Cup of Cavs: Cleveland Cavaliers news and links for January 4, 2022

Happy Tuesday, friends,

The first sip

This isn’t the main reason the Cavs will succeed or fail in the next few years — the development and progression of Evan Mobley and Darius Garland feel like the biggest driving factors of this era of Cleveland basketball. But don’t overlook the importance of depth.

Right now, the Cavs are not deep. With Isaac Okoro now out 2-3 weeks, Denzel Valentine (who wasn’t great anyway) and Dylan Windler looking like nothing, the Cavs are thin on the wing. And really, this team is not deep beyond a top-eight or so: Garland, Mobley, Okoro when healthy, Jarrett Allen, Kevin Love, Lauri Markannen, Dean Wade and Lamar Stevens, The last two are iffy certainly could be improved on. Rajon Rondo, in theory, makes this nine.

That is just not a deep team. This is not a roster built to survive COVID or injuries. Going forward, Cleveland supporting their core with more depth — either find through the draft or off the scrap heap a la Jae'Sean Tate in Houston — is going to continually be paramount.

That’s why someone like an RJ Nembhard or other G League signees matter. To maximize what it can be, Cleveland has to get those kinds of players to provide the roster depth it doesn’t have right now.

Read this

Tom Ziller in GMIB on the need to expand All-Star rosters. (Also: Some love for Garland and Jarrett Allen in there.)

Links of the day

Isaac Okoro is going to miss 2-3 weeks with an elbow sprain

Klay Thompson may make his return Sunday against the Cavs

The postponed Cavs-Hawks game from Dec. 19 has been rescheduled for March 31

Kevin Porter Jr. and Christian Wood have been suspended by the Rockets

Uh, sure Russell Westbrook