The Cleveland Cavaliers are in dire need of another playmaker, or at the very least someone who can backup Kyrie Irving at the point guard position.
Could the answer be former Cavalier, Mo Williams?
It is being reported that Williams is interested in making a return to Cleveland. He played for the Cavaliers from 2008-10 and helped lead them to a 66-16 record during his first year with the team. He has since bounced around the league, but saw immense success with the Charlotte Hornets at the end of this past season, averaging 17.2 points per game while taking over point guard duties for the injured Kemba Walker.
The Cavaliers would be wise to entertain the idea of a Williams return, as Kyrie Irving’s injury history stresses the need for a solid backup point guard. Cleveland had to rely on the relatively surprising, Matthew Dellavedova during the final two rounds of the playoffs, but the St. Mary’s product faltered as the NBA Finals went on.
Dellavedova is going to be a restricted free agent, and the Cavs have the option of re-signing him if they want. However, his high energy play will certainly garner a lot of interest amongst NBA team’s, and keeping a limited offensive player such as Delly on the roster might not be an affordable decision.
It’s possible Williams might replace Delly as the Cavs second point guard. He could return to the Cavs for a relatively cheap price. His last contract was valued at $3,750,000 making it quite plausible that the Cavs can afford signing the veteran to a similar, if not cheaper, deal.
The Cavaliers face a plethora of decisions for the upcoming free agency period. It’s possible that Cleveland will have to pay Tristan Thompson max money, and the trio of Kevin Love, J.R. Smith and Mike Miller all have the option of opting in for the final year of their contracts. The team also has to re-sign defensive minded guard, Iman Shumpert.
The Cavs aren’t going to be able to afford too many new additions to their roster. If Love, Shumpert, Smith, Miller and Thompson all return there won’t be a lot of space left for signing free agents. The team does have Brendan Haywood’s massive contract to trade, and that could be used to acquire another scorer or two quality bench options.
Although, to get Mo Williams the Cavs are going to have to get creative. It’s unlikely that he will sign for the veteran minimum, so G.M. David Griffin will need to have a plan in place to add Williams to the roster.
And unfortunately for Cavs fans, that might mean saying goodbye to the man, that they have affectionately come to call Delly.