Cavs: B/R suggestion of Wes Iwundu as FA target would help defense

The Cleveland Cavaliers need defensive help.

This offseason for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the defensive end needs to be the primary focus. That can’t be overstated, and Cavs general manager Koby Altman noted that to the media, via Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, previously.

I still would prefer to the see the Cavaliers prioritize that in the 2020 NBA Draft, and Isaac Okoro, Deni Avdija and Onyeka Okongwu, if Cleveland stands pat #5, would help there even early on I believe. That said, Fedor recently mocked (subscription required) Obi Toppin to the Cavaliers, and while Toppin to the Cavs is seemingly well in-play, it really concerns me from a defensive standpoint.

But either way, if they went with Toppin, or Okongwu, for example, or James Wiseman, if he were to fall, and whose another player I’m not a big fan of, Cleveland looking to sign a wing this offseason would seem logical.

And, to drive this home, while Andre Drummond has not been definitive regarding his $28.7 million player option decision, of which you can view reported details about here, it still is hard to foresee him not exercising that.

Circling back to the wing free agent topic, though, that’d be via the $9-10 million mid-level exception, if the Cavs, in the scenario they draft a big, were to not bring back the unrestricted-to-be Tristan Thompson.

Now, a wing that’s been linked to the Cavs has been Derrick Jones Jr., who I’d be on-board with, but according to a report from Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the Cavs were not listed as a club that’s expected to pursue Jones.

That was seemingly confirmed by a report from Sam Amico of Sports Illustrated, and also, Amico Hoops, who noted the Cavaliers “do not have an interest in Jones,” so that appears out. Granted, per prior reports, Cleveland’s expected to have interest in Josh Jackson, Pat Connaughton and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, among others.

I’d ideally, in this case, like to see Cleveland sign a player that can create their own offense in Jackson, who could perhaps be added reportedly for less than the full MLE, and Connaughton could be a decent rotational piece as an alternative. I’d pass on Kidd-Gilchrist, who’d be a non-offensive factor.

As far another potential wing signing via the MLE, though, Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale suggested Wesley Iwundu, whose set to be a restricted free agent. Favale noted Jones, but it doesn’t appear the Cavs are interested, and Jackson. Albeit Iwundu could be a sensible signing, too, and here was some of Favale’s take on that.

"“Wes Iwundu can actually top Cleveland’s board if it’s willing to dangle most, if not all, of the MLE to wrench him from the Orlando Magic. He is a pesky defender at every wing spot and showed more three-point touch over the latter half of last season. From Jan. 1 onward, he drained 42.9 percent of his deep balls, albeit on less than modest volume.Other wings are larger headline-grabbers, but Iwundu has ‘shrewd investment’ written all over him. Upping his outside volume gives him a clear path to three-and-D territory, and he’ll hold even more utility if the pull-up jumper he’s already taking starts to fall at a higher rate.”‘"

The key here is Iwundu would help the Cavs defense.

As Favale alluded to, the 6-foot-6 Iwundu is a “pesky” wing defender, and for considerable stretches at the 2/3 spots, he would be a good defensive piece to aid Cleveland’s defense, which is largely devoid of effective wing defenders.

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That could help out players such as Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, Kevin Porter Jr., Dylan Windler and feasibly in some instances with him, Cedi Osman.

Iwundu is a highly capable defender on the perimeter whose ball pressure could greatly aid Cleveland’s defensive efforts in his minutes on the floor, and I could potentially see him pushing Cedi Osman for Cleveland’s starting 3 role as the season moves along.

But even if that’s not the case, Iwundu and his 7-foot-1 wingspan hounding opposing perimeter players could make a tangible impact for the Wine and Gold for key stretches in games.

In turn, that would be quite the selling point for consistent minutes game-to-game.

Although, Iwundu having a pull-up effective field goal shooting clip of 42.8 percent in 2019-20, per NBA.com’s shot tracking data, was not fantastic.

Nor was Iwundu hitting 32.3 percent of his catch-and-shoot three-point attempts, but him hitting that aforementioned 42.9 percent of his deep balls in the 2020 portion of the schedule, as Favale hit on, was encouraging. So was Iwundu hitting 37.0 percent of his triple attempts from the corner.

Iwundu could benefit from drive-and-kicks from Garland/Sexton and/or KPJ, and/or ball-swing swing feeds from Larry Nance Jr./Kevin Love.

Plus, Iwundu could benefit from handoff deliveries from Nance, Drummond/Love, where Iwundu is very effective when he can get downhill, and those often have led to free throws for him. Speaking of that realm, Iwundu having a free throw rate of 34.1 percent in his career thus far shows how he’d be a nice secondary driving threat in his minutes-share as well.

Nonetheless, if the Cleveland Cavaliers were to pursue Iwundu in this upcoming free agency period, his defensive capability against opposing wings and his ball pressure would be the crucial way he’d aid the Wine and Gold in his minutes.

That specifically, from my perspective, could enable him to fit in a variety of lineups/with a number of perimeter pieces at the 2/3 for stretches.

So even while I’d frankly, prefer Jackson, and Wes Iwundu having 5.8 points per game in 18.3 minutes on average in 2019-20 wasn’t outstanding, the Cavs targeting him, given his defensive capabilities, would be a move I could be on-board with. Maybe that could be via one-year or a multiple year deal, we’d have to see, but I can understand where Favale is coming from here.

Perhaps if the Magic didn’t match an offer and this were to work out with Iwundu/the Cavaliers, Cleveland could have a solid wing to have in the rotation in the near future.