1. Lance Stephenson
Stephenson has had a crazy couple of seasons. First, the Indiana Pacers balked at giving him a big deal after he was able to go toe-to-toe with James for a few games before his strange antics ultimately cost Indiana the series against Miami.
Then, he had two poor showings for both the Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Clippers for nearly two full seasons, thus confirming several experts’ opinions that Stephenson was simply too volatile to be successful in the NBA.
But the Clippers finally traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies at the end of last season, and he began once again to flourish, averaging 14.2 points per game in 26 games for the Grizzlies.
The fact of the matter is that Stephenson clearly needs to be housed in an extremely stable franchise with a ton of veteran leadership in order to succeed. Memphis has that in players like Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph.
Well, the Cavs are not short of those things either with players like LeBron James, Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye and James Jones. With Stephenson not being asked to lead a squad in any meaningful way, he has the ability to flourish.
As far as the salary cap goes, Stephenson could be a great candidate to receive the full mid-level exception, or there is even the option of renouncing James’ rights in order to free up some more cap space. In that scenario, James would still be able to become a max player next offseason should he opt out of what is likely going to be a two-year deal with a player option.
Stephenson is a risk due to his history of behavioral issues, but he is a massively underrated wing player capable of defending multiple positions as well as an adequate scorer off the bench.
The risk is obvious, but that risk seems worth it to many, simply because Stephenson is just 25-years-old. He is still a young player, and clearly needs time and the right situation in order to mature into an NBA veteran. The Cavs have the infrastructure to do that, as they’ve proven by taking on a player like Smith, and they could do it again for Stephenson.
The gamble may be worth it because if Stephenson lives up to his potential, he is likely one of the best remaining free agents on the market, and comes at a much cheaper cost than he could ultimately be worth.
