With the re-signing of sharpshooter Kyle Korver and the additions of veteran point guard Jose Calderon and forward Jeff Green, the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers have 14 men under contract and one roster spot open. That leaves team owner Dan Gilbert and assistant general manager Koby Altman, who have been manning the phone lines since David Griffin’s departure, with a tough decision.
The Cavs, who have roughly $2.4 million remaining on one mid-level exception and another worth $4.8 million, simply don’t have much to offer. In fact, they’ll be over the salary and luxury tax once again, making them what the NBA calls “repeat offenders.”
According to a recent report from Joe Vardon of cleveland.com, the Cavs — at least for now — plan on leaving their 15th roster spot open instead of signing Derrick Williams.
“A source said the Cavs’ immediate plan is to leave the 15th spot open for now, unless a “no brainer” comes along,” Vardon writes. “Cleveland does have interest in bringing back Derrick Williams, but is intent on letting him test the open market.”
After his acquisition from the Miami Heat earlier this year, Williams, a six-year NBA veteran, played in 25 regular season games for the Cavs, where he averaged 6.2 points on a career-best 51 percent shooting from the field (40 percent from beyond the arc) and 2.3 rebounds in 17.1 minutes per contest.
With such a plethora of wing players, Williams might have a hard time finding minutes behind LeBron James, Richard Jefferson, and Green. There is no doubt “D-Will 2,” as the Cavaliers faithful came to know him by, is a talented young player. For now, everyone will just have to wait and see what the future holds for the former No. 2 overall pick.