Three reasons Cavs should avoid James Wiseman in 2020 NBA Draft

Questions about inside-out potential/ceiling

I’m not speaking in absolutes here in saying that Wiseman can’t develop an inside-out game over time in his development, but Wiseman’s post game doesn’t bring a lot to be desired outside of quick strong hand lefty hooks or switching to face-up drives and with him not having much floor spacing ability at this juncture, I’ll pass for the Cavs.

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Am I then saying Wiseman can’t be an effective rolling threat in pick-and-roll feasibly with Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, perhaps Matthew Dellavedova, who I believe Cleveland should bring back next season, or Cedi Osman?

No, no, he probably could do that pretty well early on, but Wiseman, despite being listed at 7-foot-1, is not a big that projects as really being to assert his will offensively against much more physical bigs, or even shorter bigs such as Tristan Thompson, who can use their strength to keep Wiseman’s touches a lot further than out in most instances.

Wiseman runs the break really well, gets up for his size for lobs and definitely finishes with authority after penetration from perimeter pieces, and those are all positives.

Does he have the potential to eventually create his own offense efficiently or can he at least become a player with above average passing feel, though?

Both of those are massive question marks, and assuming the Cavs have a very high draft pick in the 2020 NBA Draft selection, that says a ton to me, and I’d rather Cleveland go a different direction if they go with a big.

Wiseman has shown some touch on mid-post turnarounds, and can attack closeouts leading to left hand straight-line drives leading to interior finishes at times when opponents over-extend, but NBA opponents aren’t going to just give him those and will close to him slowly. Coupled with that, he’s not a capable enough pull-up shooter to warrant as much settling as he does.

To reinforce those aforementioned question marks, and also hitting on the defensive end a tad, this bit from a mock draft earlier this month from Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman further drifted me away from Wiseman as a fit for the Cavs. Wasserman’s mock had Wiseman going number six, for reference.

"“The attraction to Wiseman stems almost exclusively from a spectacular physical profile that includes 7’1″, 240-pound size, 7’6″ length and plenty of bounce. He’s a weapon without skill, able to protect the rim and pick up easy baskets off dump-downs, lobs and offensive rebounds. But drafting him at No. 6 still means expecting substantial development from his post moves, shooting touch and defensive instincts. Questions about Wiseman’s polish at both ends may lead to a mini-slide during an era in which centers who can’t stretch the floor, pass or switch have lost value.”"

Meanwhile, a player with far more impressive post polish already and one that’s flashed face-up ability in USC’s Onyeka Okongwu would be a much more logical selection if both were on the board at the Cavs’ pick.

Dayton’s Obi Toppin, while he did play in only the Atlantic 10, is a piece that could become a big-time roller/lob threat, but also has shown more post-up prowess, to go with power and has at least flashes as a pick-and-pop/spot-up threat. He hit 39.0 percent from downtown on 2.6 three-point attempts this season, per Sports Reference. His passing stands out as well, which is always even more encouraging when talking about a big; Toppin is already 22, though, which has likely helped in that realm.

For comparison’s sake, Wiseman is anything but a viable three-point shooting threat, and has not shown growth in that area thus far; he was zero-of-one in his small sample size of games at Memphis.

I suggest these two other options whether or not Andre Drummond ends up picking up his $28.8 million player option for next season, too, for context, which is seemingly a high possibility with the lack of teams with projected cap space, let alone significant cap space whenever the upcoming free agency period is.

Another reason Cleveland should steer clear of Wiseman in the 2020 NBA Draft is, well, a particularly concerning question mark from an intangible standpoint.