Cavs Rim Protection Could Come Via 2015 NBA Draft

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in search of rim protection, not only this season but for the long term future. For the Cavs, rim protection is a must to pair with Kevin Love inside. It is very clearly lacking this season as teams seem to have layup lines to the rim most games. The only way the Cavs have prevented this, and it hasn’t been often, is by hard, quick switching defense.

A rim protector will be sought hard throughout this season using very limited resources. Dion Waiters, the Keith Bogans Trade Exception, the expected Injured Player Exception for Anderson Varejao and the Memphis Grizzlies protected pick are the few assets that David Griffin can use this year.

The Cavs are reportedly interested in anyone standing around 7 feet tall and that can jump a little bit. This includes, but not limited to, Kosta Koufos, Timofy Mozgov, Brandan Wright and others.

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Next year however creates a different set of possibilities. The Cavs have Brendan Haywood‘s non-guaranteed contract that could be used to bring in a high salary player. That contract could be paired with either the Grizzlies pick or, if a trade is made on draft night or after, the Cavs 1st round pick.

The Cavs could package Haywood’s contract with the Grizzlies pick to trade for Roy Hibbert, Larry Sanders, Brook Lopez, Al Horford or another big in a sign and trade. They could then look to draft a shooting guard with their low first round pick. Using Sam Vecenie’s CBS Sports Mock Draft we find that Rashad Vaughn, Tyrone Wallace, Michael Frazier, Ron Baker, Buddy Hield and others could fill that role. Rookie guards can struggle a bit in the NBA though.

Now imagine if the Cavs use the Haywood contract and the Grizzlies pick to trade for Lance Stephenson, Kyle Korver, Eric Bledsoe, a sign and trade for Wesley Mathews or any of other moves for a shooting guard. Then, again using our friend Sam Vecenie’s Mock Draftï¿½we see that a ton of centers could be available late in the first round on the NBA Draft. Sam has the Cavs drafting Kentucky’s big man Dakari Johnson:

"23. CLEVELAND CAVALIERSDakari Johnson, C, Kentucky: This is the swapped pick from earlier with the Bulls that was negotiated in the aforementioned Deng trade. I’m not super high on Johnson, but he’s improved his body, which has improved his athleticism and quickness a ton. That’s led to him being better offensively around the rim this season as well as him playing at a higher level on defense. At the very least, he’s a true center for a team that really needs one around the rim. As Anderson Varejao has only played 172 games in the past five seasons, the Cavs can no longer count on him despite the extension they gave him this past offseason. Getting a big man should be a priority for the Cavs."

Sounds just like the kind of player the Cavs would love to have playing in the post, getting dunks and playing great defense with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. With the possibility of adding one of the shooting guard/wing players noted AND drafting a big the Cavs could kill both their big problems in one off-season.

But wait, according to Sam’s draft there are a number of big guys who could fill a need but still be available later, so the Cavs should be hopeful that their need in the middle could be filled via the draft. Here are some of those players.

"Amida Brimah, C, Connecticut: The Blazers have been looking for big men for the past couple of years to back up Robin Lopez and LaMarcus Aldridge, so Brimah would represent another attempt to get a backup that would also potentially fit well next to Aldridge in the case of Lopez leaving in free agency. Brimah’s value comes with his defensive potential, as he’s a long shot-blocking center with a reported 7-foot-6 wingspan. He still pretty rudimentary offensively, but he at least has solid hands and can finish around the rim, which is all you can ask for with the 29th pick.Damian Jones, C, Vanderbilt: Jones is a post player that would follow in the footsteps of Festus Ezeli in becoming a Golden State Warrior after playing for Vanderbilt. Jones is pretty much a post scorer at this point, but he has really good touch and is extremely long with an NBA-ready frame at nearly 250 pounds. Rebounding is the biggest thing he needs to improve upon if he wants to solidify himself as a first-round pick, as his 6.6 per 27 minutes really isn’t good enough for a guy with his length and frame.A.J. Hammons, C, Purdue: Hammons is massive, extremely talented center with a questionable work ethic. Home run swing of a pick here.Nikola Milutinov, C, Partizan: Milutinov is a fluid big man that is already getting a lot of minutes for a Eurocup team in Europe. Pretty impressive of a 6-foot-11 19-year-old.Robert Upshaw, C, Washington: Upshaw is leading the country in block rate and is averaging an insane 8.4 per-40 minutes. Just not sure I totally buy into his athleticism yet, though."

Could be another fun summer for the Cleveland Cavaliers as the center position in the draft is so deep that they could answer their center concern there and still have assets to add a shooting guard or another top level player via a trade.

Which direction would you like to see the Cavs rim protection answer come from? Draft a big and trade for another player or trade for a big and draft another position?