Predicting Cleveland Cavaliers' Final 15-Man 2016-17 Roster
For a team riding a championship wave, the Cleveland Cavaliers have plenty of mystery surrounding their final 15-man roster.
Starting shooting guard J.R. Smith remains unsigned, with plenty of young guards now fighting to earn his minutes. No Matthew Dellavedova (free agency) or Mo Williams (retirement) also means a battle for backup point guard duties behind Kyrie Irving.
This Cavaliers roster remains top-heavy with star power, but it lacks the overall depth that last year's title team packed. While most of the roles are etched in stone heading into the regular season, the final two or three spots are completely up for grabs.
Center
1 of 5
| Role | Player | HT | WT | Age |
| Starter | Tristan Thompson | 6'9" | 238 | 25 |
| Reserve | Channing Frye | 6'11" | 255 | 33 |
| Reserve | Chris "Birdman" Andersen | 6'10" | 245 | 38 |
| In the Mix | Jonathan Holmes | 6'9" | 242 | 23 |
During the past two years, Tristan Thompson has lost training camp battles to both Anderson Varejao and Timofey Mozgov for the starting center position. Now with no worthy competition, combined with his ever-improving game, Thompson deserves the job.
Behind him lies some reliable, veteran versatility. Channing Frye will see his minutes split between power forward and center. He's the opposite of Thompson: a three-point threat who attempted 70.8 percent of his total shots from beyond the arc.
Chris "Birdman" Andersen is another one of those former Miami Heat veterans who found his way to Northeast Ohio. He'll play the oft-mentioned enforcer role that Cleveland has lacked since Kendrick Perkins laced 'em up in 2015.
With Thompson riding an NBA-best streak of 370 straight games played, along with Frye and Andersen filling capable minutes, this leaves little room for former University of Texas standout Jonathan Holmes, who has no professional experience. Look for him to be left off the final roster while Thompson eats up all the time he can handle inside.
Power Forward
2 of 5
| Role | Player | HT | WT | Age |
| Starter | Kevin Love | 6'10" | 251 | 28 |
| Reserve | Richard Jefferson | 6'7" | 233 | 36 |
| Reserve | James Jones | 6'8" | 218 | 36 |
| In the Mix | Cory Jefferson | 6'9" | 218 | 25 |
Having just turned 28 last month, Kevin Love should be entering the prime of his career.
Now in year three with the Cavs, Love comes into the season fresh off a summer spent training instead of rehabbing. This should lead to an increase in court time, as his 31.5 minutes a game were the lowest since 2009-10. With LeBron James (six straight Finals trips) and Irving (Olympics) needing more regular-season rest, look for Love to step into a bigger role for Cleveland.
Even though Richard Jefferson spent 68 percent of his time at small forward last season, the addition of Mike Dunleavy on the wing likely means more minutes at the 4. Although capable of playing three positions, Jefferson best translates to a stretch 4 in today's NBA.
James Jones is the emergency plan here, as his 9.6 minutes per game are the second-lowest of all returning Cavaliers. He's a favorite of teammates, even if that doesn't translate to playing time.
Former Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns forward Cory Jefferson has the potential to turn into a rotation stretch 4, but the Cavaliers aren't in the business of developing raw talent at this time. With James sure to spend stretches at power forward this season, there's simply no room for the younger Jefferson in Cleveland.
Small Forward
3 of 5
| Role | Player | HT | WT | Age |
| Starter | LeBron James | 6'8" | 250 | 31 |
| Reserve | Mike Dunleavy | 6'9" | 230 | 36 |
| Reserve | Dahntay Jones | 6'6" | 225 | 35 |
Year No. 14 (!) is here for LeBron James, who's quickly climbing the all-time mileage chart. If he logs his average 2,959 minutes this season, he'll move past Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley and others to as high as 26th in NBA history.
But don't expect the Cavs and head coach Tyronn Lue to run James that much.
"[My coaches] also know I've put a lot of miles on my body over the last six years from going to the Finals every single year, so, health and longevity for our team is very important," James said, per ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin.
