The Cavaliers added Peyton Watson, but the move didn’t solve the problem hovering over the roster. Cleveland had to move on from Dennis Schroder, and sending out Tre Mann did little to ease a point guard situation that already looked thin.
That leaves Kenny Atkinson in a tricky spot. If the Cavs don’t find another answer, Donovan Mitchell may be asked to handle the ball more often and function as the point guard more than he usually does. The issue is that Mitchell can pass, but running the offense is a different job altogether.
Mitchell has averaged 4.8 assists per game in his career and pushed that mark to 5.7 last season. In the playoffs, that number falls to 4.4. His assists have also trended downward every year in Cleveland, from 7.2 to 4.7, 3.9, and 3.1 last season.
That decline doesn’t mean Mitchell is unwilling to share the ball. Last year’s dip may also have been tied to playing alongside a ball-dominant player like James Harden. Even so, it points to the limits of asking him to be more than a scorer who can create when needed.
Mitchell can run pick-and-rolls, attack the paint and kick out to shooters, and he does try to involve teammates. His hero-ball moments usually come from desperation or a heat check, not from refusing to trust the people around him.
Still, there’s a real difference between being able to make a pass and being a floor general. Mitchell is not especially equipped to set the table and direct an offense possession after possession, and most of his assists look more like the product of natural playmaking than of orchestrating the whole thing.
The league has seen this kind of experiment before, and it usually doesn’t hold up. Devin Booker isn’t a point guard, Bradley Beal isn’t a point guard, and Donovan Mitchell isn’t a point guard either. His size doesn’t change that.
There’s also the defensive side of the equation. Keeping Mitchell and Harden on the floor together helps Cleveland offensively, but it puts a strain on the backcourt defense. Staggering their minutes makes sense, yet that creates another problem when Harden sits and the team still needs someone to organize the offense.
That’s why the Cavaliers’ backup point guard issue remains so important. They clearly don’t trust Craig Porter Jr., and Tyrese Proctor is more of a shooter than a playmaker, though he deserves a chance.
If Cleveland doesn’t make more changes, and if better options at the position never materialize, the Cavs may end up asking Mitchell to step outside what he does best and do a job he may not be built for.
In Other News...
Cavs Just Created Another Roster Squeeze Fans Need To Watch
The Cavaliers are already making another quick roster adjustment after waiving forward Cam Whitmore, a player they had only acquired eight days earlier in the five-team deal that brought him to Cleveland. Whitmore, a 2023 first-round pick, is expected to clear waivers and become an unrestricted free agent, which makes this less about his fit in the short term and more about the teams larger offseason bookkeeping as the front office keeps trying to balance talent, flexibility and a crowded roster.
Cleveland plans to use the stretch provision on Whitmores contract, a move that opens up another layer of maneuvering for the Cavs as they continue sorting out salary-cap space. The next step could be just as telling, with the team also considering a draft-rights rookie signing to help manage the roster count, a sign that every slot is getting closely monitored as the Cavaliers keep reshaping the back end of the bench. [Read more 🡒]
How One Cavs Trade Five Years Ago Changed Everything
Five years ago, the Cavaliers were still trying to thread the needle between a rebuild and a reset when they sent Larry Nance Jr. to Portland in a three-team deal that brought Lauri Markkanen to Cleveland from Chicago. At the time, it looked like one of those moves meant to add size, shooting and a little more long-term flexibility to a roster still searching for an identity.
What came next is what really changed the franchises trajectory. Markkanens rise in Utah helped set the stage for another major swing, and the Cavs eventually packaged Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji, Markkanen and draft picks to land Donovan Mitchell, a move that has since given Cleveland the kind of centerpiece it had been chasing. The two trades are connected in a way that still shapes the roster today, even if one of the key names involved ended up becoming an All-Star elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers Suddenly Need Sam Merrill For A Much Bigger Role
Max Strus leaving Cleveland creates more than just a hole in the rotation. He was one of the Cavaliers most useful connective pieces, someone who helped bridge the backcourt and frontcourt while giving the team reliable perimeter shooting, rebounding, defense and a steady voice on the floor. Losing a player who could do a little bit of everything changes the shape of a roster, especially for a team that leaned on his versatility in so many different game states.
That is why Sam Merrill suddenly matters a lot more. The Cavaliers are looking inward for answers, and Merrills shooting and ability to move around the lineup give him a real chance to absorb some of the responsibilities Strus leaves behind. Whether he can expand from useful specialist to bigger-minute fixture will go a long way toward telling Cleveland how it plans to keep that part of its attack intact. [Read more 🡒]