CLEVELAND — Editor's note: the video in the player above is from a previous story.
Speaking to reporters for the first time since the trade became official, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff made it clear that he was excited for his team's acquisition of Caris LeVert.
But when it comes to the sixth-year guard's role with his new team and whether he'll be a part of Cleveland's starting lineup, Bickerstaff and his staff have yet to make such determinations.
"We're going to evaluate lineups like we always do," Bickerstaff said. "What we're trying to put together the best five-man groups that we can. We'll give it some time. We'll figure out how exactly we want to go through it. We'll mix and match some of these lineups to see what the best fit is because we've got to put together 48 minutes of quality basketball and we've got to put the best groups out there that we can."
Whether LeVert starts or not could be as simple as how willing Bickerstaff is to shake up what has worked for the Cavs to this point in the season. While the 27-year-old swingman is more established in the NBA than Cleveland's current starting shooting guard, Isaac Okoro, the bulk of the Cavs' success this season has come after Cleveland moved the second-year player into its starting lineup.
Another option for the Cavs could be starting both LeVert and Okoro and moving Lauri Markkanen to a role off the bench. Cleveland, however, has oftentimes benefitted from the uniqueness of its current starting frontcourt, which features three seven-footers in Markkanen, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.
"One of our strengths is the chemistry that we have," Bickerstaff said. "And we want to continue to build on that, so we don't want to do things that could disrupt it."
That doesn't necessarily mean LeVert won't start or have a sizable role for the Cavs -- far from it. In fact, Bickerstaff acknowledged Cleveland's need to add a player of LeVert's caliber who is capable of playing with and without the ball.
"His natural skillset fits exactly what we do and what we need," he said.