The Cavaliers are picking up their minimum-salary team option on forward Lamar Stevens for the 2023-24 season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The option will pay Stevens a $1,930,681 salary for next season, though he’s still not necessarily assured of that full amount. His salary will remain non-guaranteed until Jan. 10 even after Cleveland exercises the option, so the club could go in a different direction later in the offseason – or early in the regular season – and avoid being on the hook for his entire cap hit.
Still, Stevens looks like a good value at that price, so it would be a surprise if he’s cut. The 6-foot-6 wing appeared in 62 games for the Cavs last season, starting 25 of them and averaging 18.1 minutes per night. He recorded 5.3 PPG and 3.3 RPG on .448/.316/.702 shooting and was one of the team’s most reliable perimeter defenders.
While most team option decisions are due on June 29, today is the deadline to make a call on Stevens, which is why it was reported early.
Stevens is now on track to reach unrestricted free agency in 2024, assuming he doesn’t sign an extension before then.
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