Spurs trash could be Cavs treasure for 15th roster spot

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a bit of flexibility as the season is set to begin. While they have a deep roster that could go 13 deep on any given night, they also have their 15th and final roster spot wide open. Who could the Cavs add to fill the final spot?

This weekend marked the leaguewide cutdown date, when NBA teams had to trim their rosters of the extra contracts and training camp participants to get down to 15 rostered players and a pair of two-ways. The Cavs took part in this, letting go all four players on training camp deals and waiving RJ Nembhard off of his two-way deal.

That open two-way spot has since been filled, with Mamadi Diakite signing once he cleared waivers. That leaves one spot open for the Cavs.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a roster spot open. The Cavs could look to a young sharpshooter recently cut loose by the Spurs to fill that spot

They could certainly elect to keep that open heading into the season for the cost savings, especially as they sit close to the luxury tax line and want to stay under it. Their rotation needs to only go ten deep or so. Yet with Ricky Rubio out for a few months and Dylan Windler at the least likely to miss the start of the season, they could bring someone in for depth.

That would be the thought behind signing a veteran option to fill that final spot. Last week we highlighted a few such options who were likely to be available; all three are now on the open market, so if the Cavs went in that direction they could choose from a few different options.

Yet none of the players available offer much upside for the future, and the Cavs should be keeping that kind of player in mind. The only rookie on the roster is Isaiah Mobley on a two-way contract, and Evan Mobley and Diakite are the only sophomores. At the least, the Cavs can use that 15th spot to take a shot on someone developing into a useful player.

We now come to the San Antonio Spurs. They have fully embraced the rebuild and traded away multiple veterans. While they have an intriguing frontcourt they are putting together, their backcourt is all young and unproven pieces. They are likely to lose a lot of games.

As they put together a roster fully built to lose games and develop players for the future, they were forced to make a cut to get down to the legal number of players. They made the decision that the player they were comfortable moving on from was Joe Wieskamp.

The 6’6″ small forward entered the league 38 picks after Evan Mobley in the 2021 NBA Draft. Wieskamp was an elite shooter at the University of Iowa, including hitting 46.2 percent of his 3-pointers on high volume in his final season. That shot hasn’t graduated to the NBA yet, and through 29 career games Wieskamp has hit only 32.6 percent of his outside shots.

The idea of Wieskamp hits exactly what the Cavs need. There is not a movement shooter on the roster, and that archetype of player would be a huge help to the Cavs’ spacing and offensive flow if they had one. Ochai Agbaji absolutely shredded summer league as a shooter running off of screens, but he was a part of the trade package for Donovan Mitchell.

The Cavs could fill that need with a veteran, signing an end-of-bench guy like Wayne Ellington or making a trade for Duncan Robinson. The former would be a low-upside move, and the latter an expensive one, even if just to find the matching salary. Signing Wieskamp costs virtually nothing.

The shot hasn’t fallen for him yet, but he has a long track record as a plus shooter. He is also long-armed and sneakily very athletic. Projecting him to have a clear path to a Joe-Harris-like-impact is not out of the question, and it’s worth it to the Cavs to find out.

Wieskamp can come on board as the 15th guy, get a lot of run in the G League, and work with the Cavs’ developmental staff on his defense and movement. As the shot comes around, the Cavs could suddenly have a rotation player with the league’s most important skill.

Wieskamp is set to clear waivers very soon, and the Cavs or another team could claim him without letting him hit the open market. It’s likely we will know if he is an option for Cleveland very soon. If he is, the front office should jump at the chance to add someone young with a clear NBA skill. The Spurs’ trash could become the Cavaliers’ treasure.