Cavs bench talent has negated second-apron penelties

The Cleveland Cavaliers are the only second-apron team in the league. As part of the new CBA, being a second-apron team comes with more trade restrictions, salary restrictions, and the potential of having draft picks frozen if a team reaches repeat offender status.

The Cavs’ second-apron clock started after the trade for De’Andre Hunter last trade deadline and the extensions of Evan Mobley and Sam Merrill. With Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland making max money, and Jarrett Allen and Max Strus making a combined $36 million this season, Cleveland has a lot of money tied up in their core for the foreseeable future.

This makes finding role players on affordable contracts even more crucial. Hitting on draft picks and finding undrafted players is also key to extending the longevity of the team. So far, the Cavs have done a masterful job on both fronts.

The Merrill contract appears to be a steal so far. He is making less than $10 million a year and is averaging nearly 14 points per game on 44% shooting from three-point range. Guys with his level of production make close to $15 million a year, with Duncan Robinson, Corey Kispert, Luke Kennard, and others making more money than Merrill with similar or worse production.

As for their other young guys, Cleveland’s youth movement has been on full display this season. Jaylon Tyson, who was expected to be relied upon this season to fill the void of Strus and Isaac Okoro, has done his part and more.

Tyson is turning into a great all-around wing. He is averaging 11.1 points and 4.5 rebounds, while shooting 50.8% from the field and nearly 46.9% from three-point range. He has been a defensive pest and has been one of the Cavs’ best point of attack options. The wing spot was once a weakness on Cleveland’s roster. When they are healthy, they’ll have multiple options in Tyson, Hunter, Strus, Dean Wade, and even Lonzo Ball, who has played 142 possessions at small forward with great results.

Craig Porter Jr., who was challenged by Kenny Atkinson in the offseason to take his game to the next level, has answered the bell. He has been a sparkplug off the bench, living in passing lanes, and even blocking shots at a high level. Offensively, he has been even more poised, and his IQ when it comes to finding his shot has improved as well.

Tyrese Proctor and Nae’Qwan Tomlin were both expected to spend the majority of this season in the G League, but have been thrust into the rotation on certain nights. Tomlin, specifically, has likely played himself into a standard contract. He has been a ball of energy for a Cleveland team that has been stuck in the mud at times this season, and his ability to crash the glass and have a high motor defensively has made him a rotation mainstay recently. The Cavs have a great 106.8 defensive rating when he is on the court.

For Proctor, he has been in and out of the rotation, but he’s shown that he can be a capable secondary ball handler. Having multiple guards that can handle pressure is what Cleveland needs, especially after Indiana exploited that weakness in the offseason. Atkinson has gushed about the fact that Proctor is a first-round talent the Cavs got in the second round, and he has shown flashes of that.

When Cleveland gets healthy, none of their main bench guys will be making over $10 million per season aside from either Hunter or Strus. Having multiple key contributors on affordable deals will be the name of the game for the Cavs if they want to keep the core four together. So far, they have done a good job of navigating the second apron in terms of filling out the back half of the rotation.