Sasha Kaun Could Be Final Piece of Cleveland Cavs' Front-Line Puzzle

Last summer, the Cleveland Cavaliers went outside of the continent to find their head coach.

Now, it appears that roster help could be coming from overseas as well.

Sasha Kaun, a 30-year-old center formerly of CSKA Moscow, has recently been in talks with Cavaliers personnel about joining the team this fall.

The Cavs purchased Kaun's rights from the Seattle SuperSonics during the 2008 NBA draft following his four-year stay at the University of Kansas. After seven years overseas, Kaun and the Cavs may have mutual interest in bringing him to the NBA, Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group noted:

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Kaun told the Northeast Ohio Media Group that the Cavs contacted him Wednesday with an invitation to join general manager David Griffin and other team personnel in Las Vegas this weekend to discuss the possibility. He sat courtside for the Cavs' NBA Summer League finale on Friday next to none other than LeBron James, and was to have dinner with member of the Cavs' front office.

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While the two parties have not reached a deal at this point, Cleveland would be wise to sign Kaun, even with an already-deep frontcourt.

Cavaliers Connections

Despite not having put on a wine and gold jersey, Kaun should be familiar with at least two members of the Cavs.

David Liam Kyle/Getty Images

While hooping in Russia, Kaun had the opportunity to play for coach David Blatt on the 2012 national team that took home a bronze medal in the Olympics. The two reunited in Las Vegas while watching the Cavs summer-league team. When asked, Kaun had nothing but good things to say about his former coach.

"It was good catching up," Kaun told Vardon. "I didn't see him all of last year because he was over here. I like him, he's really smart guy, really educated, and he knows his basketball for sure. People gave him a little bit of doubt, whether he can do this or not, I think he proved everybody wrong."

While on that Olympic squad guided by Blatt, Kaun partnered with Cavaliers center Timofey Mozgov, whom he has also played against in the Euroleague.

The two share an agent. When asked about whether or not Kaun was ready for the NBA, Mozgov told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal the following:

“You never know until you come and try it. The NBA is not only about the game on the court—it’s a lot of stuff off the court. It’s hard to say.”

Kaun has stated that he's done playing in the Euroleague and resides in the United States during the offseason.

With Blatt and Mozgov already on the Cavaliers, Cleveland seems like a perfect fit now for Kaun.

What Kaun Brings

Kaun is a big body who fits the traditional center build. At 6'11" and 256 pounds, he uses his size to clog the paint defensively and back down opponents on offense.

In 30 games for CSKA Moscow, Kaun averaged 9.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in just 20.1 minutes per game. Over a normal NBA starter's 36 minutes per game, these stats inflate to 17.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.

His offense comes off a lot of pick-and-roll action and positioning around the basket. And though he's limited offensively, he does a nice job of making himself available in the paint, displaying great footwork and awareness.

Not much of a threat to shoot from the outside, Kaun limits his looks to high-percentage shots, resulting in a sparkling 70.2 percent field-goal mark while in Moscow.

Defensively, Kaun isn't the shot-blocker and rim protector that Mozgov is, and that's OK. Instead, Kaun uses good timing and anticipation to swat and alter shots. His 6'11" frame isn't ideal to drive on, either.

His overall skill set is an improvement over that of Kendrick Perkins, who signed with the New Orleans Pelicans this offseason. Kaun probably isn't ready to be a starter in the NBA, but as a fourth or fifth big man, he would shine.

Talking Money

Cleveland is capped out and must sell Kaun on the idea of playing for Blatt on a championship-caliber team in lieu of a big payday and bigger minutes elsewhere.

As Vardon noted, Kaun made the equivalent of $2.9 million with CSKA Moscow last year. The Cavaliers can offer him roughly half that amount.

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With about only $1.3 million remaining on their taxpayer mid-level exception, Kaun would be leaving a significant amount of money on the table to switch from the Euroleague to the NBA. The most Cleveland could offer in terms of salary and length would be a three-year deal valued at $4 million, NBA.com's John Schuhmann noted.

Cavs general manager David Griffin is one of the key members who met with Kaun in Las Vegas. Even he isn't sure if the Russian big man would be willing to take such a step back in role and financial compensation.

"It's difficult because he's coming off making an incredibly large amount of money and he is literally a first-team All-Euroleague-caliber center, and it's a difficult proposition to come to a team like ours for the type of money we have to offer," Griffin told Vardon.

The good news for Cleveland?

Kaun seems to be more intrigued with winning in the NBA than money:

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That's probably something that shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully coming to this team, it will give us an opportunity to win, and winning is more important to me than money. I don't think I want to do it (play basketball) because of the money. Just play basketball and enjoy it and play with some really great players. That's the more important thing.

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Coming to terms on such a three-year, $4 million deal would be tremendous value for a Cavs team with no financial wiggle room. He's by far the best option in terms of a backup center (where Glen Davis and Henry Sims are now some of the "hottest" free agents) and seems to be willing to play for a reasonable price.

If Cleveland can somehow sign him for its remaining mid-level exception, Kaun would instantly become one of the best bargains on the team.

Role, Playing Time with Cavaliers

If Kaun wants to come to the NBA, he'll find minutes hard to come by with the Cavs immediately. This we know.

Cleveland will get starters Kevin Love (shoulder) and Mozgov (arthroscopic knee surgery) as well as reserve center Anderson Varejao (Achilles) back for the start of training camp. Mozgov has earned big minutes as the team's starting center, and Tristan Thompson is widely expected to re-sign as well.

This leaves Kaun as the fifth big in a rotation that should go only four deep.

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That being said, Kaun should eventually see playing time. Varejao, for all his rebounding and hustle, is almost guaranteed to get hurt at some point. He's missed an average of 53.6 games over the past five seasons.

As we witnessed in the NBA Finals, depth is everything. With Love, Mozgov and Varejao all recovering from offseason surgeries, Kaun would be a great addition to step in if necessary. Blatt may find some time for him anyway, given their prior relationship.

The signing of Kaun would also mean lessening the burden on players like Varejao and Love that have had injury concerns in the past. Unlike the uncertainty that rookie second-round pick Rakeem Christmas would have brought, Kaun is a safe, reliable and worthy backup that can step in and contribute right away.

Cleveland needs all the depth it can get to load up for another Finals run. Kaun is the best center it could sign at this point and should join what has the potential to be a very, very good frontcourt.

Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers and NBA for Bleacher Report since 2010. Follow him on Twitter: @CavsGregBR.

All stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.