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So Long, David Nwaba

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I do agree that you can see that he's been working on it. It's still mechanical.

However, jumping from 0.3 attempts to 0.7 attempts per game is still pretty low. Thus, I wouldn't put any stock in the 34% with that low of attempts. I'd only take that as a sign of the fact that he went from "Oh hell nah, I'm not shooting this open three" to "You know what, I'm wide open, I'll take it I guess.. if I have to." He was also not a shooter in college.
He's far from a volume guy, but he has made progress. He's been effective around the rim. If Sexton does develop his shot, Nwaba having one may be less important if he brings the D. The plus with him is that he raises the energy level on defense of the people he plays with due to effort. I'd love for him to get the point where he takes 4-5 threes a game and gets 2 of them, but we'll see. It'd be nice to see him try more volume this season. It's not like we have anything to lose to at least see if he can make progress there.

Another reason why keeping Korver is a good idea unless we're blown away. I'd get Nwaba working with him as soon as those guys are able. Same for Sexton. Korver needs to have a shooting camp that all Cavs players should attend with a few exceptions (Love because he's good and Tristan because he's hopeless from that far out).
 
Should have been starting shooting guard for the Bulls.....I believe this is supposed to be a compliment but just want confirmation.

He took over as starting shooting guard in the sixth game of the season and started three games, but hurt the ankle in the third game. So he would have started the rest of those games if not for the injury. He wasn't 100% until late February.

I probably should explain the nuances of helping verbs because I could do so easily, but it's beneath me so I won't stoop to that level.
 
He's a fine player and exactly the type of guy a rebuilding team like the Cavs should bring in. He'll play hard and is still relatively young.

I'd caution everyone not to expect too much, though.
 
I’m happy about this signing. It makes Rodney expendable!
 
Interesting. In the above video it looks like he was playing PF in highschool, PF-y in college even.

Could he really be a late bloomer who spent less time refining his guard skills yet? I worry that his shooting will really limit him, although by all indications his a top notch character, which is awesome.

Rather take a chance on him than Hood to be honest.
 
I’m happy about this signing. It makes Rodney expendable!

I'd imagine it could be the opposite but we will see.

I think it's more likely that Korver or JR are dealt, as Nwaba is definitely a SG. That's assuming he's firmly in our plans and is in line to get significant minutes (20-25).

Hood will likely be back once his agent and him realize there's no other offers on the table.
 
Okay, so I had time to do some digging on Nwaba.

-The Bulls were about 1/3 of a point better defensively with Nwaba on the court. His advanced defensive statistics, though, are surprisingly below average. I did some digging to find out why...

-Nwaba tries hard on defense, and by box score stats is pretty much league-average, but lineup metrics dislike his performance. The biggest reason that I could find is opponents shoot much better when he is the primary defender. Opposing players shot 5.1% better against Nwaba compared to the average defender.

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So then I went to Synergy to do more digging. Nwaba was in the bottom 7% of defenders when it comes to defending spot-ups. Essentially, he is a horrible off-ball defender and gets lost pretty frequently. Teams frequently target him with player movement.

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Now, something felt off, because I watched a bit of the Bulls and he always was defending hard and was he least of their problems. So I looked at Nwaba's pro and college career. In a limited number of possessions with the Lakers (45), Nwaba ranked in the top-20% of defenders against spot-ups.

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In college, though, spot-ups were also a problem. He played for Cal Poly, who hardly face elite opponents, and ranked as a below-average (48th percentile) spot-up defender.

So what to take away from this? Nwaba has measurables that suggest he can become an elite defender. He also has an above-average defensive rebound rate for a guard that is his height (15.9%), and fairly high steal and block percentages (22.6% and 23% respectively).

Ironically, he analytically grades out as a positive offensive player, and my guess is it is because his steals, blocks, and hustle turn into transition opportunities.

The problem is that Nwaba has struggled to to take those measurables and box-score stats and turn them into a positive on defense. The big thing here will be learning how to defend in space and off-ball. If he can do that - I think this is likely given his length and athleticism along with work ethic - Nwaba will become a positive defender.
 
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I'd imagine it could be the opposite but we will see.

I think it's more likely that Korver or JR are dealt, as Nwaba is definitely a SG. That's assuming he's firmly in our plans and is in line to get significant minutes (20-25).

Hood will likely be back once his agent and him realize there's no other offers on the table.

Also once Korver, JR, and Hill are traded, we will be left with one guard who will play defense in Sexton. Nwaba should be able to crave out a role as the go to guard for defense. Cedi is probably a full time SF as the roster stands right now.
 
I'd imagine it could be the opposite but we will see.

I think it's more likely that Korver or JR are dealt, as Nwaba is definitely a SG. That's assuming he's firmly in our plans and is in line to get significant minutes (20-25).

Hood will likely be back once his agent and him realize there's no other offers on the table.
Noooo.

I really just can’t stand Hood’s attitude. It just disturbs me. I hope he signs the QO and move on.

ETA: I would like to keep Korver. He does help players with shooting, right? I think that is valueable, but I’ll understand if he gets traded.
 
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What I've been able to see, @jking948 - is Nwaba makes some young mental mistakes on defense when his offense isn't going well. Keep in mind the Bulls were also tanking last year. Once he established himself as a key positive player, many of the other veterans were benched around him.

On offense, he has established a strong baseline game, as the highlights from his 76ers game illustrates. However that was his best game shooting from the outside, maybe in his career. While baseline drives are his bread and butter, he needs to become more respectable hitting corner threes to keep his man from sagging off.
 

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