Why John Konchar Makes Sense for the Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers are likely to go bargain hunting as it relates to the back end of their roster, which makes the likelihood that they hand out a few camp invites pretty high as of right now. The good news is that there are still a few viable names left on the board. One such name that just hit the market is that of John Konchar.

The veteran wing was just waived and stretched by the Minnesota Timberwolves just hours after being acquired in a deal alongside former 10th overall pick Cody Williams. Yes, I know Konchar is another sub-6-6 wing but bringing him as a camp body wouldn’t be the worst idea given the bench’s depth concerns. 

Let’s break down the case for bringing him to camp on an Exhibit 9 contract.

Is Konchar a sneaky defensive playmaker?

Listen, John Konchar is by no means a lockdown perimeter defender, especially when defending in isolation. It’s just not his strong suit. That said, he is undoubtedly a disruptor on that end of the floor. The Chicago native has placed within the 70th percentile or higher in block percentage in 6 of his 7 professional seasons including 3 within the 91st percentile or higher.

It was a small sample size, but in his 26 appearances for the Utah Jazz, he posted a block percentage of 1.7% as well as 1.0 BLK per game. His 25 BLK during that stretch were the 4th among players 6-7 or shorter. Despite his size, he is a great shot blocker due to his defensive instincts. What stands out on the film is just how good he is at stripping the ball away from drivers on the interior.

He was also a menace in the passing lanes, placing within the 96th percentile on the season in Passing Lane Defense, as well as the 95th percentile in Pickpocket Rating. These were huge contributors to him posting an insane STL% of of 3.0% while with Memphis this season and an even better 3.1% with the Jazz. In fact, the only players better than him in this category among his position group were Matisse Thybulle and Detriot’s Ausar Thompson. Anytime you are being mentioned alongside those names in regard to defense, you know you are doing something right.