What can Wendell Carter Jr. bring to the Cavs?

What can Duke University center Wendell Carter Jr. bring to the Cleveland Cavaliers?

According to cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon, 6-foot-10, 260 pound center Wendell Carter Jr. will work out for the Cleveland Cavaliers ahead of Game 3 as the Cavs both try to fight from down 2-0 to the Golden State Warriors in the 2018 NBA Finals and prepare for the 2018 NBA Draft.

Carter, who turned 19-years-old in April, played just one season at Duke University after being ranked 5th on the ESPN100 for the Class of 2017.

As a senior at Pace Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, Carter had 22.7 points, 15.5 rebounds and 5.8 blocks as he led the team to a state championship. He averaged 13.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.1 blocks and 0.8 steals in 26.8 minutes per game on 54.6 percent shooting from the field, 41.3 percent shooting from three-point range and 73.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line in his freshman season at Duke.

Upon coming to Duke, where fellow big man and the top-ranked recruit in the Class of 2017 — Marvin Bagley III — would also attend, Carter’s potential to put up monster numbers would naturally take a hit.

Gone are the Twin Tower offenses of yesteryears and in are the free-flowing motion offenses of the modern NBA, a game that relies on spacing and positional versatility. Indeed, while Bagley led the team in field goal attempts per game, their perimeter unit of Grayson Allen, Trevon Duval and Gary Trent Jr. each averaged more field goal attempts per game than Carter despite Carter averaging the second-highest scoring per 40 minutes.

Despite having to share the spotlight so to speak, Carter’s game shined enough to earn what are realistic comparisons to 5-time All-Star Al Horford.

Per The Athletic’s Michael Scotto:

"“He’s a very cerebral player who has the ability to stretch (the floor),” an NBA scout told The Athletic. “He’s a very good passer for a big man and had a great plus-minus. He’s a bit like Elton Brand. Actually, Brand and Horford.”"

That’s not by any coincidence though, as Carter says it’s been a conscious decision to replicate Horford’s game (per Scotto):

"“Growing up I always loved Anthony Davis’ game … As I matured I learned that wasn’t the ideal type of person to model my game after. I started hearing Al Horford a lot, so that’s someone I’ve decided to model my game after.”"

For the Cavaliers, who just faced Horford and the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals and literally gameplanned to stop him specifically, adding Carter to their center corps would solve a myriad of issues for their team.

Carter, like Horford, is a Swiss Army knife whose ability to space the floor while anchoring the defense allows them to play the 5-out offensive system that they thrive in without giving up size on the glass or hindering their defensive potential because there isn’t a rim-protector or player athletic enough to consistently challenge shots on the perimeter and protect the interior.

With Kevin Love starting at center, the Cavaliers had an offense that allowed LeBron James and what were the team’s slashers in Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose to attack the rim with ease and kick it out to open shooters should the defense collapse. They also had the option of getting an entry pass into Love on the low block so that he could make a move to score.

They didn’t, however, have a center who could consistently defend pick-and-rolls or the paint at a high level and I’m being gentle with my verbiage.

Carter, though not the most athletic player himself, is fleet-footed enough to force players into tough shots on the perimeter and disciplined enough to make correct, timely rotations and consistently. Due to his average athleticism, he could get blown by off the dribble by quicker guards but with his length (7-foot-3 wingspan) and ability to get himself into great position to contest shots around the rim, the margin of error is greater for him than it would be for Love.

With Carter’s ability to knock down shots outside and use his size to drop in shots from inside from either block, the Cavaliers will have a better option in him as their starting center than they do with Love, Larry Nance Jr. or Tristan Thompson.

Carter’s footwork, feel and ability to consistently seal his man deep inside are particularly important on the offensive end, as it gives them another low-post option and player who can exploit switching defenses. In regards to Carter’s perimeter game, his ability to attack in straight-line drives is just another tool in his toolbox that will allow him to take advantage of the defense. Should they overplay him outside or close out hard on the shot attempt, Carter can scuttle past for the inside score.

While Love’s defense prevents him from being the ideal starter at center, Nance and Thompson’s inability to space the floor prevents them from being ideal starters at center as well.

As a passer, Carter is both aware and on-target, able to find the open man from the post. The Cavaliers would also be wise to try running short rolls Carter because of his passing ability.

On the boards, each of Love, Thompson and Nance are spectacular rebounders but Carter possesses just a bit more girth than any of them. Girth that’s likely to come in handy as he sets picks as well, freeing up slashers for lane penetration.

I would be remiss not to mention that if James chose to leave, it’s a move that would probably prompt a rebuilding team to trade Love, a player whose primary goal is to chase championships. Carter is an intriguing new face of the franchise in that event. In a guard-oriented league, he could be invaluable simply because he’s as near a perfect fit as you can get in a modern big man.

WIth the way the game is played now, finding intelligent centers who can affect the game in every facet and space the floor like Carter is necessary but exceedingly difficult.

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That fact alone could be worth drafting the Atlanta-native with the eighth overall pick.