As the Cleveland Cavaliers look to bolster their roster, they may sign one of the players who made an impact at the Paris Olympics. Initially, it was thought that Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson would bring in a player from France. Atkinson, who became assistant coach for the French team this summer, took a closer look at several potential signings. One player who stood out was Guerschon Yabusele, whose physical transformation has made him even more dynamic.
However, the Olympic athlete the Cavs sign may not be from France.
“There was word that the Cavs were looking at him,” Chris Fedor of cleveland.com said on the Wine & Gold Talk podcast. “They weren’t looking to sign him, but they were looking at Bruno Caboclo, who played for the Brazilian national team.”
“With the level of scouting they do, it’s no surprise they would be interested in Gershon Yabusele,” he continues.
Cavs interested in free agent first-round draft pick Bruno Caboclo
Bruno Caboclo, who was named MVP of the 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournament ahead of the Paris Olympics, put in a brilliant performance for Lille.
Among men’s tournament players, the 28-year-old Caboclo ranked in the top 15 in points (17.3), rebounds (7.0) and blocks (0.8) per game. But those numbers are skewed, as he played just 24 minutes total in the first two Olympic games. In the final two games Brazil played, Caboclo averaged 31.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 32 minutes per game.
That included a 30-point performance against the stars and stripes of Team USA.
Despite the loss, Bruno Caboclo still scored against Team USA. ๐ง๐ท pic.twitter.com/72rf3HxEOj
โ TheScore (@theScore) August 6, 2024
That being said, Caboclo would be an interesting addition.
At 6’9″, he plays more like a center than a forward and is centered around the pick-and-roll. While he’s not the ideal height for a center, he’s athletic and has a good feel for the position. The league is starting to lean more toward more traditionally sized frontcourts, but the ability to switch defensively is still highly valued by teams, so a player like Caboclo could be utilized situationally, if not regularly.
The meaning of the dollar
Yabusele can and would love to sign with an NBA team, but that team would have to pay a $2.5 million buyout to get out of his contract with Real Madrid. Given how he played in Paris, some teams would certainly consider that idea, but with teams tightening their purse strings, the price would have to be reasonable.
In Yabusele’s case, that may not be the case because of the depth of power forwards.
“Right now, Evan Mobley is the starting power forward, George Niang is the backup power forward and Dean Wade is also a potential backup power forward. So, based on the current roster configuration, I’m not sure that Cleveland is the team that’s going to pay the $2.5 million buyout and sign (Yabusele) as the final player on the roster.”
Still, Yabusele is a better defender than Georges Niang. He plays with more passion than Dean Wade. If the goal is to field the best possible lineup, Yabusele deserves a shot at beating out Niang and Wade for the backup spot.
But the Cavs could avoid that mess by signing Caboclo. For one, he’s better suited to the center position, and Cleveland is deep in the depth charts. Plus, the big man isn’t expected to return to Partizan Belgrade next season, mainly due to unpaid debt issues.