The Cleveland Cavaliers are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with a 26-15 record, but they have lots of room for improvement.
The small forward or wing position is surrounded by lots of uncertainty, and the team’s bench is also a concern.
The Cavs rank 27th in the NBA in bench points per game, and that is something that has to drastically improve if they’re to become serious championship contenders any time soon.
With the NBA’s trade deadline about a month away, it has been reported that Cleveland is interested in trading for Dallas Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr.
Chris Fedor of https://t.co/3v1RgxqP15 is reporting that the Cavaliers have Tim Hardaway Jr. on their “wishlist” as the NBA Trade Dealine approaches.#MFFL pic.twitter.com/6o9ZIcRo8X
— All Things Mavs (@All_Things_Mavs) January 8, 2023
Could Hardaway be the answer to the Cavs’ bench woes?
An Iffy Option
In some ways, Hardaway, a 10-year veteran, is a proven scorer, as he owned a career scoring average of 13.9 points per game going into Dallas’ Sunday contest versus the Oklahoma City Thunder.
At 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, Hardaway can play both the shooting guard and small forward positions, which makes him seem like the perfect positional fit for Cleveland.
However, the team should take a long and hard look at his overall game.
Hardaway is not a very efficient player, and although he is shooting a solid 36.2 percent from 3-point range this season, he is at only 38.7 percent overall on the year and 42.0 percent on his career.
The Cavs rank 10th in offensive rating, a mark they will need to improve on to mount a serious challenge to the Eastern Conference’s elite teams come playoff time.
At this point, it looks like Bojan Bogdanovic, another player the Cavs have been linked to, would be a better option, although he would also be a more costly option.
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