At 15-5, the Cavaliers remain in first place in the Eastern Conference, having defeated the second-place Raptors three times already. Still, head coach Tyronn Lue has been forced to play some players out of position and have Kyrie Irving and LeBron James spend some time on the floor with the second unit due to a lack of a clear-cut backup point guard, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Without a go-to option for that spot, Lue says he has had to keep changing things up, rather than sitting back and let everyone play a specific role.
“It’s going to take more than that, until, you know, we get a backup point guard,” Lue said. “When we get a backup point guard, we can understand what our rotation’s gonna be. We don’t have to switch it on a night-to-night basis, so our team can get in a better flow.”
A year ago, the Cavs’ championship team featured Matthew Dellavedova and Mo Williams backing up Irving at the point. However, Dellavedova signed a four-year offer sheet with the Bucks that the Cavs decided not to match, and Williams abruptly decided to retire at the start of training camp this fall, leaving Cleveland short-handed at the position.
“It’s part of the business. Delly got $39MM, so for us to match that would’ve been tough,” Lue said. “When guys play well and perform, you want to see guys get paid. I mean he competed, he put his work in, got better and better each year, so you can’t be mad about that. The amount he got was tough. We thought Mo Williams was coming back, so, it’s not like it’s on the organization. … We felt Mo Williams was coming back, he said he was coming back to play, and then all of a sudden he didn’t, so it kind of put us in a bind.”
Williams technically remains on the Cavs’ 15-man roster, but after his sudden retirement, his decision to undergo knee surgery, and comments he made suggesting no one cared about his health but him, there’s little chance of him suiting up again for the team. He’s still under contract because Cleveland has been unable to agree to a buyout, and may use his contract to help accommodate a trade.
Meanwhile, Kay Felder, a 2016 second-rounder, could eventually develop into a solid backup for Irving, but he’s not ready to assume that role yet, so the Cavs will likely explore the trade market for a possible solution in the coming weeks, writes Vardon. There are also a few options in free agency, including Mario Chalmers, a former teammate of LeBron’s in Miami. Chalmers continues to recover from an Achilles injury and is expected to be ready to contribute to a team soon, though it’s not clear if the Cavs would have any interest in him.
Nice way to put it on Mo.
If Ty Lue were a good coach, he would know how to utilize the Cavs best roster they have EVER had. Its a versatile roster, and addressed their 2 main needs, in help on the wing, and a rim protector that can guard pick and roll and finish at the rim. Dunleavy shouldnt be seeing DNPs. Liggins can contribute defensively against multiple positions, and he can also be a facilitator off the bench, if need be. This roster, when healthy, is too good and versatile to be complaining about lack of a true backup PG. They have multiple options to facilitate and play make in the 2nd unit, even if they changeup the minutes allocation to LeBron and Kyrie to have one of them in there with that unit. AND Felder should be an option himself. For his size, he can defend at that position, which is more than fine for what else they have on the floor.
I’m sure they’re interested in Norris Cole or Rio, but it remains to be seen if Rio can still guard that position after his achilles injury, and his 3 pt percentage has been in decline the last couple of years. Meanwhile Norris has struggled from 3 himself, so he’d be a slightly upgraded version of Felder, who is older and costs more money, although he is probably even better than he is defensively