Caris LeVert wins starting small forward job for opener against Toronto Raptors, sources say

TORONTO — Caris LeVert has emerged victorious in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ small forward battle.

Sources tell cleveland.com that LeVert will be the team’s fifth starter for Wednesday’s opener against the Toronto Raptors — and the foreseeable future. LeVert will join Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen in the starting group, creating an explosive quintet with five scoring threats.

Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff gave LeVert, who entered camp in great shape following a transformative offseason, the first crack at the starting job in the preseason opener against the Philadelphia 76ers and liked what he saw. Even though there were preconceptions about LeVert’s fit alongside two other ball-dominant players — Garland and Mitchell — some of those concerns were quelled throughout preseason and training camp, when LeVert looked like one of the team’s best players and a capable offensive connector.

LeVert’s ability to create space on offense while also taking some of the playmaking load off Garland and Mitchell helped his case.

The Cavs also strongly believe in LeVert’s ability to defend the opposing team’s best perimeter scorer — a role he had early in his career with Brooklyn and one he accepted at various points over the final few months last season. LeVert seized the job in large part because he was the best offense-defense blend of the six options, the kind of two-way piece Cleveland felt it needed alongside the other four starters.

Third-year swingman Isaac Okoro and undrafted success story Dean Wade didn’t make Bickerstaff’s decision easy. Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens and injured Dylan Windler were also part of the camp competition.

But sources say Bickerstaff made his decision over the weekend and spent a couple days digging deeper into the numbers while also having back-and-forth dialogue with his assistants before telling the players.

Everything confirmed his gut call and Bickerstaff met with each of the small forward candidates on Monday and Tuesday, informing them individually of his choice.

Throughout camp, Bickerstaff spoke about the importance of finding the best combinations and setting up the nightly rotation in a workable way. He wants four of the top seven rotational players to get most of the minutes. He is going to stagger Garland and Mitchell, making sure one is on the floor at all times. He will likely begin with a tight, nine- or 10-man rotation.

Bickerstaff also said recently when asked about the starting small forward that he reserves the right to make any necessary lineup changes when things aren’t working according to plan.

The decision to go with LeVert means Okoro, who has started 128 out of 134 games in his NBA career, will come off the bench as a second unit sparkplug. It’s the role Okoro had at the beginning of 2021-22, before Collin Sexton’s season-ending knee injury thrust Okoro back into the starting lineup at shooting guard.

The belief is the backup role will allow Okoro to be more involved on offense. He can come off the bench in a feisty, energetic super-sub role, giving him more freedom and added playmaking responsibilities. To borrow a term from president of basketball operations Koby Altman, that could help “unlock” Okoro on offense, complementing his already-stout defense.

Even though Okoro has rebuilt his faulty jump shot and the Cavs are thrilled with his offseason growth at that end of the floor, there are still questions about how that will translate to a game environment. Okoro doesn’t bring the same floor-spacing or scoring potential as LeVert, which threatens to congest Cleveland’s offense, allowing opponents to load up on the other guys.

While defense is the team’s backbone, the Cavs are committed to rising up the offensive rankings after being 20th in efficiency last season. They are determined to make it easier on Garland and Mitchell, giving the the dynamic backcourt space to attack opponents.

All of those factors made LeVert the best fit — even though he’s spent most of his career at shooting guard.

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