The Cleveland Cavaliers are holding out hope that LeBron James will pick them in free agency. James continues to take a long time in making a decision, with his camp reiterating that there are many layers to it.
Many believe that returning to Cleveland would be the best move for the 41-year-old forward. It would be a full-circle moment and storybook ending to his illustrious career, including giving the Cavaliers their first title in 2016 in an improbable run.
But aside from James, the Cavaliers are also looking into other options to shore up their roster, including talent outside the NBA, according to The Stein Line’s Marc Stein and Jake Fischer.
“League sources maintain that the Cavaliers are among the teams that have registered interest in former No. 5 overall pick Mario Hezonja,” wrote Stein and Fischer.
“The Real Madrid forward has made it clear that he wants to return to the NBA after playing in Europe for the past six seasons and the last four in the Spanish capital. So add Hezonja’s name to the list of potential fallback options for Cleveland, along with (Atlanta) Hawks free agent Jonathan Kuminga.”
Hezonja last played in the NBA in 2o20 with the Portland Trail Blazers. He averaged 4.8 points and 3.5 assists in 16.4 minutes.
The athletic forward from Croatia was drafted by the Orlando Magic in 2015. He was chosen ahead of guys like Devin Booker, Kelly Oubre Jr., Norman Powell, Myles Turner, and Bobby Portis.
Hezonja was traded to the New York Knicks in 2018 before landing in Portland a year after.
Incidentally, Hezonja’s best highlight in the NBA was arguably his game-saving block against James in 2019 at Madison Square Garden.