One of these roster cut candidates could fill Cavs last spot

One of these roster cut candidates could fill Cavs last spot: David Nwaba

In the eight-player trade that saw Maurice Harkless land in Houston, David Nwaba was sent back to the Oklahoma City Thunder, another rebuilding team that needs to offload a couple of contracts in the next two weeks. Nwaba is a prime candidate to therefore hit the open market.

Whereas Harkless has a long track record of being a “2-and-D” wing, Nwaba’s career is more aspirational. He has bounced around to five teams in six seasons, including a stint with the Cavs in 2018-19, but has only totaled 237 games total, an average of 39.5 games. Injuries and a poor shooting stroke have limited his time on the court.

When he has played, Nwaba has proved to be an active athlete on the defensive end. He has averaged at least 1.5 steals and one block per-36 minutes in each of the last three seasons, and chipped in 6.8 rebounds per-36 in the process. He still has plenty of defensive juice, and he’s a decent finisher and ball mover on the wing.

The problem with Nwaba is the shot, and it’s probable at this point it’s never going to come around. Yet Nwaba is still a usable body at small forward, and adding another one of those for the minimum is a pretty good deal in today’s NBA.