The start of NBA free agency is right around the corner and the Cleveland Cavaliers have to determine just what they will do when it comes to Caris LeVert. LeVert is set to become an unrestricted free agent and his free agency really feels like a fork in the road. There are other decisions the Cavs have to make and the decision on LeVert seems destined be the first domino to fall.
The soon-to-be 29-year old guard has spent the last season and a half in Cleveland mostly in a reserve role. LeVert’s time in Cleveland has not been the smoothest, with mixed results being the kindest way to refer to what he has been able to provide.
Conceptually, having Caris LeVert come off the bench for the Cavs makes sense. Having a player who can come in with his lone and primary objective being to score points seems like the perfect match. A pretty big issue arises when LeVert sees time on the court at the same time as any other primary ball-handling guard and the offense sort of breaks down. LeVert by himself is one thing. But LeVert with one or more of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, and/or Ricky Rubio just does not work. Ideally they would go with one or the other here and not try to make all of these pieces work together.
This is not about the Cavs starting backcourt
The focus here should be Caris LeVert in conjunction with one or both starters and/or Rubio. There is a very apparent overlap in what LeVert brings to the table and what Cleveland gets out of the others. This ends up falling into the category of the department of redundancy department and that can be a big problem when building a roster with limited spots available.
There is no reason to expect the Cavs to move on from Garland or Mitchell at this time. With that in mind, the focus moves to the bench players. Rubio has two more years left on his deal while LeVert is a free agent. With so many other non-backcourt needs in Cleveland and who is and who is not under contract, the answer is relatively simple. Let LeVert walk and add different types of players to supplement the roster elsewhere.
