The Cleveland Cavaliers have been relatively quiet this offseason in terms of bringing in big names. The former world champions were heavily linked with superstars Paul George and Jimmy Butler, before both were shipped off to the Western Conference in questionable trades given what the Cavs were reportedly offering.
In saying that, the Cavaliers are still pushing for the services of New York Knicks offensive machine Carmelo Anthony, who may still end up in Northeast Ohio provided everything goes according to plan. Although many Cavs fans have been left deflated by the ongoing saga between the departure of fan favorite and former general manager David Griffin and the lack of big names making their way to Quicken Loans Arena, there have been some quietly nice additions to the roster.
Versatile wing Jeff Green has come into the fray, as well as veteran Jose Calderon to back up Kyrie Irving in the second unit. Whilst these are nice, the most exciting prospect may in fact be relatively unknown European young gun Cedi Osman. Known for his tenacious defense and growing reputation as a “three and D’” player for the Wine and Gold, Osman has gone from strength to strength during his development in Europe.
The Cavaliers faithful is eagerly awaiting to see him in action, but they will have to wait until September as Osman will join the Turkish National Team in this year’s EuroBasket before joining his new teammates in Cleveland, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
Due to his national team commitment, it won’t give him much time to be acquainted with his new team as preseason will commence at the beginning of October. His commitments to Turkey are also the reason why Osman was not featured in the Cavs’ Summer League squad in Las Vegas.
Osman has averaged a healthy 12.7 points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal per game since joining the national team in 2014.
The Cavs have been tracking the progression of their European prospect for some time now, and it’ll be interesting to see how he fares in a significantly faster tempo and more physical league. Cavs fans will have to sit tight and wait a little longer before they see the highly-touted Turkish swingman however.
