Recently, the Cleveland Cavs shook things up at the NBA trade deadline by trading for former Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden. Harden has already made an immediate impact for the Cavs, nailing a clutch three in the team’s narrow road win over the Denver Nuggets on Monday evening.
One of the unsung heroes for the Cavs this year has been forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin, who has made some big plays for the team during their ongoing West Coast trip, and recently, Tomlin got some good news about his NBA future in Cleveland.
“The Cleveland Cavaliers are signing two-way forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin to a new two-year, $3 million guaranteed contract, agent Aaron Turner of Verus Basketball tells ESPN. Tomlin has served as a reliable, energetic reserve for the Cavs,” reported NBA insider Shams Charania of ESPN on X, formerly Twitter.
Indeed, Tomlin has been filling a valuable role for the Cavs this year, providing defensive intensity and energy, as well as an offensive game that is more polished than many expected it to be coming into the year.
While Tomlin and some of his teammates might see a reduced role come playoff time, when rotations naturally tighten up, he is still a reliable reserve for the Cavs, and has now been rewarded with a standard NBA contract, as opposed to the two-way deal he had previously been on.
Meanwhile, the Cavs are hoping to continue the momentum they’ve started to build thus far in the Harden era. So far, Harden and co-star Donovan Mitchell have shown no signs of the chemistry issues that some fans feared might be present when the trade was first announced, and Cleveland is slowly working its way up the Eastern Conference standings as a result.
The Cavs will next take the floor on Wednesday evening vs the Washington Wizards for their final game before the All-Star break.