Cavaliers Could Consider DeMar DeRozan After Missing on LeBron James

All offseason long, the talk surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers has had to do with a potential LeBron James return. For much of the offseason, the Cavaliers have been viewed as the front-runner to bring James home.

Unfortunately, those dreams are not going to become a reality.

ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported on Friday that James had agreed to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, $8 million contract. That move has ended the hope of James finishing out his career in Cleveland.

James not returning to the Cavaliers will have the team scrambling to figure out wha to do next. Even though James Harden is still expected to return, the team needs to make another move or two to round out the roster.

Who could Cleveland turn to with James no longer available?

Most rumors and reports have connected the Cavaliers to Jonathan Kuminga. That move would make a lot of sense, although there are other teams interested in Kuminga as well. Reports have also come out that Kuminga would like to play for Cleveland.

Another name to watch could be veteran free agent scorer DeMar DeRozan.

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com has noted that DeRozan has been a player many felt the teams who miss out on James could view as a "Plan B" kind of option.

"Veteran score-first guard DeMar DeRozan has also been viewed leaguewide as a low-cost option for any team that missed out on James," Fedor wrote.

DeRozan could make some sense for the Cavaliers as a scorer off of the bench. However, there would also be some level of concern about how he would fit in the second unit.

Last season with the Sacramento Kings, the 36-year-old wing played in 77 games. He averaged 18.4 points per game to go along with 4.1 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and a steal, while shooting 49.7 percent from the floor and 32 percent from three-point range.

While there is no question that DeRozan can score the basketball, his game isn't a fit for every offense. He plays with the basketball in his hands and creates his own looks. It's easy to see from his three-point percentage last season that he is not a spot-up shooter.

More than likely, signing a player like DeRozan would not fit for Cleveland.

Another player who the Cavaliers have been linked to is Mario Hezonja. He hasn't played in the NBA since the 2019-20 season with the Portland Trail Blazers when he averaged 4.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in 53 appearances and four starts.

It is going to be interesting to see what Cleveland chooses to do throughout the rest of the NBA offseason. Losing out on the James sweepstakes was a tough blow for the Cavaliers' offseason plans, but it's unlikely that they'll stand pat.