Wanted: One Backup Point Guard

It’s the middle of July. The bulk of free agency is over, and the Las Vegas Summer League is wrapping up. Business around the NBA will soon be in as much of a lull as it will be during any time of the year. In the case of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the last few weeks have been a bit more eventful than one might have expected. David Griffin has added Mike Dunleavy Jr. and—allegedly—Chris “Birdman” Andersen to an already veteran roster. Meanwhile Timofey Mozgov and Matthew Dellavedova have moved on to the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks, respectively. The loss of Dellavedova is particularly concerning in that it has created an opening at the backup point guard spot behind Kyrie Irving. How the Cavaliers will fill that spot is the most intriguing question left for the Cavaliers this offseason. The possibilities are many…

LeBron James

Let’s cut to the chase here. Yes, LeBron James will still be the primary playmaker for the Cavaliers, especially when Kyrie Irving is on the bench. That doesn’t mean that the Cavaliers don’t need a solid backup point guard. First off, if James is constantly running the point throughout the season, he could very well be be toast by the playoffs. As much as he likes to control the pace of the game, even James would admit he shouldn’t be putting in the work of bringing the ball up the court and getting the Cavaliers into their offense every single possession, especially considering how much attention he gets moving off the ball. Ideally, the Cavaliers need a backup point guard who can play both on and off the ball, space the floor, and defend his position. You know, like Matthew Dellavedova – when his shot is falling.

Mo Williams

Williams has always been a solid fit alongside James because of his ability to both run an offense and space the floor as a shooter off the ball. His three-point shooting has decline over the last few years, but he’s still adequate there—shooting 35.3% from deep last season—and terrific from midrange. Still, Williams will at times hijack the offense while looking for his own shot, even though it typically doesn’t work out well for the team. This gunning made him a net negative on offense last season in spite of his abilities. He’s also been a poor defender throughout his career, and the poor play at both ends of the court caused Williams to rank 81st out of 83 point guards in Real Plus-Minus last year. Of greater concern—and possibly the cause of his poor play last season—is Williams’s health. He missed much of the second half of last season with knee issues, and as Brian Windhorst reports, he is still considering having knee surgery this summer. As a third point guard Williams is more than qualified, but he simply may not be able to serve as the regular backup at this point in his career.

Kay Felder

Selected by the Cavaliers with the 54th pick in this year’s NBA Draft, Felder has gotten a lot more attention than is typically bestowed upon a late second-round pick. This is partially because of the Cavalier’s lack of young prospects, partially because of the loss of Dellavedova, and partially because of Felder’s extremely impressive college stats. Last season for Oakland University, Felder led the NCAA with 9.3 assists per game and finished third in scoring with 24.4 points per game. He’s also a tremendous athlete whose 44″ max vertical is the second highest ever recorded at the NBA Draft Combine. When you watch Felder in action at the Las Vegas Summer League, you see a player who has an excellent understanding of when to attack and when to set up others. He has tremendous court vision and a variety of moves to get his shot off.

So, what’s the problem? First off, he’s 5’9″ on a good day. The league is going smaller, but not that small. Felder’s lack of size will make it difficult for him to be even a passable defender. To his credit, he has shown a willingness to defend during Summer League, and seems to have good instincts, but in the NBA size matters. Felder has rated as a negative defensively throughout his college career, and it’s hard to see that changing in the NBA. Bigger guards will simply post him up, and it’s difficult to see him switching onto other players. Still, it’s not impossible for him to become a passable defender who gets on the court due to his offensive skills.

But even those skills need some work. Felder is a career 34.5% shooter from the college three-point line, and has struggled to find his outside shot during summer league. If he cannot improve here, opposing teams will simply go under screens and sag off when guarding him, limiting his passing lanes and blocking off any path to the basket. With his lack of size, Felder will not be able to bully his way to the rim or finish over opponents, but he’ll have to find a way to score consistently to establish his place in the league. He’s been impressive in Summer League, but Summer League is not the real NBA. The Cavs obviously see potential in Felder,—Why else would they spend $2.5 million to acquire him?— but if he doesn’t show them he can contribute right away, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Felder spend the year in the D-League much the way 2015 second round pick Sir’Dominic Pointer did last season.

