Predicting the Role and Impact of Each Cleveland Cavs Newcomer This Season

When the Cleveland Cavaliers tip off their 2014-15 NBA season, many viewers will be scrambling for the media guide to see exactly who all these new faces are.

The Cavs currently have 18 players on their active roster, 13 of which are new to the team this summer. Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, Anderson Varejao, Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova are the only remaining members of last year's 33-49 squad.

Indeed, all the newcomers will take some getting used to, even if one should be a familiar face.

Here's a breakdown of every new addition, including a prediction of their role and impact with the Cavaliers this season.

The Longshots

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With the Cavaliers needing to trim their roster from 18 to 15 players before the start of the season, the following three players should face the toughest test of making the team.

All came to Cleveland in a trade from the Utah Jazz, mainly due to their non-guaranteed contracts for this season.

John Lucas III, Malcolm Thomas and Erik Murphy have about $3.3 million combined that teams can shed off their salary cap and only have to pay $100,000 to Murphy, per Spotrac.com.

This makes them valuable trade chips for teams looking to save money, or likely pieces to be cut should Cleveland choose to go that route.

If one, two or somehow all three end up making the final roster, however, this is what they can bring to the Cavs.

John Lucas III, PG

Role/Impact: With Irving (22) and Dellavedova (24) at point guard, Lucas III would become the veteran voice of the position. Now 31, Lucas III has six NBA seasons on his resume while also playing professionally in Italy, Spain and China.

Lucas III's best season came in 2011-12 with the Chicago Bulls, when he averaged 7.5 points and 2.2 assists in 49 games (two starts). His role with Cleveland would be as the third point guard, serving as extra insurance behind Irving.

Malcolm Thomas, PF

Role/Impact: Thomas has excelled in the D-League—14.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.2 blocks in 39 games—but has yet to find minutes in the NBA.

A former teammate of Kawhi Leonard's at San Diego State, Thomas has played in 23 games for four teams over three NBA seasons.

Thomas' best shot at making the Cavs would come as a center and rim-protector, although he'd have to add some muscle to his 6'9", 225-pound frame first.

Erik Murphy, PF

Role/Impact: Murphy was a second-round pick of the Chicago Bulls last year, seeing just 62 total minutes of action during his rookie season.

At 6'10", Murphy could fill in as a backup stretch 4 given his excellent shooting from outside. In four years at the University of Florida, Murphy shot 43.5 percent from behind the arc.

Cleveland is deep at power forward. If Murphy makes the 15-man roster, expect him to spend most of his time with the D-League's Canton Charge.

The Rookies

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The next group fighting to survive final cuts will be the four rookies currently on the roster. Joe Harris is the only one who was drafted by the Cavaliers this summer, and he should consider himself safe. The others will have to make their mark in training camp right away.

Even if these four make the team, their impact will likely be at a minimum, given the team's now plethora of veterans. Experience with the D-League's Canton Charge should be expected instead.

Here's what role each will play, either in sparse minutes with the Cavaliers or during ample playing time in Canton.

Joe Harris, SG

Role: Harris is exactly what last year's Cavaliers needed: someone to operate without the ball, come off screens and shoot, shoot, shoot.

Unfortunately for him, Cleveland went out and signed Mike Miller and James Jones to fill that same role for the immediate future.

At 6'6", Harris has excellent size for a shooting guard and can learn a lot from guys like Miller and Jones, who've made a living knocking down the three.

Harris finished at the University of Virginia by shooting 40.7 percent from downtown. His time will come, but it almost certainly won't be this year.

Dwight Powell, PF/C

Role: Cleveland traded Alonzo Gee to the Charlotte Hornets for the drafts rights to Powell and the contract of veteran Brendan Haywood. While the Hornets saved money in the deal, the Cavaliers got a versatile big who spent four years at Stanford.

Powell, 23, is 6'11" with a nice post game. Should he make the big club, Powell will see the majority of his minutes at center given the Cavaliers' lack of depth at the position.

