Cavs draft: Potential Zeke Nnaji 2nd-round pick purchase would be solid move

The Cleveland Cavaliers should be monitoring Zeke Nnaji’s situation come upcoming draft night.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been a relatively hot topic in the NBA world as of late. The talk surrounding them has been Andre Drummond‘s current contract situation.

According to reports, Drummond is said to be “undecided” on his player option decision and there have been some talks on an extension, albeit the two sides are not close there. In terms of more on those reported details, though, you can view more here, though it does still seem hard to foresee Drummond not eventually pick up his $28.7 million player option.

Anyhow, with Tristan Thompson’s unrestricted free agency looming, the Cavaliers could go into next season without their starting and backup centers, but again, Drummond would still appear likely to eventually be back via opt-in.

But for a team that is currently in a rebuild, it is debatable that losing players who are 27 and 29, respectively, isn’t a bad thing. For the Cavaliers, the goal would be to gain assets for these players but, it may not end up that way, and Thompson, for one, may not be back.

If the Cavaliers were to lose one or both of their centers, though, finding a replacement who could give equal or more production would be difficult. Doing so would require the Cavs to throw a lot of money to undeserving players which could cause even more cap issues.

Granted, in the case Drummond were to pick up his player option, the Cavs’ options would be limited to quite possibly the $9-10 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, anyway, in terms of a realistic way to perhaps add a notable piece.

So to reiterate, odds are Andre Drummond accepts his player option. But if the Cavs were to go wing at #5 in the 2020 NBA Draft, I could definitely see Tristan Thompson returning via short-term deal. According to a report from Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor (subscription required), Thompson could do so, seemingly via the MLE, and a source told him that the possibility of Thompson being back is ’50-50.'”

Moreover, moves like that would enable the Cavaliers to look late into the draft and find a center and allow him to develop gradually/provide them with limited minutes. Perhaps that type of developmental player, if Cleveland went wing at #5, could be a better long-term big option than Jordan Bell, whose deal is non-guaranteed next season.

That could apply with Dean Wade or Alfonzo McKinnie as well, whose deals are non-guaranteed from next season onward, and in McKinnie’s case, Cleveland could be very crowded at the wing next season. So who might be a target in that regard via 2nd-round purchase?

In that realm for the Cavs could be Zeke Nnaji.

A player that has caught a lot of people’s attention is Zeke Nnaji out of Arizona. Nnaji is a 6-foot-11 power forward/center who averaged 16.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, shooting 57.0 percent from the field, 29.4 percent from three-point land, and 76.0 percent from the free throw line in his lone season with the Wildcats.

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Looking at scouting reports, Nnaji is regarded as being agile and having a high motor. Offensively, his mobility and explosiveness give him great potential there.

Standing at 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, he is a serious lob threat and can fit in with the Cleveland Cavaliers nicely, if they were to select him perhaps via potential second-round pick purchase in the 2020 NBA Draft.

That’s with a pair of future second-rounders in exchange, too, I could see. Of course, navigating around the luxury tax threshold in doing so would have to be a focus here, though.

If that’d be feasible, the Cavaliers have made efforts to add a lob threat as a piece alongside Darius Garland and Nnaji would fill that role.

Plus, Nnaji is also looked at as an amazing offensive rebounder, leading the PAC-12 in offensive rebounds with 99. These rebounds would give extra possessions to the Cavaliers, which in turn, could lead to scores.

For players, a high free throw percentage often insinuates potential as a shooter and Nnaji’s case isn’t any different.

Nnaji has shown the ability to step out and hit from the mid-range and the three, though that wasn’t the case much via the latter. His jumper is solid and quick and having spacing at the center position is essential for those “non-unicorn” centers, and his mid-range J leads to optimism the three-point range could come along.

Now, Nnaji does come with his weaknesses, and that’s why he seemingly could be available in the second, based on a number of mocks/his draft range. Judging by his size, Nnaji projects to be a “tweener” center or one that lacks strength.

This lack of strength may mean that he isn’t someone who can play big minutes or continuously bang down low against other centers. This brings the question of whether or not the power forward position is better for him but, his lack of a perimeter game may shut down that question.

Defensively, Nnaji has some crinkles that must be tweaked and worked out. As it stands right now, rim protection doesn’t seem like a plus. At Arizona, Nnaji averaged just one block per 36 minutes.

For a near-7 footer, this is disappointing. Nnaji is prone to being outplayed by matchups that he should have the edge against, leading many to believe that his defensive motor might not be there.

Judging him as a whole, improvements physically could do wonders for him. Added strength would allow him to move to the center position full-time while technique improvements would make him a better rim protector. Offensively, improving his shot would add an element to his game and propel him as a player in the NBA.

The Cavaliers haven’t had a 7-footer with perimeter abilities since Channing Frye and with the evolution of the league, those types of players have a place in the NBA. Nnaji projects to be a nice transition player/lob threat with the ability to step out and keep the defense honest.

A player like this would give the Cavaliers more freedom at that center position and could open up the offense.

So to further emphasize it, the Cavs could easily deal a few future seconds for a second-round pick this year, attached with cash considerations seemingly, meaning that Zeke Nnaji would be a low-risk, high-reward player for this team. Albeit again, avoiding the luxury tax threshold in doing so would have to be doable in this sense, though, but they could seemingly do so.