The Cleveland Cavaliers only have so much longer before Nae'Qwan Tomlin hits his 50-game limit as a two-way contract player. The rule is that he only has to be active on the roster on a game night to count it, so by that count, Tomlin and the Cavs have used 38 games on his current deal. 

Tomlin has become a fixture in Cleveland's rotation this season, bringing the hustle and toughness the team has needed in critical moments.

In an episode of Courtside with Cavs, Spencer German and I talked about Tomlin's contract situation and whether or not his deal will be converted:

"I think that he's gonna be converted probably sooner rather than later. Kenny  [Atkinson] needs him; he said as much in his press conference after that Jazz game. Nae'Qwan, it felt like [Wednesday] there were two of him on the floor. He's on the floor for the energy. It's the race-horse mentality, the way he gets up and down; someone on Twitter called it the Nae'Qwan skedaddle, the sprint 94 feet. It's beautiful to watch.

"Kenny uses him to pick up full a lot. You see him with those slot cuts looking really good, especially when he can throw the hammer down the way that he does. And defensively, it's an energy boost. I love that Kenny's trying to put him some shooters in there with him now, instead of just leaving him out there to dry with some bad spacing. He can take advantage of the attention that those guys draw."

After sweeping their two-game series with the Philadelphia 76ers, the Cavs are now home and have back-to-back days off for the first time in three weeks.

Cleveland will next host the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in a matinee affair at Rocket Arena on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Watch the full episode of Courtside with Cavs, and remember to subscribe to our CavsRoundtable YouTube channel for more coverage of the Cavaliers through the 2025-26 NBA season.

You can follow our comprehensive Cavs coverage as a team here on RoundtableSports.