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Cavaliers pick up Lamar Stevens’ $1.9 million team option for 2023-24 season

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James Foglio
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James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

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Updated23 Jun 2023

Cleveland Cavaliers pick up Lamar Stevens $1.9 million team option for 2023-24 season

The Cleveland Cavaliers are exercising Lamar Stevens’ $1.9 million team option for the 2023-24 season, according to sources. Stevens’ $1,930,681 salary for 2023-24 is non-guaranteed. However, this amount will become fully guaranteed on Jan. 10, 2024.

Stevens is entering the final season of his four-year, $5.88 million contract he signed with the club in April 2021. The 6-foot-6 forward made 25 starts in 62 appearances in the 2022-23 season. He averaged 5.3 points and career highs of 3.3 rebounds and 18.1 minutes per game.

Per multiple NBA betting sites, the Cavaliers hold 10th-shortest odds to win next season’s championship in 2024. Check out which sportsbooks are showing better odds for the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, and Philadelphia 76ers.


Stevens also shot 44.8% from the floor, a career-best 31.6% beyond the arc, and 70.2% at the foul line. In the Cavaliers’ 105-90 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 14, the forward recorded season highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds in 39 minutes as a starter.

Cleveland went 0-2 in Stevens’ first two starts in mid-November. The Cavaliers then proceeded to win their next five straight games with the Penn State product in the starting lineup.

Cleveland Cavaliers exercise Lamar Stevens’ $1.9 million team option for the 2023-24 season, turn down trade offers for center Jarrett Allen

“He’s got great poise,” Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of Stevens. “He’s not afraid of the moment. There’s not a matchup he doesn’t believe he’s got the favor. At the end of the game, when you’ve got guys like Donovan [Mitchell] and Darius [Garland] and their ability to create for others and score, you’re gonna need to get those stops.

“And Lamar has been able to fit in with that group to help them get stops. The threesome — him and Jarrett [Allen] and Evan [Mobley] — it’s tough defensively. We’re working to find that balance, but I think he’s done a great job so far.”


Additionally, in the Cavaliers’ first-round series loss to the New York Knicks, Stevens played less than nine minutes combined off the bench in Games 3 and 5. Stevens scored two points on free throws in Game 3, and he knocked down a 3-pointer in Game 5.

In other news, the Cavaliers turned down multiple trade offers on Friday for 6-foot-11 center Jarrett Allen, per reports. Cavaliers G.M. Michael Gansey views Allen as a “core piece,” along with Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley. Allen has spent his last three seasons with Cleveland.

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