The Cleveland Cavaliers may be the deepest team in the NBA.
That's a bold statement to make, especially with the Golden State Warriors playing a 12-man rotation, and the Oklahoma City Thunder having waves of talented players. Yet walk down the entire Cleveland roster and you get players who deserve to be in the rotation.
The reality is that not everyone can play once the Cavaliers are back at full strength. Having players step up to ensure the Cavs weather the storm of injuries has been invaluable and will continue to be needed over a grueling 82-game schedule (although not quite a grueling as the first month was for Cleveland) but when and if this team gets healthy, head coach Kenny Atkinson will have some difficult decisions to make.
Let's try and help him out. Going through the entire roster, which players are most valuable to the rotation, and who is less needed - even if they are talented and capable - and could therefore find themselves outside of the full-strength rotation? Let's start at the top and work our way to Tristan Thompson.
No. 1: Evan Mobley
It's a difficult decision to make at the top of the roster, as the Cavaliers have two pairs of elite players, making every player on the roster somewhat redundant because of a ready-made replacement at a star level. It was tempting even to put a key role player at No. 1 for this very reason.
We will place Evan Mobley in the top spot, however, because his versatility as an offensive hub and a defensive monster are truly special and cannot be fully replicated by Jarrett Allen. The Cavaliers have to play a different way when Mobley misses time, and their highest ceiling as an offense is with Mobley running in transition and playmaking and finishing inside.
No. 2: Donovan Mitchell
Ostensibly the best player on the Cavaliers' roster, Donovan Mitchell is a high-octane offensive superstar, and their ceiling as both an offense and a playoff team depends on whether he can score efficiently against anything the defense throws at him.
He has had an up-and-down start to the season and seems to be (secretly) nursing some sort of injury, but he still routinely rises above that to score in massive bursts, often in the fourth quarter of games. His explosion to the rim, when he chooses to unleash it, is electrifying, and he has improved as a playmaker running the offense.
No. 3: Darius Garland
An offense with one on-bal star surrounded by shooters with a rim-running big man is an effective one, but it's not likely to be good enough to excel against the highest of competition. To win multiple rounds in the playoffs the Cavaliers need at least two on-ball stars, and that's where Darius Garland has been shining this season.
He is off to an excellent start, his struggles against the Boston Celtics notwithstanding, and has often been the closer for Cleveland instead of Mitchell. He is the team's best passer and the best shooter behind Sam Merrill, and his ability to make an impact on-and-off-ball allows him to scale up next to another on-ball star like Mitchell. Defensively a small backcourt presents problems, but on offense both Garland and Mitchell can thrive together.
No. 4: Dean Wade
Now it's time for the highly controversial pick. There is exactly one player on the roster who unlocks the very best lineups for the Cleveland Cavaliers - and it's not Jarrett Allen, for all that he is an All-Star level talent as a two-way center and significantly more talented than Wade.
What Wade provides is a forward who can play multiple positions and, most importantly, defend multiple positions at a high level. He is a willing shooter, and while he isn't a deadeye marksman he is defended on the perimeter and that opens up space inside. He is always among the team's plus-minus leaders and fills a role no one else does at the same level. Caris LeVert or Max Strus can play at the 4 but they are extremely outsized, and Georges Niang is a defensive sieve for all that he tries hard.
Dean Wade is unique on the roster and the Cavaliers' best lineup has him at the 4. That makes him vital to the rotation.
No. 5: Jarrett Allen
On most other teams, Jarrett Allen would be a truly vital player. On the Cavaliers, however, he is extremely redundant, and lineups with both Allen and Evan Mobley are merely good, not elite. Despite being a tremendous defensive player with underrated touch around the basket and bone-crushing screen-setting, on this particular team he isn't truly vital, so he slips to No. 5 on the list.
No. 6: Max Strus
It is easy to forget how important Max Strus was to the Cavaliers' starting lineup when he came to the team last season, but he fits excellently as the small forward connecting the on-ball guards with the non-shooting bigs. If the Cavs had a true 3-and-D small forward elsewhere on the roster it may make Strus less vital, but the other options are a step worse at that role than Strus. When he comes back from injury he will be a rotational mainstay.
No. 7: Caris LeVert
There is a step down from Max Strus to a trio of players who all play an important role, but it's hard to sort through who is the most valuable. We'll tap in Caris LeVert, who has reinvented his entire game to fit as a role player alongside better on-ball players. He has improved as a shooter, locked in on defense and remains a gifted playmaker and finisher.
No. 8: Ty Jerome
It is hard to quantify how valuable a true backup point guard is until you don't have one, but the Cavaliers struggled last season and forced players to step out of their comfort zones. Ty Jerome has been a revelation this season, shooting lights out, defending hard and proving to be a savvy initiator of the offense who can back up Darius Garland and play alongside any of the stars. He is rising up this list as he continues to ball out.
No. 9: Isaac Okoro
Of all of the players mentioned thus far, none of them are elite backcourt defenders; Darius Garland is improved, Caris LeVert can hold his own, Ty Jerome plays hard. Isaac Okoro, however, is a lockdown perimeter defender who can allow the Cavs to execute a number of defensive schemes because of his ability to pick up fullcourt, to shadow, to rotate or to lock. Add in his improved jumpshot and he was a solid option to start at the 3 in Strus's absence.
No. 10: Sam Merrill
Having a deadeye shooter in the rotation is extremely valuable, as it puts stress on opposing defenses and opens up space for his teammates to thrive. The Cavs' depth on the wing makes him a little less valuable, and defensively he can be exploited, but he is a bomber with volume and accuracy and no one else on the roster fills that niche.
No. 11: Georges Niang
It's weird to see Georges Niang this far down the list given that he is an every-night rotation player, but at full strength it's very possible he is pushed outside of the rotation. His shooting at power forward is valuable to unlock lineups next to either Evan Mobley or Jarrett Allen, but his limited skillset overall, lack of athleticism and defensive shortcomings equal a player who probably won't be playing much in the playoffs unless Dean Wade is injured.
No. 12: Craig Porter Jr.
Craig Porter Jr. has proven himself a capable backup point guard and would be a rotation lock on more than half of the teams in the NBA, but with Garland, Mitchell and Ty Jerome on the roster he isn't an every-night player. At the same time, he has displayed a versatility to fill roles other than purely the backup point guard, improving as a shooter and even running plays as the screener against the Celtics. He deserves minutes, even if he won't receive them.
No. 13: Jaylon Tyson
The Cavaliers' rookie first-round pick had a monster game in his first career start and may already be a player demanding a spot in the rotation. The problem is his combination of experience and a questionable jumpshot. Yet the two-way player who thrived in a large role against the Pelicans looks ready for a larger role.
No. 14: Tristan Thompson
Tristan Thompson is likely a great locker room presence, and he has veteran savvy that makes him a reasonable emergency big. He has no place in the rotation unless one of the two centers is out, however, and even then Kenny Atkinson has gone to some lineups with Dean Wade at center so as not to play Thompson. Lineups tend to fall behind quickly when he is on the court.