After acquiring Donovan Mitchell to start in their backcourt alongside point guard Darius Garland, the Cavaliers appear to be in no rush to sign Caris LeVert to a contract extension, Michael Scotto said on the latest episode of the HoopsHype podcast.
LeVert is entering the final year of the three-year, $52.5MM extension he signed with Brooklyn back in 2019. He’ll earn approximately $18.8MM in 2022/23.
Prior to the trade for Mitchell, LeVert had been penciled in as Cleveland’s starting shooting guard, but his new role is still to be determined, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, Scotto’s guest on the podcast.
Fedor expects LeVert to be in the mix for the starting small forward spot. If the Cavs instead opt to start Isaac Okoro or someone else at the three, LeVert would be the first man off the bench, serving as the primary initiator and scorer on the second unit.
As Fedor observes, LeVert’s role – and his success in that role – could go a long way toward determining how high the Cavs are willing to go on his next contract, so the team may exercise patience and let him play out the final year of his current deal.
Cleveland would be open to locking up LeVert to an extension if it’s at a team-friendly price, but there’s a feeling within the organization that he’ll want more than the front office is comfortable paying until there’s more clarity on where he fits in following the addition of Mitchell, says Fedor.
LeVert, who turned 28 in August, averaged 13.6 PPG, 3.9 APG, and 3.4 RPG in 19 appearances (29.8 MPG) for Cleveland last season following a midseason trade from the Pacers to the Cavaliers. He missed time due to a foot injury and his shooting averages (.435 FG%, .313 3PT%) were below his career marks, but there’s a sense the former Michigan Wolverine could have more to contribute to the ’22/23 Cavs.
LeVert will be extension-eligible all the way up until June 30, 2023, a day before he officially becomes a free agent, so if the Cavs put off an extension for now, they could still try to get something done during the season.
6th man of the year candidate
Not really, Hero is a lock
“a lock”
Now that”s funny.
No it isn’t. Watch the games, you might learn something.
Trade for a couple 2nd round picks candidate
Whatever.. .. dude sucks. His family are legends in Cleveland and Ohio in general. He’s a fan favorite but I don’t think he would’ve sniffed a starting role if trade wasn’t made
Canton
His family are legends THROUGHOUT OHIO. The Ojays, The Leverts and Gerald Levert.
Which trio of alumni would you rather have as the core of your team if you could have them all in their prime, Jordan Poole/Caris LeVert/Juwan Howard (UM), Stephon Marbury/Thad Young/Chris Bosh (GT), Pat Beverley/Joe Johnson/Corliss Williamson (Ark), Gilbert Arenas/Bennedict Mathurin/Channing Frye (UofA) or Mookie Blaylock/Buddy Hield/Wayman Tisdale (OU)? Rank a top3 if possible…
Doug McDermott/Bol Bol/Brandon Knight
Pretty sure these guys went to 3 dif schools
Woahhh you’re right I had no idea!
No one cares. This has nothing to do with the article.
Article’s abt Caris ain’t it?
Relax. They’re just asking a question. If you don’t want to answer, then don’t. This isn’t serious.
For UofA, I’d probably swap one of those out with RJ. As much as I like Poole and LeVert, I think any three of the Fab Five, which included Howard, would be a good core from UofM. For other schools, I think Duke could give you Kyrie Irving, Christian Laettner and Grant Hill. UNC could give you Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Vince Carter.
so basically you don’t have an answer lol
Would rather have a flying bear as a pet, or be able to turn into a snake at night?
I’d go with the flying bear, imagine the looks on people’s faces when you took it for a “walk”. The snake transformation thing would be limited because you wouldn’t have any arms.
Personally, I prefer the Davidson trio of Steph Curry, his freshman English professor and any one of the women who served him dinner at his dining hall.
I’m shocked. Since they are up agains the cap/tax anyway.
Lames the lot of ya