Chris Crawford, PG

Role: The newest Cavalier, Crawford had a strong showing in summer league after going undrafted out of Memphis.

While the team has yet to announce the deal, Shams Charania of RealGM.com reports that it's a two-year contract, partially guaranteed.

Crawford struggled with his shot while in college, but he has a very fixable jumper and possesses great size at 6'4". Cleveland made this signing purely on potential, so don't expect to see him playing meaningful minutes anytime soon.

Alex Kirk, C

Role: Cleveland's weakest position is at center, where the 7-foot, 245-pound Kirk could actually see some time.

After going undrafted following a college career at New Mexico, Kirk averaged 5.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in 15.4 minutes for the Cavs' summer league team. His role will be to provide size and rim protection after averaging 2.7 blocks a game last season with the Lobos.

Brendan Haywood, C

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Role: Haywood was brought on board from the Charlotte Hornets along with the draft rights to Dwight Powell in a deal for Alonzo Gee.

While Haywood missed the entire 2013-14 season following foot surgery, Terry Pluto of The Cleveland Plain Dealer expects him to suit up for the Cavaliers this year:

"

Brendan Haywood was in town and the 7-footer is in excellent shape in terms of weight and body fat. He had surgery to repair a broken foot last October, and missed the entire season. The Cavs weren't sure if he could play this season -- or at least not until January. Now, they are hopeful it will be sooner.

"

Haywood, now 34 and coming off surgery, shouldn't be expected to produce a lot. His last truly productive season came in 2009-10 with the Washington Wizards while serving as the team's starter.

The best we can hope for Haywood is that he can play 10-15 minutes a night behind Anderson Varejao and help protect the rim. Haywood brings a career average of 1.4 blocks per game, and he helped the Dallas Mavericks win the 2011 NBA championship.

Impact: This all depends on his health.

Again, any time he can give Varejao a breather, play a little defense and take up space, it will be an added bonus.

Strangely enough, Haywood may end up contributing the most to the Cavaliers after he leaves. Given the unique structure of his contract—$10.5 million non-guaranteed in 2015-16—the Cavs can flip him next summer for a team looking to shed salary.

Until then, don't expect Haywood to have a big impact on the Cavaliers.

Mike Miller and James Jones, SG

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Role: Miller and Jones are being grouped together because they bring the same particular skill to Cleveland: the deep ball.

The two agreed to come to the Cavaliers following LeBron James' decision to rejoin his former team. Both played with James on the Miami Heat, securing two championships together.

General manager David Griffin has long been an advocate of adding floor-spacers for drive-and-kick players like Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters and now James.

While he drafted Joe Harris in the second round to help fill this void, Griffin now has two proven veterans to help spread the court for the Cavaliers.

Miller has made 40.9 percent of his three-pointers during a 14-year career. He knocked down 45.9 percent of his attempts last season with the Memphis Grizzlies, including 46.1 percent on catch-and-shoot opportunities, per NBA.com/Stats.

Jones has been an excellent sniper for 11 years now.

Last season with the Heat, Jones shot an incredible 51.9 percent from deep and 52 percent on catch-and-shoots.

Together, Miller and Jones will play off the ball and help keep defenses from collapsing on players like James, Irving and Waiters when they try to drive the lane. Their outside shooting will be a perfect complement to the Cavs' ball-dominant players.

Impact: While they certainly didn't draw the headlines of Cleveland's other offseason moves, the impact of Miller and Jones should not be overlooked.

Three-point shooting is essential in today's game. The San Antonio Spurs took home the 2014 title thanks in part to their league-best 39.7 percent mark from deep.

While their final stats may not appear all that impressive, Miller and Jones will have a huge impact on spacing the floor and helping to open up the Cavaliers offense. 

Shawn Marion, F

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Role: For the first time in his 14-year career, Marion will now be coming off the bench.

