The Cavaliers didn’t go shopping for a bigger-name answer in the frontcourt. They brought back Thomas Bryant on a 1-year deal and made their bet on the veteran center, even if the roster math and salary limits helped shape that choice just as much as anything else.
That contract came in at a little over $3.5 million, which puts Bryant among the cheapest rotation-level centers in the league. Cleveland was tight on flexibility when the deal got done, so the front office had to be selective about where it spent and what kind of backup big it could realistically add. Bryant was the practical move.
And there’s a reason he fit the bill. He gives the Cavaliers a skill set that isn’t easy to find at that price, especially from a center spot: perimeter spacing.
Bryant hit the 10th most triples, 44, among reserve centers last season. Most of those makes came above the break, where he shot 39/103, or 37.9%.
He also knocked down about 36.1% of his catch-and-shoot chances, part of why he landed in the 82nd percentile in true shooting percentage at 62.7%.
That shooting is the headliner, but it’s not the only thing he offers. Bryant isn’t really the kind of screen-and-roll big who overwhelms defenses, yet he can still do enough of the dirty work to matter. He finished in the 85th percentile in Screen Assists per 75 possessions and the 98th percentile in Roll man Possessions per 75.
He also held his own in the areas where a reserve center has to survive. Bryant posted 1.15 Points Per Possession as a Pick-And-Roll Rollman and 1.45 Points Per Possession in transition, with that transition number landing in the 96th percentile.
The problem is less about whether Bryant can help and more about where the minutes come from. He’s a true center, and that limits how much lineup flexibility he gives Cleveland. Last season, he played 12.2 minutes per game, and getting him beyond that will take some adjustment.
He can slide in as the first big off the bench when Allen sits, but if the Cavaliers want a larger role for Bryant, they may have to reshape the rotation around him. One path would be cutting into Evan Mobley’s minutes at center and shifting those reps to Bryant.
Mobley logged 2074 total minutes last season, with about 65% of them coming at center when Allen was off the floor. If Cleveland can trim that down to somewhere around 55-60%, Bryant would have a better path to more time at the 5.
The other option is to use Mobley more at the 4, especially with the Cavaliers lacking dependable depth there beyond Mario Hezonja and Nae’Qwan Tomlin. That would open a lane for Bryant without forcing Cleveland to overload him with responsibilities outside his lane.
So the real issue isn’t whether Bryant can be trusted at all. It’s whether the current roster gives him enough room to matter.
Cleveland clearly believed in him when it signed him last offseason. The next step is finding the minutes that let him show why.
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Cavs Have An Urgent Two-Way Decision As New Guard Emerges
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For the Cavaliers, the decision is not just about adding a young guard with some traction around the league. A move for Nembhard would require creating room by moving on from Riley Minix, and the clock matters because Cleveland is not alone in monitoring him. With other teams also interested, the Cavs have an immediate roster-choice to sort through before the market closes around a player whose emergence has made him more than a throw-in name. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Season May Come Down To One Chemistry Problem
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New faces around them should help, especially if the supporting cast can deliver defensive energy and keep the group deeper over the course of the year. Even so, Clevelands ceiling may end up tied to how quickly its main pieces learn one anothers tendencies, because in a crowded Eastern Conference the difference between a promising lineup and a true contender often comes down to chemistry more than reputation. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers May Have Found A Low-Risk Answer On The Wing
Mario Hezonja is back in the NBA conversation after three productive seasons in Europe, where his shooting numbers took a clear step forward. Once a fifth overall draft pick, he now arrives with the kind of rsum that looks different than it did when he first entered the league, and for a Cavaliers team always looking for usable wing depth, that makes him an intriguing name to watch.
The comparison that naturally comes to mind is PJ Tucker, who rebuilt his NBA stock overseas by becoming a dependable jumper and a more versatile defender. Hezonja is not there yet, but the path is easy to see: if his improved shooting translates and he can offer enough toughness on the perimeter, he could end up looking like a low-risk addition with a chance to stick. [Read more 🡒]