What will Deron Williams bring to the Cleveland Cavaliers?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a “playmaker” now, but what does Deron Williams bring to the table?

LeBron James has been quiet on this front lately, but for a time he took every opportunity to publicly lament the need for more depth on the Cleveland Cavaliers. He specifically cited the need for a proven “playmaker” to back up point guard Kyrie Irving, with an open workout put together in an effort to find one.

The Cavaliers had no real flexibility to do anything at the trade deadline, so the waiver and buyout markets stood to be their best options to add to the roster.

The Dallas Mavericks made a late push to trade Deron Williams before the deadline, and they wound up waiving him on Thursday. The Cavaliers were immediately mentioned as Williams’ likely landing spot once he cleared waivers, and Shams Charania of The Vertical has reported the veteran point guard will sign with Cleveland on Monday.

Williams had a productive run with the Mavericks this season, averaging 13.1 points, 6.9 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game over 40 games (all starts). But as has been the case in recent years, Williams has dealt with injuries (toe, ankle, calf) and durability concerns are not going away.

A reserve role with the Cavaliers will be mostly new for Williams, as he has started 767 of his 821 career regular season games. But he has the postseason experience (72 career games) James is probably seeking, and he can clearly take some ball-handling weight off James and Irving. In theory, Williams can offer each of Cleveland’s backcourt stars separate rest with the other on the floor.

Next: NBA Trade Deadline: Winners and losers

Williams is a diminished version of the 18-20 point per game scorer he was in his prime. But he knows how to get where he needs to on the floor, and his overall savvy is just what the Cavaliers need off the bench. Williams can’t be faulted for trying to chase a ring, and Cleveland is the best place to do it this side of Oakland.