Cavaliers poised for leap after roster shuffle
The acquisition of Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz has the Cleveland Cavaliers positioned to make some noise in the Eastern Conference.
The roster construction of the second post-LeBron era has been a slow buildup for the Cavaliers. That was until the Cavs made the blockbuster trade landing Donovan Mitchell from the Jazz. Cleveland sent Collin Sexton, Lauri Markannen, and the recently drafted Ochai Agbaji in addition to multiple draft picks in exchange for Mitchell. This course of action has been seen as aggressive, but in the end it was absolutely necessary.
One of the most important parts of roster building is being able to properly evaluate the team. Identifying the limitations or issues fit-wise of certain players is paramount to a team’s success. The player being referenced here is Sexton. While Sexton did show some early promise, it became quite evident what his proper role is. Not as a starter, but as a sixth man type on a good team. Sexton’s offensive style is better fitted for this as structured offensive sets are usually loosened up while the starters are not in the game. This gives players like Sexton the opportunity to focus on scoring and scoring only.
Prior to the trade there was a logjam of players on the roster which needed to be cleared out. It would be incredibly hard to justify having Sexton, Agbaji, Ricky Rubio, and Caris LeVert on this team. Upgrading the two guard by turning two players vying for playing time into Mitchell while also removing Markannen from the equation allows proper minutes distribution. These are the types of decisions which takes an average team to good and hopefully great. While not exactly the same, this deal is reminiscent of the Golden State Warriors moving Monta Ellis in order to acquire Andrew Bogut. Golden State took a high usage rate guard out of the mix in order to set the table for Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in future years in addition to the obvious instant lineup improvement with adding Bogut. The Cavs will not go on the type of run the Warriors eventually did, however they are still expected to take that next step forward that is necessary to being a factor in the Eastern Conference.
If the Cavaliers would have stood pat with the roster they had, pegging them for a similar finish as last season seems about right. Now that the Cavaliers have an upgraded roster the expectation is playoffs. Not the play-in “postseason but not playoffs” tournament, an actual playoff spot. With how the team is currently constructed the Cavaliers are going to be a force in the east and be relevant without LeBron for the first time in a quarter century.
