It is no secret that the Cavaliers are in dire need of a back up point guard or ball handler with some more experience and ability to run the show when LeBron James and Kyrie Irving aren’t in the game. Although we have run the gamut of potential trade targets the Cavaliers could or already have pursued including T.J. McConnell, Shelvin Mack, Jameer Nelson, Rajon Rondo and even Deron Williams, the Cavaliers have very little in the way of flexibility or assets to make a trade come to fruition.
That means their most realistic option may be signing a veteran guard who is on the open market, which is why they are holding a workout for a few interesting names.
The Cavaliers are slated to work out Mario Chalmers, Lance Stephenson and Kirk Hinrich on Wednesday according to ESPN.
Cavaliers to work out Kirk Hinrich, Lance Stephenson and Mario Chalmers tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/8LgKwVfaaH
— Cleveland SportsTalk (@CLEsportsTalk) January 31, 2017
Chalmers appears to be fully recovered from the Achilles injury he suffered last March while playing for the Memphis Grizzlies, Lance Stephenson is recovered from a groin surgery in November that caused him to be waived by the New Orleans Pelicans and Hinrich hasn’t played in the NBA since last May as a member of the Atlanta Hawks in the 2016 NBA Playoffs.
The Cavaliers could open up a roster spot to sign one of these guys by waiving center Chris Andersen, who is out for the season with a torn ACL injury.
Chalmers would seem to have the inside track if he looks good as he is a true point guard that played with LeBron for four years in Miami (and often drew his wrath). He has proven to be a big game player at times with the ability to hit a timely shot in crunch time.
Stephenson would be the most interesting choice as he is a play maker but not a traditional point guard and would be the hardest to integrate into the locker room. He also has the highest ceiling to contribute and it would be great to see him piss off the Warriors with antics and play nice with his former mortal enemy in LeBron James.
Hinrich is the safest pick. He is the oldest at 36 but he is the best shooter of the three and the only one not coming off an injury or flaming out of numerous NBA stops. He also has a reputation in NBA circles for notoriously saving his best performances for national television games.
Although Nelson or Mack would be the ideal pick-up, if a trade can’t be worked out the Cavaliers will need to sign one of these three and probably will within the next few days. My hunch says Chalmers gets the nod, but I feel like the NBA and the 2017 NBA Playoffs would be even more interesting if Born Ready is suiting up for the Cavs with all of his antics, mayhem and entertainment value on display.
