Cleveland Cavaliers Had No Choice But To Overpay For Iman Shumpert

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To say the first day of 2015 NBA free agency was eventful for the Cleveland Cavaliers would be a massive understatement. First, the team agreed to a five-year, near max-level contract with postseason hero Tristian Thompson. Not long after, Kevin Love announced his return to Cleveland with a five-year, $110 million deal.

Now, according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, general manager David Griffin is wrapping up his productive day by coming to terms on a four-year, $40 million deal with restricted free agent Iman Shumpert.

Shumpert joined the Cavaliers after a trade with the New York Knicks before the deadline in February. In 38 regular season games with Cleveland, the 6-foot-5 shooting guard averaged 7.2 points on 41.0-percent shooting in just over 24 minutes per game. Shumpert’s struggles on the offensive end continued during the postseason. He upped his scoring average to 9.1 points per game, but shot a putrid 36.0-percent from the floor.

Tenacious on-ball defense is Shumpert’s calling card. Kyrie Irving is not a great defender, so having another guard who can handle the toughest defensive responsibility for the team is of paramount importance to the Cavaliers.

There’s no way Shumpert is worth the $10 million per year contract, but after seeing all the money handed out around the NBA on Wednesday, this is the type of deal he would have received on the open market.

Perhaps more than any other team in the league, the Cavaliers are in the ultimate win-now mode. Without Shumpert, the Cavaliers would lack some serious depth at guard and wouldn’t have a player who could defend the opposition’s best backcourt scorer.

Seth Lassen is a writer for RantSports. ‘Like’ him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter @Seth_Lassen.

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