After signing shooting guard Dwyane Wade and waiving small forward JaCorey Williams, a player that the Cleveland Cavaliers just signed on Tuesday, the Cavs’ training camp roster is set at 20 players.
While the core of LeBron James, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith are still, without a doubt, part of the Cavs regular season and playoff rotations, there are quite a few new faces who are key pieces to the Cavaliers’ championship puzzle. Wade, Derrick Rose, Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder can also be considered core players for the Cavs, while Kyle Korver is another player that will be in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ rotation.
This is a rotation that will feature six guards, a fact that makes it easy to see James and Love playing more power forward and center this season, respectively. Crowder, who can be interchanged with Richard Jefferson or Jeff Green depending on the matchups, actually makes it possible for James to defend his natural position of small forward because of his ability to guard power forwards.
Rookie Cedi Osman, a small forward who has the potential to develop into a rotation player for the Cavs (though, not this season), is a player whose youth could be his greatest strength. He’ll likely get playing time when James DNP’s and that experience will help him in the future, with Green on a one-year deal and Jefferson nearing retirement. Second-year pro Kay Felder has fallen behind even veteran Jose Calderon on the depth chart, likely because he hasn’t demonstrated the ability to control the flow of the offense or score efficiently. Felder needs to do a better job of playing inside himself but he does have the potential to be a solid rotational point guard, especially now that he’s able to learn directly from another undersized point guard in Thomas.
With Iman Shumpert and Channing Frye a constant topic of trade speculation, there’s uncertainty about how long they’ll be on the roster. However, even though it looks like their spots in the rotation have been taken, they’re two of the best locker room guys in the league and both can come in as three-point threats if a teammate is struggling behind the line.
The best aspect of Frye being on the court varies from giving the Cavs the ability to create space by drawing bigs out to the perimeter to an incredible basketball IQ that leads to easy buckets for himself and others. Shumpert is a player who can surprise on offense from time-to-time but whose specialty is his defensive versatility on the perimeter. While Thomas is out, Shumpert will likely get playing time at shooting guard though his minutes could be matchup-based.
If Shumpert is indeed traded, John Holland is a player to watch after being signed to a two-way contract earlier this month. He’s another versatile perimeter player who, frankly, could be better on both offense and defense though he hasn’t proven himself as Shumpert has.
Edy Tavares, Ante Zizic and Kendrick Perkins are all traditional centers the Cleveland Cavaliers can use for rim-protection and intimidation. Perkins’ experience could give him the edge over the others in training camp. However, Tavares is the most intimidating shot-blocker and Zizic shows the most potential.
Only 17 players can be on the Cleveland Cavaliers roster with two of those roster spots belonging to two-way players. Holland is already one of the two-way players. That likely leaves Felder, Tavares and Zizic to battle it out for the remaining two-way contract.
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