Jordan McRae

McRae may be a surprise on this list, but Cavalier coach Tyronn Lue has said that the team wanted to give him time at backup point guard during Summer League to see if he could help there. At 6’5″ with a seven foot wingspan, McRae’s length makes him an interesting defensive option, although he has never been a plus on that end as a professional. This may be due to his lack of elite athleticism, lack of experience, or contrasting roles as a primary scorer in the D-League and end of the bench player in the NBA. While not the most efficient scorer, McRae has a solid handle and the ability to create his own shot. The Cavaliers could use a player like that coming off their bench, especially if J.R. Smith continues to start at shooting guard over Iman Shumpert. The problem is that McRae simply isn’t a point guard. His natural instinct is to create for himself, often with blinders on, and his assist-to-turnover ratio has never much higher than 1.3:1 in college, the D-League, or the NBA. While some would point out that Kyrie Irving is a scorer first, Irving has had a solid assist-to-turnover ratio throughout his career. He also has better court vision than McRae, even if he doesn’t always use it. None of this is to say the McRae is a ball hog, he isn’t. He’s a shooting guard. There’s no shame in that. He’s played well in Summer League and looks like a legitimate NBA player. The one way this could work would be if the Cavaliers felt they had enough total passing among their second unit with McRae and Shumpert playing alongside smart veterans like Richard Jefferson, Dunleavy, and Channing Frye, but that seems like a bit of a stretch at this point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blBGwuxGgCI

Free Agents

Given the Cavaliers’ limited flexibility and the players available, this is an extremely limited option. The best player available is Ty Lawson, a talented player who was terrible last year and has well-documented off court issues. The Cavs (LeBron) have done a great job keeping J.R. Smith focused, but there’s no need to push their luck. Beyond Lawson, the you’re looking at Steve Blake (0ld), Kirk Hinrich and Andre Miller (really old), Raymond Felton (out of shape), Mario Chalmers (torn Achilles), and the likes of Norris Cole, Shane Larkin, and Nate Robinson (not very good). The best options may be former Cavalier Donald Sloan—coming off a quietly solid season for the Brooklyn Nets—and journeyman Ronnie Price. For those not familiar with Price, he’s 33 years old, a career 37.5% shooter (30.5% from three), and is likely looking for his eighth team in twelve seasons. On the positive side, he’s a very good defender, good enough to finish in the top 30 in overall Real Plus-Minus for point guards in each of the last two seasons (he was fourth in Defensive RPM among point guards last season). Having a good defensive point guard would be nice with Irving and Williams on board, but Price’s lack of offense is hard to cover up, and the Cavs would struggle to play him alongside Shumpert or Tristan Thompson without killing their spacing on offense. The scariest part though, is that most of these guys could well be outside the Cavaliers’ price range. Simply put, free agency won’t deliver the kind of backup point guard the fans—or the Cavaliers—want.

Trade Exception

Once again, it’s time for some brutal honesty. We may have actually found the limits to Dan Gilbert’s willingness to spend. Otherwise the Cavaliers would have simply acquired Channing Frye via the Brendan Haywood trade exception last February and kept Anderson Varejao. They also would’ve matched on the Bucks’ offer sheet to Dellavedova. In all likelihood, the Varejao trade exception—as well as the smaller ones the Cavaliers own—will only be used if they suffer a major injury or negotiations with J.R. Smith take an unexpected turn for the worse. Even if they are willing to use it, plenty of other teams will have the cap space to make a similar deal and likely have more assets to use in a deal than the Cavaliers. Still, if the Cavaliers at some point decide to bite the bullet and use the exception there are a few decent names that could be available. For example, C.J. Watson of the Orlando Magic has been a solid defender and outside shooter for much of his career until dealing with multiple injuries last season. With D.J. Augustin signed to back up Elfird Payton and Jodie Meeks brought in to spell Evan Fournier, Watson becomes an expensive third string point guard at $5 million per season. Trading him would save the Magic money without affecting their rotation. However, it’s unlikely that the Magic couldn’t get more than the Cavaliers could offer, and just as unlikely that the Cavs decide to use the trade exception for a backup point guard unless that spot is absolutely killing them on the court.

Conclusions

There’s not doubt that the Cavaliers’ options at backup point guard are limited, and they may very well be unable to find someone who can match Dellavedova’s play from last season. They’re also likely in no rush to do so. Not only will the Cavs wait until they have had a chance to fully evaluate the play of McRae and Felder, they might not bring in another point guard until the start of training camp. In fact, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see the Cavs go into the season with what they already have on the roster and make a move for a backup point guard later if the need arises. And that’s okay. The Cavs are almost definitely still the best team in the Eastern Conference, and will have plenty to time to make adjustments to the roster before the playoffs begin. Regardless of the approach they take, Matthew Dellavedova will be missed and the backup point guard position is one that will be watched closely all season.