Shortly before noon on Monday morning, news came down the wire stating that the Cavs have exercised their third-year option on Ante Zizic, which means the Croatian-born center will remain with the team through the 2019-20 season.
The Cavs, who are off to an 0-6 start this season, had until October 31st to make a decision with regards to Zizic.
Zizic, now 21 years of age, came to the Cavs by way of a trade with the Boston Celtics in the summer of 2017 — the same trade that sent Kyrie Irving to Beantown.
In his five appearances with the Cavs this season, Zizic has racked up averages of 3.4 points on 66.7 percent shooting from the field and 2.0 rebounds in 6.8 minutes per outing.
What sort of role Zizic will play going forward remains to be seen. He hasn’t been used much in the early stages of this season. However, with Kevin Love out of commission for up to a month with foot issues, Zizic could see an up-tick in minutes.
Zizic played well for the Cavs in this year’s Summer League tournament, though he only made two appearances. Against the Washington Wizards, he posted 16 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists in 27 minutes of action. He followed that up with a 25-point, 11-rebound performance against the Chicago Bulls.
The Cavs have been high on Zizic for quite a while, and rightfully so. He works hard on every possession, and now that he’s on-board for a few more years, Cleveland’s coaching staff will be looking to further develop his game.
The Cavs will be back in action on Tuesday night, when they’ll welcome the Atlanta Hawks to Quicken Loans Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. EST with FOX Sports Ohio having live broadcast coverage.
