Three reasons Cavs should avoid James Wiseman in 2020 NBA Draft

Wiseman’s motor has been questioned, and that’s off-putting in this rebuild

The Cavs are reportedly likely to lose the expiring Tristan Thompson this offseason, who is as hard-working as it gets and has carved out a really good career to this point as to some extent, an energy big that has given complete max effort on both ends. There’s never been any doubt that the Cavs have gotten all they possibly could from TT throughout his near-nine-years with the team.

The reason I bring up Thompson is that while he’s still somewhat limited and is a non-floor spacer, nobody has ever questioned his motor. That’s the main reason why Cleveland Cavaliers fans have always been so appreciative of TT, and his teammates and the organization, too.

How many times throughout the years have we seen Thompson make an offensive rebound against three opposing defenders?

It’s happened very often, and this season leading up to the NBA’s hiatus, Thompson is currently third in the league in total offensive rebounds, and Cavs starting center (at least currently) Andre Drummond, who has always given max effort, too, is first in that category, as indicated by Basketball Reference. In terms of contested rebounds this season, Thompson is ninth and Drummond is second, according to Second Spectrum’s NBA tracking data.

Anyhow, it’s unclear if we’ll truly see consistent buy-in and max effort from Wiseman on a game-to-game basis when he’s going up against NBA bigs, and stronger and more polished ones at that.

Wiseman’s inconsistent effort “at lower levels,” of which The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor mentioned in a piece back in November and of which was updated in December can’t be glossed over, as draft pundits have repeatedly touched on how he’s seemingly blended into games instead of being dominant.

Wasserman in a piece back in January mentioned how in high school, though it wasn’t the case at the Nike Hoop Summit, how there were “scouts who didn’t love his lack of intensity and motor,” again, in relation to Wiseman.

With the Cavaliers likely still being multiple years away from being a realistic threat for an Eastern Conference postseason berth, inconsistent effort is really concerning.

Plus, there are absolutely not those in relation to prospects such as Okongwu or Toppin. Wing prospects the Cavs could potentially target in Auburn’s Isaac Okoro or Deni Avdija of The I-BSL’s Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv, among others, don’t have those concerns surrounding them, either.

Work ethic and accountability (even more so under head coach J.B. Bickerstaff) are major keys to this Cavs’ rebuild, and I’m anything but certain the unquestioned buy-in from Wiseman will be there, especially with Cleveland having pieces such as Collin Sexton, Garland, Kevin Porter Jr. and still at least, Kevin Love, currently projecting as being the key scoring threats next year.

Last but not least, the last reason why the Cavs should avoid Wiseman in the 2020 NBA Draft relates to the defensive end in terms of the team dynamic.