King James Gospel
Fansided

3 potential lineups the Cavs could use involving James Wiseman

By Mason Cole

Former Memphis Tigers big man James Wiseman waits on the floor during a timeout. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
Former Memphis Tigers big man James Wiseman waits on the floor during a timeout. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers big man Andre Drummond talks with players on the Atlanta Hawks bench in-game. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

Potential Cleveland Cavaliers lineup #3 involving Wiseman: Garland-Porter Jr.-Nance Jr.-Wiseman-Drummond

This lineup would absolutely be labeled as experimental, mainly because it would feature two centers. In the NBA, it seems that every year teams are marching out lineups that are smaller and smaller. This lineup would be the exact opposite of that trend.

Garland and Porter Jr. would be a fairly traditional backcourt, but Nance Jr. would be a non-traditional small forward, and Wiseman would be a huge forward next to Drummond. But when I look at this lineup, I believe that this would be a great career outcome for Wiseman and the Cavaliers. Because if Wiseman is able to play the role of a stretch forward, with his 7-foot-1 size, he could be one of the best big men in the NBA.

For Wiseman to fill this role and play power forward next to a fairly traditional center in Drummond, he would have to be an above average three-point shooter and have at least some sort of ball handling skill in a perimeter sense. If Wiseman develops those skills early on in his career, he could become one of the best big men in the entire NBA.

But yet again, the defensive abilities of this lineup would be up in the air. While it may feature solid individual defenders, Porter Jr., Drummond and Wiseman, the big question would be how these players fit together defensively? While Wiseman may be a good post defender and rim protector, how would he fare against smaller, quicker power forwards? The same can be said for Nance Jr. How would he fare against quicker players opposing him?

Defense is the big question-mark regarding this lineup, but that seems to be the case for every hypothetical Cavs lineup. If Wiseman could play stretch four next to Andre Drummond, he could quickly develop into a force to be reckoned with.

If the Cavaliers end up selecting Wiseman in the 2020 NBA Draft, he could end up being the centerpiece of the franchise. With his size, skill, and athletic ability, he could end up being an elite NBA big man sometime down the line.

Next. Cleveland Cavaliers: Top 15 draft picks in franchise history. dark

If the Cavaliers are lucky enough to land the first pick in the upcoming draft lottery, Wiseman will no doubt be on the mind of Altman and company.