Why the Cavs might not try to replace Mo Williams if he retires

With the news that Mo Williams is considering retirement, it’s fair to wonder about the Cavs point guard position. Kyrie Irving is a pretty good player, and should be healthy. He is coming off a long season and performance for Team USA off of knee surgery, though. Behind him, the loss of Matthew Dellavedova to the Milwaukee Bucks could be very important. Or maybe not.

The loss of Dellavedova was hopefully going to be tempered somewhat by the presence of a healthy Williams. If that’s not the case, things get pretty dicey. Kay Felder has excelled just about everywhere he’s played, but he can’t change his height and he hasn’t faced the consistent athleticism he’ll see in the NBA. Rookie point guards drafted in the second round generally aren’t asked to run second units for title contending teams.

Of course, rookies drafted in the second round don’t always get to play next to LeBron James. If you’re the Cavs, maybe you are interested in seeing what Felder can do. If any team has proven that early season struggles aren’t all that important, it’s the Cleveland Cavaliers. You can put him in a sink or swim situation and see what he can do. At the same time, you can manage his on-court responsibilities and let James and perhaps Kevin Love take on a greater role within the offense.

While this is the basketball case for not adding a veteran point guard to the mix, there are other concerns for David Griffin and Dan Gilbert. With J.R. Smith likely back in the fold, the Cavs are likely to be deep into the luxury tax. If they can wait on adding even a minimum-salaried vet until the trade deadline, or the buyout deadline, it could save a not insubstantial sum of money. That money they save could then be used to re-invest it into the team around that trade deadline.

While it’s hard to argue against the utility of adding a capable point guard to the roster, it’s fairly easy to justify waiting. You can give Felder a long look and save a bit of money in the process. Jared Cunningham got a lot of minutes early in the season for a title contender. I don’t have an opinion on what type of player Felder can be, but I understand if the Cavs feel they are fine with him.

For now.