Cavaliers exercise third-year option for Ante Zizic

The Cleveland Cavaliers have exercised their third year option with Ante Zizic, keeping him in a Cavs uniform through the 2019-20 NBA season.

The team had until Wednesday to make a decision on whether or not to pick up the option. However, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com has reported that the team elected to make the decision on Monday morning.

With all the talk about the Cavs going young, the decision to keep Zizic around makes a lot of sense. Truthfully, the only three truly “young” players the team has are Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman, and Ante Zizic.

If the Cavs are looking to develop players this season, that will likely mean more minutes for Zizic than the seven per game he has received to this point in his time with the team.

Zizic has shown good touch and understanding of the game in his limited minutes. While his size and foot speed make it unlikely that he’ll ever be a great fit for a modern offense, he can still have value as a bench big and someone to throw against opponents with size.

The Cavaliers aren’t in a position where they can let young talent walk, regardless of how high the ceiling is. With expectations at a low point this season discovering exactly what they have in their young players has to be the priority.