Report: Cavaliers targeting Alex Caruso and T.J. McConnell in free agency

The Cavaliers couldn’t stop LeBron James from leaving for the Lakers.

But could Cleveland poach one of LeBron’s helpful teammates in Los Angeles – Alex Caruso – in free agency to accelerate its rebuild?

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com:

Any potential free agency list should start with Indiana’s T.J. McConnell and Los Angeles pest Alex Caruso. Both are Cavs targets.

They are looking for length, athleticism, versatility and shooting.

Length. Athleticism. Versatility. Shooting. T.J. McConnell?

The Pacers guard certainly doesn’t bring those qualities. But maybe the Cavaliers just think he’s good enough to deviate from their priority list.

Caruso better qualifies with that job description.

For the same reasons, the Lakers want to re-sign him. But they also must handle Dennis Schroder’s unrestricted free agency and Talen Horton-Tucker’s restricted free agency. Montrezl Harrell (player option) and Andre Drummond could also command not-insignificant salaries this summer. Perhaps, Caruso will be the odd man out if payroll climbs too high.

Cleveland will probably have just the mid-level exception, which projects to be worth nearly $10 million. Will that be enough for Caruso? Maybe, maybe not. But it’d probably be enough to lure McConnell.