore Alexandre Sarr. The latter was a highly-touted top-five pick in a weak draft class. The former has been hanging around the fringes of the NBA, with the majority of that time coming as a part of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
At 27 years old, the clock is certainly ticking on Sarr to establish himself as an NBA-ready talent. The Cavaliers are not the Thunder, but this should also be a difficult roster to crack. Sarr is unlikely to have an impact this season, but Cleveland will kick the tires on someone who may be able to help down the line.
Cavaliers will hope developing Olivier Sarr can turn into a long-term boost
After all the trade deadline maneuvers and converting Nae'Qwan Tomlin to a standard deal, the Cavaliers roster is full for this season. They look completely settled on the team they want to bring into the NBA Playoffs for a title push. As such, Sarr will not make a significant dent into those plans.
If the newly-acquired big man can stick around for a longer duration than some of the other players who quickly departed from Cleveland of late, there may be some room for him on future versions of the Cavaliers.
The Cavs will have to continually wrestle with financial hurdles. Having cheap players who can contribute is more valuable than ever in the NBA due to the current CBA and that dreaded second apron. That is what they will be aiming to get here.
Sarr has not overwhelmed anyone with his talent to this point of his career. At the NBA level, the former Thunder big man averaged 4.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks per game, shooting 56.0 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Those numbers naturally bump up at the G League level, but not substantially so. The ability to stretch the court from the big man spots does shine through with him, though.
Perhaps if the Cavaliers need to shed salary in the near future, and face the classic injury troubles that Cleveland has been riddled with in recent years, Sarr might get a chance to prove he belongs on an NBA court. Getting banished from the best team in the NBA is certainly no indictment on ability.