3 Former Cavaliers Failing Miserably With Their New Teams in 2023

The Cleveland Cavaliers parted with several players over the offseason. While some have found success with their new teams, that hasn't been the case for these three ex-Cavs.

Robin Lopez is one of three ex-Cavaliers who's failing with his new team this season. / Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports

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3. Dylan Windler, New York Knicks

There was a decent amount of hype surrounding Dylan Windler when he first arrived in Cleveland. After all, he was the 26th overall selection at the 2019 NBA Draft and was coming off a season that saw him average 21.3 points and 10.8 rebounds while leading Belmont to an NCAA Tournament Round of 64 appearance.

Much to his dismay, Windler could never find his footing with the Cavaliers. After missing the entire 2019-20 campaign due to a leg injury, the Indianapolis, IN native was held to just 84 games across three seasons in Cleveland, averaging 3.3 points and 2.3 rebounds with .416/.322/.800 shooting splits.

In an effort to turn his career around, Windler signed a two-way deal with the New York Knicks this past offseason, which was later converted to a standard contract. It didn't take long for the Knicks to move on, though, opting to waive Windler in favor of signing Taj Gibson after the 27-year-old averaged one point across three appearances.

The Knicks waived Dylan Windler to create the roster space for Taj Gibson.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) December 13, 2023

While the Knicks have been open to recalling Windler from the NBA G League when injuries pop up, the fact that he still hasn't played a game since Nov. 8 is extremely telling. Chances are he won't see much (if any) playing time throughout the rest of the year unless the entire roster winds up on the injured reserve.

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