3 reasons why the Cleveland Cavaliers should not trade David Nwaba
By Dan Gilinsky
When healthy, David Nwaba can be a rock-solid contributor for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and they shouldn’t trade him.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, as we’ve emphasized throughout this disastrous season, have been crushed by injuries. One of the pieces that has missed significant time due to injury is guard David Nwaba, who has reportedly been scratched from Cleveland’s last 18 games because of a nasty ankle sprain.
He also reportedly dealt with nagging knee soreness that caused him to miss significant time earlier in the season, and that combination has been tough. It’s really put the Cavaliers and Nwaba in a bind, as KJG’s own Eli Mooneyham detailed, and that was a few weeks ago.
As Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor noted Thursday, only the Denver Nuggets have “missed more games due to injury.”
According to Basketball Reference, Nwaba has only been active in 21 games this year, which has tangibly hurt the Cavaliers. When Nwaba has started, as Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal/Ohio.com recently noted (h/t Basketball Insiders’ Spencer Davies), the Cavs “are 3-3.”
Nwaba's dealt with a couple of different injuries, most recently the ankle issue. Per @MRidenourABJ, #Cavs are 3-3 with him starting. https://t.co/NfDafnujqK
— Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) February 1, 2019
That’s a respectable record with this guy in there for Cleveland, and although there’s reportedly not timetable for Nwaba’s return, Cleveland head coach Larry Drew said Nwaba did go “through full-contact practice” on Thursday, per Ridenour.
That health for Nwaba could be of particular interest to other NBA teams, and Yahoo Sports’ Keith Smith tweeted this (h/t Hoops Rumors’ Luke Adams) on January 18 when it comes to potential players that could be dealt, citing Nwaba as one of those players.
Less than three weeks to the trade deadline, here are the names coming up most: DeWayne Dedmon, Jeremy Lin, Jonathon Simmons, Wayne Ellington, Robin Lopez, Enes Kanter, Noah Vonleh and David Nwaba.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 18, 2019
Common theme? All are on expiring contracts or de facto expiring contracts.
Now at first glance, Nwaba’s 6.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.6 steals per game this season don’t holler out that he’s a really massive contributor, but when he’s played considerable minutes, the Cavaliers are much better.
On the defensive end of the floor, Nwaba’s value is especially seen. With him in the rotation, Cleveland is much better off there, and that’s the first reason why he shouldn’t be traded near the upcoming February 7 NBA trade deadline.