Caris LeVert is the most overrated player on the Cleveland Cavaliers

Caris LeVert may be overrated but that doesn’t mean he’s not needed by the Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers were all systems go a few months into the season. Even without Collin Sexton, who went down with a season-ending injury, the Cavs were able to destroy some of the best teams in the NBA. Thanks in part to Darius Garland and Ricky Rubio. Then Rubio went down with his own season-ending injury. Now the Cavs were without Sexton and Rubio and were in need of help.

So a deal was made to acquire Caris LeVert from the Indiana Pacers. All it cost was Rubio’s contract, a first-round pick in 2022, a 2027 second-round pick, and a 2022 second-round pick-swap. A steal.

Except LeVert is not helping fans forget Rubio, the way Rubio helped fans forget about Sexton. In fact, LeVert has not been able to replace Rubio completely. A tall task admittedly but that’s why LeVert was acquired in the first place.

The issue with LeVert is two-fold. Firstly, he’s an inefficient scorer; with shooting splits of .405/.310/.750. Beyond that, he isn’t as close to the same facilitator as Rubio.

The second big issue with LeVert is that defensively, the Cavaliers are no longer as good on defense off the bench with LeVert. The team is still in the Top 5 for fewest points given up per game but without Jarrett Allen, the team has no real impact anymore defensively. Losing Allen didn’t help that, obviously, but not having a  real stopper on the second unit isn’t helping that either.

LeVert isn’t a bad player, but he’s not the guy many were sold on, which is what some commentators in the NBA YouTube space have pointed out recently.

Overrated or not, The Cleveland Cavaliers need Caris Levert

Losing the ability to re-sign Ricky Rubio for 2022-2023 hurt when the trade was made. Rubio will be too expensive for the Cavaliers to sign, and trading him means that the team can’t go over the cap to re-sign him. Previously they could’ve due to his Bird Rights, but once those were traded, the Cavs no longer can use that exception to retain Rubio.

So unless Rubio takes a massive pay cut and walks away from his Bird Rights, the Cavaliers won’t be acquiring him this offseason. Not unless there’s an unlikely sign-and-trade that pops up.

There wasn’t going to be another Rubio coming down the pipeline, however. There was no one who could replace and he was done for the year due to an unfortunate ACL injury. Cue Caris LeVert. Levert could not replace Rubio, but that doesn’t mean the Cavs should just cut bait.

The fact is the NBA is a hard league to get into and guys as good as LeVert are not that common. Sure, the Cavs downgraded in scheme fit from Rubio to LeVert, but it was still a better move than what other teams have made.

Try replacing Rubio with DJ Augustin. Then you’ll see how valued LeVert is to the Cavs. LeVert isn’t going to all of a sudden get great, either. He’s soon to be 28-years-old and we know what he is. He’s an inefficient scorer, with some mild play-making ability and the potential to be an average defender in the NBA.

It’s not the same as what Rubio was given the Cavs but it’s better than a lot of the other options that were available. He’s worth a late first-round pick, as those rarely turn into anything anyway. He’s even worth a late-first and a second.

And while the Cavs gave up the better player, at least pre-injury, Rubio wasn’t going to be coming to the Cavs’ rescue anytime soon. So the team had to make a call. Rubio isn’t going to white-knight the Pacers season, but LeVert might be able to fend off the Nets, 76ers, or Bucks.

That’s something he can do today that Rubio couldn’t. So yes, LeVert is overrated but don’t confuse that with “not needed”.