If you’ve watched Cleveland operate over the last 13 years, the pattern is hard to miss: the Cavaliers keep digging up undrafted players who play like they’ve got something to prove. Matthew Dellavedova.
Lamar Stevens. Dean Wade.
Craig Porter Jr. And now Nae’Qwan Tomlin looks ready to keep the run going.
Tomlin is entering his third season with the organization next year, and he’s in a much better spot than the typical flyer. He’s on a guaranteed deal, and the door is open for him to matter in a real way.
The Cavs don’t just need him to survive a roster spot. They need him to bring the kind of energy and edge that has turned so many of these finds into useful NBA pieces.
Last season, he wasted no time forcing his way into the conversation. Tomlin arrived in the second half of the year on a two-way contract, then had his deal converted to a standard one after making the most of his opportunity.
That path should sound familiar in Cleveland. Wade and Stevens both came in undrafted and spent time on two-way deals before carving out roles by defending wings, making life miserable for opponents, and delivering a moment fans remembered.
Stevens had the game-winning dunk against Atlanta as a rookie. Wade delivered a 20-point fourth quarter against Boston. Tomlin has his own highlight already, too: he picked Luka Doncic clean and finished with a coast-to-coast slam against the Lakers.
He’s a similar height to Wade, and the comparison isn’t just about size. Tomlin has shown he can bother the player in front of him and bring the same kind of frustration on defense.
The shot is still a work in progress - his three-point percentage was low last season - but the upside is obvious if that part starts to come around. In Vegas, he hit 43% on limited attempts, and that kind of stretch would only make him harder to ignore.
What makes Tomlin stand out in this line of Cleveland success stories is the way he plays with force. He chirps at matchups.
He dunks with authority. He attacks the offensive glass.
He brings the same gritty, chippy feel that has defined a lot of these undrafted Cavs over the years, even if Matthew Dellavedova’s tenure came before the two-way era.
And his rise has been quick. He went from not playing basketball in high school to becoming a fourth-quarter minutes player in a relatively short span. That’s not a normal climb, and it helps explain why the organization seems to trust him more and more.
With Dean Wade gone to Philadelphia and Larry Nance Jr. headed to Indiana, Tomlin looks lined up for a bigger role. It would be a surprise if he isn’t getting 15 minutes a night to open next year, and he should be the primary backup power forward when Evan Mobley and Peyton Watson aren’t on the floor.
For Cleveland, that’s the whole point of this pipeline. Find the undrafted guy.
Develop the edge. Give him a chance.
Tomlin already looks like one of those players who belongs, and if the jumper keeps trending the right way, his value will only climb. At a cheap price, too, that’s the kind of bet the Cavs have kept cashing for years.
In Other News...
Cavs Have An Urgent Two-Way Decision As New Guard Emerges
Ryan Nembhards brief time on the market has quickly become a real point of interest for Cleveland, which is weighing whether the rookie point guard fits one of its two-way openings. After being waived recently, Nembhard has drawn attention for the kind of efficient playmaking teams tend to value in that role, and his showing last season, when he averaged seven points and 5.5 assists per game, gave front offices a clearer look at what he can offer.
For the Cavaliers, the decision is not just about adding a young guard with some traction around the league. A move for Nembhard would require creating room by moving on from Riley Minix, and the clock matters because Cleveland is not alone in monitoring him. With other teams also interested, the Cavs have an immediate roster-choice to sort through before the market closes around a player whose emergence has made him more than a throw-in name. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Season May Come Down To One Chemistry Problem
The Cavaliers spent the offseason reshaping the roster around a core that still has plenty to prove together, and the biggest question is less about talent than timing. James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are the headliners, but last season offered only limited chances for those players to build the kind of rhythm good teams lean on when possessions tighten and the margins get thin.
New faces around them should help, especially if the supporting cast can deliver defensive energy and keep the group deeper over the course of the year. Even so, Clevelands ceiling may end up tied to how quickly its main pieces learn one anothers tendencies, because in a crowded Eastern Conference the difference between a promising lineup and a true contender often comes down to chemistry more than reputation. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers May Have Found A Low-Risk Answer On The Wing
Mario Hezonja is back in the NBA conversation after three productive seasons in Europe, where his shooting numbers took a clear step forward. Once a fifth overall draft pick, he now arrives with the kind of rsum that looks different than it did when he first entered the league, and for a Cavaliers team always looking for usable wing depth, that makes him an intriguing name to watch.
The comparison that naturally comes to mind is PJ Tucker, who rebuilt his NBA stock overseas by becoming a dependable jumper and a more versatile defender. Hezonja is not there yet, but the path is easy to see: if his improved shooting translates and he can offer enough toughness on the perimeter, he could end up looking like a low-risk addition with a chance to stick. [Read more 🡒]