Once the Cleveland Cavaliers officially sign rookie Cedi Osman, they will have 14 players under contract for the 2017-2018 season. This year the league office added a couple of “two-way” roster spots, where a player can go back and forth from the G-League to their NBA team.
These two spots will most likely be filled with players from the Cavs’ Summer League team with Andrew White, Sir’Dominic Pointer, and T.J. Williams appearing to be the leading contenders.
So currently, the Cavaliers’ depth chart looks like this:
PG – Kyrie Irving, Jose Calderon, Kay Felder
SG – J.R. Smith, Kyle Korver, Iman Shumpert
SF – LeBron James, Cedi Osman, Richard Jefferson
PF – Kevin Love, Channing Frye, Jeff Green
C – Tristan Thompson, Edy Tavares
There are a number of things the Cavs could do with their last spot.
First, they could sign a player right now. The backup center and backup point guard positions could still require attention. Jose Calderon and Kay Felder are uninspiring options behind Kyrie Irving, and both are liabilities defensively. Edy Tavares currently backs up Tristan Thompson, and while he provides elite size and shot-blocking ability, he is very raw and inexperienced, especially offensively.
Some players still on the market at these positions include Derrick Rose, Deron Williams, Brandon Jennings, Ty Lawson, Andrew Bogut, JaVale McGee, Larry Sanders, and Roy Hibbert.
The Cavs could also fill the spot through trade. They have a few trade exceptions remaining, including the Mike Dunleavy TPE worth about $4.5 million, which someone like New York Knicks center Kyle O’Quinn would fit into.
Or, they could keep the 15th spot open, and wait for a player to become available, possibly through buyout. This appears as the most likely scenario for now. The Cavs could become interested in Chicago Bulls star Dwyane Wade as a mid-season addition, as well as New York’s Carmelo Anthony — if he’s still available by then.
Obviously, getting Wade or Anthony would be ideal, but the Cavs may have to end up settling for an addition that makes less of a splash, much like last year when they signed Andrew Bogut and Deron Williams. It’s just hard to imagine both stars opting for way less money to play alongside their pal LeBron James.
The Cavs have plenty of options for their last roster spot, but we’ll just have to wait and see.