Cleveland CavaliersUndisclosed Deal:-Nae’Qwan Tomlin, 6’9.5”, MemphisExhibit-10 Contract:-Darius Brown II, 6’2”, Utah StateSummer League Deal:-D.J. Burns Jr., 6’9”, North Carolina State-Hunter Cattoor, 6’2.5”, Virginia TechNae’Qwan Tomlin is one of the more interesting prospects in this class. He’s got awesome measurements for an NBA four. He’s also a late bloomer who didn’t play high school basketball. This past year, he scored 14.0 PPG on 60.1/39.6/77.4 splits. He’s a good leaper and light on his feet laterally, allowing him to cover multiple positions effectively. He played at Memphis this year after being dismissed from the team at Kansas State, which may be giving front offices pause. But Tomlin is big, talented, and improving at a rapid clip.Darius Brown II was one of the best point guards in college basketball last season. He’s a patient pick-and-roll operator who likes to use speed changes to manipulate the defense. His slick pull-up game (49.4% on pull-up twos, 41% on pull-up threes) makes defenses respect him, and when he gets downhill, his heads-up vision allows him to punish help time and time again. His 6.5 APG to only 1.9 TOV is a testament to the fact that he not only makes things happen but that he also rarely makes mistakes. Brown is a limited athlete, and at nearly 25 years old, he’s not going to get the same patience from NBA teams as his younger peers.D.J. Burns Jr. won over the hearts and minds of the basketball world after leading NC State to a Final Four appearance. His incredible blend of force and grace is mesmerizing to behold. He can bully smaller opponents for easy buckets, but he also has heaps of craft. Whether it’s a clever post move to get himself an easy bucket or a slick dish to an open teammate, Burns finds ways to create efficient looks. He’s lost a great deal of weight recently, and it will be interesting to see what he looks like after that. Previously, he’d been a little too slow-footed and ground bound to hang defensively at the NBA level. Plus, his 53.2 eFG% is a low mark for an older big man prospect. Regardless of whether or not he makes it over the hump, the D.J. Burns Summer League Experience will be must-watch television. Hunter Cattoor is an electric shooter who hit over 40% of his threes across all five of his college seasons. He’s more of an undersized wing than a true lead guard, and he’s not much of defender, which presents problems.
