Being selected 49th overall, Tyrese Proctor faced an uphill battle for relevance in his rookie season. Even though his playing time was uneven, he showed that there’s a pathway to battle for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ backup point guard spot as early as next season.

All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.

Regular Season Stats

• 5.4 points
• 1.3 rebounds
• 1.5 assists
• 41.3% FG
• 35% 3PT FG
• 88.9% FT

It’s tough to break into the rotation on a playoff team as a rookie, never mind a second-round pick on a team with a dearth of guards. Proctor was always going to have to flash in his limited meaningful minutes with the Cavaliers this past season. For the most part, he showed that he could be up to the task with more development.

Proctor’s bread and butter is his jumper. In college, Proctor shot the three-ball around 40%. While that number dipped down to around 35% in the NBA, it could climb back up with more stable minutes in the future.

The majority of the opportunities Proctor was presented with came either in garbage time or in short bursts. The Cavaliers have done this before, most recently with Jaylon Tyson, sprinkling in some quality runs to get the young guy familiar with the system in meaningful moments.

Proctor has a lot physically going for him, he is 6’5” and has a good frame for showing combo guard potential. The Duke product isn’t a defensive hound by any means, but the instincts shown this past season give hope that there is potential for two-way play. The size gives him a huge advantage, while the athleticism is enough to create havoc in passing lanes and make smaller guards’ lives harder.

Where Proctor really struggled with was playmaking for others. It felt like sometimes the game was a little too fast. Proctor was forcing passes to make the perfect read, which while showing that he can see the floor, he didn’t necessarily have the ability yet to convert on those reads.

Proctor had 40 turnovers compared to 74 assists. A 1.85 assist-to-turnover ratio is not great, however, it is fair to note that going forward it is likely that this primary facilitator role will be held by either Donovan Mitchell or James Harden. It will be imperative that Proctor can alleviate either for possessions at a time rather than for entire games. Proctor will rarely, if ever, be the point guard of the Cavaliers’ offensive ecosystem.

Proctor’s road map is definitely there for next season. The Cavaliers have Dennis Schroeder and Craig Porter Jr. on the books vying for that backup point guard spot. Neither really offers much upside, so it’ll be a perfect opportunity for Proctor to flash his offensive skills and make use of his frame on defense.

The rookie laid a decent foundation for his role with the Cavaliers. With increased reps, Proctor could rise to become a valuable contributor sooner rather than later.

Grade: B