A lot of the players on the Cleveland Cavaliers roster are just about to enter their prime. Some of them like Donovan Mitchell, and Jarett Allen are on their way to becoming superstars in the league. Others are still in the developmental process of being all-around players. This is to help the Cavs get in a better position for a deep NBA playoff run. Evan Mobley, Isaac Okoro, Max Strus, and Emoni Bates are the next men up to delivering quality minutes for the playoff-contending squad. But, who is the best candidate to break out this season?

Who will the Cavs give the best position for an insanely good season?

Only a handful of individuals will get the opportunity to shine out of the Cavs' starters. Their positions and roster depth are locked in hopes of running it back with nearly the same squad as last year. This means that whoever gets the trust of their coach fills the gaps of other players better.

Evan Mobley gets ruled out immediately in this category. He has the same specialty as Jarett Allen. The main drawback in his style of play is his lack of a jump shot. It takes a long while for players to develop a serviceable shot from far out and it just does not look like this will be the season for him. A horrendous backslide came after him in their 2022-23 campaign. Mobley only knocked down 21.6% of his shots from three-point range and raising it to 35% to 40% with a huge volume of attempts seems unlikely. Another is how he can be exposed to drop coverage.

Isaac Okoro is also one player who has the same situation as Evan Mobley. Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert, and Max Strus are his main competitors in this position. The level of production that he has given out is clearly not enough for him to overtake these other guys. He notched 6.4 points per game last season on a serviceable 49.4% field goal percentage. The problem will be how Isaac Okoro maximizes playing time if he gets any at all.

Emoni Bates will not be the Cavs' x-factor next season either. Rookie mistakes are going to come after him and adjusting to the NBA often takes at least half a season. All of these are guaranteed to happen but the spike in Emoni Bates' playing time is not.

Max Strus, Cavs

Max Strus will make a huge jump

Max Strus was one of the key reasons why Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat reached the NBA Finals. He knows how to play a role without having to take the ball away from any of his teammates. His firm belief in ball movement allows him to keep the offense running without having to be stagnant. This makes him the perfect scorer to pair up with Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland who are very ball-dominant.

His ability to run through screens and find his spots on off-ball actions is also elite. This allows him to free up Jarett Allen and Mobley when they force the defenders to switch In the stat sheet, he already notched 11.5 points per game on a 41% clip from the three levels of scoring. His three-point shooting is also going to improve because of how good Allen and Mobley are at setting picks. This gives him ample time to shoot off the dribble.

Strus is in a good position to get more offensive production while taking up too much space from the Cavs. Will he be able to pull it off?