Jameer Nelson Makes Sense as Cavs Backup Point Guard Option

After Joe Vardon’s report that the Cavaliers are discussing a trade to acquire a backup point guard, the natural response is “who would the Cavs go after?”

*Before reading any further, let me preface this by saying this is not based on any “inside information” and I am not implying that any deal is imminent.*

The two pieces the Cavs would likely include in a deal are up and coming shooting guard Jordan McRae and backup point guard Mo Williams, who has an expiring contract of $2.2 million and is not going to be ready to return to a basketball court any time soon, if he even wants to in the first place.

McRae would be the most intriguing part of that deal and Williams would just be included to make the salaries work, free up his roster spot, and give the other team a chunk of salary for cap space.

Keeping all of that in mind, who would be a realistic option for the Cavs to pursue?

Jameer Nelson: Denver Nuggets

Nelson, 34, is a savvy veteran and will not be needed as much in Denver now that Emmanuel Mudiay has a full season under his belt.

Nelson averaged 7.7 points and 4.9 assists per game in 2015-16, playing 39 games in Denver and starting 15 times between December and January.

If the Cavs are looking for someone who is capable of handling a steady workload to limit Kyrie Irving’s minutes, Nelson has the proven track record to do that.

His injury-history is a slight concern, but 2015-16 was the first time he missed more than 30 games since 2008-09.

The trade would also benefit a rebuilding Nuggets team, who would get a promising young combo guard, McRae in return.

Looking around the league, there are very few options that appear to benefit both sides when it comes to a potential McRae/Williams for a backup point guard trade.

Many of the potential veteran candidates are unable to be traded until Dec. 14, when they become unrestricted. But the Cavs don’t appear to want to wait that long. If they were willing to do that, they probably would not be pursuing a trade heading into opening night.

There are some backup point guard options who are young and intriguing, but if the Cavs wanted to go the route of young and intriguing, they have McRae and Felder, who both fit into that category.

Part of the problem is that McRae is such a mystery. He’s shown flashes in very brief stints at the NBA level and played great in the Summer League and preseason, but what team is going to trade a proven commodity for that kind of unknown?

The Nuggets seem to be a great partner in this scenario because they are continuing to assemble young pieces to build around for the future.

Perhaps McRae could become a part of that future alongside guys like Mudiay (20), Nikola Jokic (21), Gary Harris (22), Jusuf Nurkic (22), and Jamal Murray (19).

Nelson could have a bigger impact on a veteran Cavs roster than he would watching Mudiay play 30 minutes a night.

Although Nelson’s best days are behind him, he is a dependable option, having played 26.6 minutes per game in 2015-16.

Not unlike former-Cavs backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova, Nelson plays with a pass-first mentality and takes care of the ball.  Once in a while, Nelson could even knock down the open three.

The area where Nelson differs from Delly – a clear downside to his game – is defense, but that’s why guys like Dellavedova are making $10 mil. per year and out of Cleveland’s price range.

There’s no perfect solution to this issue, but that’s life in the NBA. When a good player earns a raise, great teams can’t always keep them, and the Cavs are dealing with that first-hand in 2016-17.

If giving Kyrie a dependable backup is the main priority, the Cavs may have to sacrifice the potential upside of McRae and go with the trustworthy Nelson to avoid some sort of “experiment” backfiring.