Cavs still haven’t found the one.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have no doubt who their starting frontcourt is. But finding a reliable backup center to relieve Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen has been more difficult than anyone would have thought.
Cleveland has attempted to fill their rotation with numerous players over the years. Let’s break down what went wrong each season.
The Cavs took four cracks at finding a backup big this season. None of these options are flashy and only a few were even remotely playable. But as you’ll soon see, this is the most frontcourt “depth” the Cavs have had during this run.
Luke Kornet is the name that you should notice first. Kornet played just two games for Cleveland on a 10-day contract. Not the most memorable stint. But a few years later, Kornet played a rotational role in the Boston Celtics’ championship campaign. This was a missed opportunity for the Cavs as Kornet likely would have surpassed every player that was signed after him.
Moses Brown, Tacko Fall and Ed Davis are less interesting names. They were big, tall and relatively ineffective. Davis was the best of the bunch but retired at the season’s end. Brown has played for three different teams since then while Fall has been averaging 10.9 points in China.
The most redeeming aspect of the 2021-22 Cavs was the option to play either Lauri Markkanen or Kevin Love as small-ball centers. This was the bandaid that held their frontcourt mostly together until the 2023 season.
The Cavs frontcourt had thinned when they traded Markkannen for Donovan Mitchell. It would deplete further once they released Kevin Love in February of 2023. By the time the playoffs began — it was clear how badly the franchise whiffed when Mamadi Diakite and Robin Lopez became their last resorts.
Lopez was impossible to keep on the floor. He was an easy target defensively and a relic of the past on offense. The fact that Lopez played just six total minutes in the playoffs despite Cleveland’s glaring need for size against the New York Knicks says it all.
Diakite was a more reasonable swing. He was signed to a two-way contract in October with intrigue for his size and mobility. Early returns were promising enough with Diakite even holding his own defensively in a matchup against Joel Embiid. But the train eventually ran out of steam and Diakite was never offered a standard contract — leaving him ineligible for the playoffs.
This was a frustrating season for the Cavs. Botching the Kevin Love situation when they needed a player of his exact archetype is a move that will sting for quite some time. Yet somehow, their attempt at replacing Love in the following offseason was even worse.
Tristan Thompson has far and away been the most effective backup center the Cavaliers have had during this run. That’s both impressive and concerning.
All things considered, Thompson did a fine job last season. He routinely came off the bench and rallied the Cavaliers with his grit and determination. Still, those highlights were paired with long stretches of being a detriment. Thompson doesn’t have the speed to keep up with today’s game and his offensive limitations were glaring whenever he wasn’t scooping up a missed shot.
Thompson will always be a fan favorite but the days of rooting for him on an actual basketball court are supposed to be in the past.
Meanwhile, Damian Jones was unable to play much of a role at all. He was certainly an upgrade over Lopez but ultimately, Jones appeared in just 39 games for Cleveland and is now headed to China after struggling to establish himself in an NBA rotation.
If you are hoping for a happy ending, we don’t have one yet. The Cavs have yet to add a player through free agency this summer — and with Jones in China and Thompson unsigned — they currently have zero backup bigs on the roster.
Chris Mills played 10 seasons in the NBA, four with the Cavs from 1993-1997. He split his minutes between small and power forward — averaging 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists in his best season in Cleveland.
Mills was slightly ahead of his time as a versatile 6’6” wing who shot 35% on over 1,200 three-point attempts for his career. He never made an All-Star team but may have been one of the NBA’s most coveted role players had he been drafted in 2024.
