Inside Ernest Udeh Jr.’s Case for Standard Roster Spot With Cavs

Similar to current Cavalier forward Jaylon Tyson, Ernest Udeh Jr. bounced around in college. He played for three schools in four years, finishing his career with Miami (FL) in 2025-26. A little NCAA Tournament run and solid production saw him land in Cleveland on a two-way deal following going undrafted.

A solid Vegas showing proved the team wise in their decision to invest a little in the big man. The 22-year-old has shown plenty of promise and flashes of being a legitimate NBA big man.

Let's talk about his case for getting a standard deal during the 2026-27 season.

An Old-School Big Man

Ernest Udeh Jr. is a classic old-school big man. He won’t score a ton of points. He won’t demand a whole lot of touches offensively. But this is the type of player you get the ball to right at the rim and he’ll hammer it home. Whether an alley-oop or a poster, he’s regularly putting defenders on notice with his ferocity.

To that point, he only averaged four points per game in the Summer League. He averaged six points per game as a senior at Miami. Udeh did average nine rebounds per game though over 28 minutes a night. At a per-36 clip in the NBA, that would mean a double-digit per-game average. He does well to clean the glass.

Most notable from his Summer League run were the 2.8 blocks per game. Udeh proved to be a force defending inside, and that could be his bread and butter. There is not much doubt that he will open 2026-27 as one of the best shot-blockers in the G-League. Averaging 1.4 per contest for the full year at Miami, he showed what he was capable of. They don't have anybody behind Thomas Bryant right now.

A Cost-Saving Opportunity

Depending how the Cavs swing in free agency over these next few days for their final roster spot(s), they could have a need for an extra big. With the two-way contract, guys can be active for up to 50 regular season games. Because the G-League season starts a little after the NBA one, they could have Ernest Udeh, Tristan Enaruna, and Riley Minix active to begin.

If they choose to give Udeh the standard deal, it would be even cheaper than signing somebody else to a veteran minimum. This would project to be a later-on move. Similar to Dean Wade, Lamar Stevens, Craig Porter Jr., and Nae’Qwan Tomlin before him, the two-way deal would happen sometime during the opening campaign.

Ernest Udeh Jr. throws down the alley-oop jam 💥

The Cavaliers lead at the break in @NBASummerLeague action! pic.twitter.com/bjERM1serd
— NBA (@NBA) July 14, 2026

Udeh showed he has the chops to play with the big dogs, and this is a little cheaper than a guy like Nick Richards. Hopefully he gets some regular season chances to prove himself. A player with serious potential to be a strong rim-runner and shot swatter in the association. Thomas Bryant can't be the only bench big man here.

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