Now as the primary backup to LeBron James at small forward, Marion can also play the 4 in spurts behind Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson.

At 36, Marion should be ready to accept a smaller workload. He's currently eighth among all active players in total minutes and has made 10 total trips to the postseason.

Marion's job with the Cavs will be to play defense while covering multiple positions and to help limit the workload on James. His playoff experience and championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 will only add to the team's veteran collection.

Similarly, the Miami Heat previously used Shane Battier to guard power forwards, then switched him to small forward on the offensive end so James could be the 4. Marion can now fill the same role, perhaps even better than Battier could.

Impact: Marion's definitely slowing down in terms of both athleticism and overall production. A move to the bench should be just the thing for him to enjoy a bounce-back year.

Those expecting the 10.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game he put up a year ago will be very disappointed. While Marion will be one of the first Cavs off the bench, his minutes per game should float around 15-18 with stats to match.

Cleveland needs Marion primarily as a defender to help cover for Love. The veteran's impact won't necessarily come in the box score every night, but it will definitely be felt by the team.

Kevin Love, PF

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Role: As the team's new starting power forward, Love's role really shouldn't change that much with the Cavaliers.

While his scoring won't be required nearly as much as it was in Minnesota, the Cavs need Love to keep pulling in rebounds and being a willing facilitator on offense.

Coach David Blatt loves to get everyone the ball, even using his big men to initiate the final pass of a play.

Love is a nightmare to cover on the low block, as he can post up or find the open man should a double-team come. He led all power forwards in both points (26.1) and assists (4.4) per game last season.

Love's role will also vary depending on the matchup, thanks to his versatility. Love can be the go-to guy on offense or simply serve as a stretch 4 who can sit back and knock down the open shot.

Expect a lot of pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop plays between Love and James, Irving or Waiters. Love's ability to shoot from the outside will also help draw defenders out of the paint, creating driving lanes for those same three.

Love will also be used to start many a fast break, given his ability to swallow up rebounds and flick a 60-foot outlet pass to whoever may be sprinting down the court.

Impact: Obviously, pretty big.

Love is the best power forward in the game today. No one else can match his combination of outside shooting, rebounding and passing.

The only concern with Love (other than defense) is his willingness to be the third option some nights after freely racking up stats at will with the Timberwolves.

If Love truly buys in and does whatever is asked, he can have a tremendous impact on the Cavaliers offense.

LeBron James, SF

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Role: While it may seem weird, James now becomes the ultimate glue guy with the Cavaliers.

The team has lots of scorers with Love, Irving and Waiters. Love, Varejao and Thompson can all clean the glass, while Irving, Waiters and Dellavedova can facilitate the team's offense.

So where does James fit in?

Everywhere.

While James had to do almost everything his first time in Cleveland, the second time around will be dramatically different. He no longer has to score 30 points or dish out eight assists every game.

Rather, James will now have the luxury of assessing which areas the team needs on any given night and simply focusing his efforts there.

James' defense may now be the most important part of his game. In a starting lineup with the defensively challenged Irving and Love, James will have to be quite active trying to cover for both on that end of the court.

While some aspects of his role have changed, leadership has not. What was Irving's team the past three years now belongs to James. Two championships and four MVPs later, James can now officially lead both by example and experience.

Impact: James has been the most impactful player in the NBA five of the past six years, at least according to his win share total. Only Kevin Durant bested James this past season.

Unlike the rest of the Cavaliers, James' impact has already been felt.

When he announced his return to Cleveland this July, the Cavs roster was still very young and inexperienced.

A few phone calls and championship aspirations later, players like Love, Marion, Miller and Jones chose the Cavaliers when only months before they would have scoffed at the idea.

A 33-win roster back in April has now become possibly the favorite to take home the 2015 title.

While his true impact will take place on the court, James' power in the league has already been showcased this offseason.

Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers for Bleacher Report since 2010. Connect with him on Twitter for more basketball news and conversation.

All stats provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.