Although he played a career-low 35.6 minutes last season, James needs more rest if possible.
"I could have used another two months [off]," the 31-year-old admitted at media day.
While Jefferson was James' safety valve last year, Dunleavy will now help ease the burden as well. Both veterans are capable of playing 20-30 minutes any given night.
Dahntay Jones was a last-minute addition to the Cavs at the end of the regular season, but he saw some key court time during the Finals. He received an invitation to work out with the team in California last month, and he should stick around as an end-of-the-bench defender when needed.
Shooting Guard
4 of 5
| Role | Player | HT | WT | Age |
| Starter | Iman Shumpert | 6'5" | 220 | 26 |
| Reserve | Jordan McRae | 6'5" | 179 | 25 |
| In the Mix | Markel Brown | 6'3" | 190 | 24 |
| In the Mix | John Holland | 6'5" | 205 | 27 |
The shooting guard spot is mighty thin until (if?) J.R. Smith returns.
Iman Shumpert should be more reliable coming off an injury-plagued 2015-16 campaign. He's down 12 pounds from last season and could hold the starting job if necessary.
The wild card—perhaps of the entire team—is second-year guard Jordan McRae. After a standout summer-league performance, he led all Cavs with 20 points in their first preseason game, a 117-102 win over the Orlando Magic. Cleveland will ask him to handle the ball at times, even if he's not considered a true point guard.
With or without Smith, it appears McRae has earned some minutes in the backcourt rotation.
Former Brooklyn Net Markel Brown currently has the lead between the two training camp invitees, as he's a proven NBA defender. John Holland, who spent last season with the NBA D-League's Canton Charge, missed Cleveland's first preseason game with back spasms. Apparently Lue hasn't taken the time to learn his full name yet, either.
Look for the Cavs to roll with a Shumpert-McRae shooting guard tandem until Smith returns, with Brown and Holland failing to make the cut.
Point Guard
5 of 5
| Role | Player | HT | WT | Age |
| Starter | Kyrie Irving | 6'3" | 193 | 24 |
| Reserve | Kay Felder | 5'9" | 176 | 21 |
| In the Mix | DeAndre Liggins | 6'6" | 209 | 28 |
| In the Mix | Toney Douglas | 6'2" | 195 | 30 |
The sudden retirement of Mo Williams on media day puts the Cavaliers in a tough spot.
Irving is still quite young and should be able to handle a healthy dose of playing time. He'll have to, as there's no more veteran insurance purposes behind him. Running LeBron as a primary ball-handler now should be a last-resort option, instead saving him for more meaningful possessions come spring.
Kay Felder, a rookie out of Oakland University, may be forced to play significant minutes right away behind Irving. That makes him nothing short of guaranteed to make the team at this point.
With Irving receiving the night off during the Cavs' first preseason game, it was DeAndre Liggins who got the start at point guard over Felder and Toney Douglas.
"We want to see (Liggins) play against (Orlando's) D.J. Augustin, pick-and-rolls, get through it, be great defensively," Lue said, per Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon. "And then having Kay take the second unit to obviously spread the floor, because that will be more his role when the season starts, so, get a feel for both."
Liggins is a proven defender who's had success primarily in the D-League. Lue obviously likes him enough to start over other options, including more traditional point guards. At 6'6", he can play three different positions and chip in as needed.
Cleveland signed Douglas on October 3 to provide point guard depth. The Cavs previously contacted Norris Cole, Mario Chalmers and Kirk Hinrich, per Vardon. Douglas averaged 8.7 points on 39.9 percent shooting from deep in 61 games (18 starts) for the New Orleans Pelicans last season.
Expect Cleveland to keep all four, with Liggins moving to backup shooting guard/small forward once Douglas gets familiar with the playbook. Lue knows he needs to keep Irving and James fresh, even if it means more court time for Felder and Douglas now.
Greg Swartz is the Cleveland Cavaliers Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @CavsGregBR. Stats via Basketball-Reference.com. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
