One Cavaliers Player Has Who Has Earned More Minutes and One Who Hasn't

The 2026-27 NBA preseason is officially in the books for the Cleveland Cavaliers and though it didn’t result in a positive record or provide an answer to some of the team's biggest questions, there were some takeaways. With that being the case, it’s time we highlight one player who may have earned themselves a deeper look in the rotation and another who didn’t.

Mario Hezonja

While solid arguments can be made for Craig Porter (playmaking) and Meleek Thomas (self-creation), and Thomas Bryant (frontcourt spacing), there might not be a player who took advantage of his preseason opportunities more than that of newcomer Mario Hezonja.

The reigning Spanish ACB MVP appeared a bit uncomfortable in his first preseason outing, something that was quite understandable considering he hadn’t suited up in an NBA capacity in over 6 years, but he wound up settling in nicely in the 2 games that followed.

Overall, Hezonja would post a versatile stat line of 10.0 Points, 5.3 Rebounds, 2.3 Assists, 1.3 Steals, and 0.7 Blocks, while completing roughly 42.3% of his field goals, including 50.0% from long distance. He even led the team in +/- at 4.0 (+12)

The former top 5 pick provided Cleveland with a viable source of off-ball shot making, transition offense, rebounding, on-ball creation and even a bit of interior defense, rejecting a few shots around the rim.

Hezonja was clearly comfortable operating with the ball in his hands whether he’s attempting to create for himself or make plays for others which leads me to what interested me the most from his performance. His post play.

He may have only had one true assist and didn’t register a single made field goal when operating out of the post but his willingness to back his defenders down, using his massive size and frame in the process, did result in a number of good looks for his teammates. That is a wrinkle that might be able to put to good use come the regular season. It would be coaching malpractice not to utilize this particular skill in my opinion.

Tyrese Proctor

But while Hezonja made the most of his opportunities, Tyrese Proctor failed to do enough to separate himself from the proverbial pack at backup point. The 49th pick in the 2025 Draft still features an intriguing mixture of skills both offensively and defensively but he just couldn’t showcase them in a way that translated to potentially earning more minutes.

Perhaps it was a little unfair to expect Proctor to do so in the first place considering that he doesn’t necessarily fit the archetype of a traditional point guard. But based on Head Coach Kenny Atkinson’s comments regarding how the staff might elect to handle that role, it felt as if he didn’t truly need to.

I entered preseason wanting to see if the youngster could prove to be a reliable ball handler, creating for others as needed while still adding as an off-ball shot. I walked away with the feeling that Proctor gained little-to-no ground on his primary competitors for the vacant role.

He ended preseason with averages of 4.0 Points, 1.0 Rebound, and 1.0 Assist, while knocking down just 35.7% of his shots.

To be fair, he didn’t get the opportunity to operate with the ball in his hands often, registering a usage rate of 15.3%. It was more common to see him moving along the perimeter, cutting baseline, screening for others, and simply functioning as an off-ball spacing outlet.

But here’s the thing, when he did get the chance, Proctor showcased an ability to conduct out of the pick-and-roll and off the dribble, putting enough pressure on the interior to free up others for makable looks. It’s not his fault that his teammates failed to convert. He had several potential assists by my account.

Adding to the disappointment was the fact that he failed to convert as efficiently from long distance as we’d have hoped. Drilling just 2/7 (28.6%) of his attempts. And considering that all but 1 of them were of the catch-and-shoot variety, it was even more damning with that being factored in as one of his biggest strengths.