Should the Cavs trade or keep next year’s first round pick?

Should the Cleveland Cavaliers trade next year’s first round pick or keep it?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a first round draft pick in 2018 and it’s one that could be valuable for a couple of reasons. Had they had a first round pick in this the 2017 NBA Draft, they would have the 25th overall pick in a pretty deep draft class. Next season won’t be much different.

While the 25th pick in this year’s draft, the Cavs could have netted a player like Duke University’s Luke Kennard or the University of Louisville’s Donovan Mitchell. Next year, they could select a player like the University of Arizona’s Allonzo Trier or Auburn University’s Mustapha Heron.

Those are players who all fit what the Cleveland Cavaliers like to do, which is shoot the three-ball.

In addition, while the Cavs may want to consider getting younger as a team in general, there are only so many veterans that will come to the Cavs for the veteran’s minimum and without any guarantee of a role or playing time.

Only so many of those player’s will actually perform well or last beyond that season.

The Cavs have Kay Felder, Cedi Osman, Edy Tavares and, if he re-signs, Derrick Williams. That’s okay but they’ll need young depth on the wings because Kyle Korver, Richard Jefferson, James Jones and Dahntay Jones are all 36-years-old.

Osman may take the spot of one of the quartet. Williams may take another.

That still leaves two spots for a wing assuming that Osman pans out in the NBA, which isn’t a guarantee for players that make the jump from the EuroLeague. That also assumed that should Williams continue his momentum with the Cavs, he’ll continue to accept a limited role if he has a better opportunity to showcase his game and earn a big contract elsewhere.

There is another option for the Cleveland Cavaliers though. They could opt to trade the first round pick in hopes of acquiring a veteran.

The Houston Rockets traded for Lou Williams with nothing more than Corey Brewer and a first round pick in this year’s draft.

Williams averaged 14.9 points per game after being traded to the Rockets. He was averaging 18.6 points per game before being traded, the highest on the team.

Brewer averaged 5.4 points per game after being traded to the Lakers. That just goes to show you the value of Houston’s first round pick.

When projecting the records for the NBA season next year, other teams could see similar value in the Cavs pick.

This season, the Cleveland Cavaliers finished the regular season with a 51-31 record. There were four teams with better records (Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets and Boston Celtics). Each of those teams can be as good or better next season.

There were three other teams who won 51 games (Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz). Only the Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz have a good chance to win 50 games next season and best the win-loss record for the Cavs in 2017-2018 .

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There’s no reason to expect the Cavs to press for the best regular season record in the NBA next year after sweeping through way through the first two rounds of the postseason this year.

That likely gave credence to the thought that the regular season is overvalued, at least for the Cavs. LeBron James, who will be 33-years-old by the end of the regular season, will likely receive more rest next season.

Jefferson and Korver could get opportunities to rest as well.

Kyrie Irving (left knee) and Kevin Love (back) received rest in the regular season despite being two of the younger players on the roster.

While the Cavs lost a few games they should have won this year, the age of the roster and the Cavs’ current postseason run could keep the Cavs from drastically improving their team record next season.

That would put the Cavs in the same place they would have been in the 2017 NBA Draft, the mid-20s. If the Rockets, who ended up slotted for the 28th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft could get Williams for a first-round pick, the Cavs could do something similar.

As far as bottom-rung teams looking for assets to assist in their rebuild, the Orlando Magic have a player that could help the Cavs.

If the Magic draft a point guard this season, like North Carolina State’s Dennis Smith Jr., a player like Elfrid Payton may be available for a first-round pick. The Magic, who need shooting help, could be satisfied with the prospect of having three first-round picks in 2018 (they also have a first round pick from the Serge Ibaka trade) to fix that issue.

Meanwhile, Payton is a point guard in the Rajon Rondo mold (with a different persona) and his only real weakness is shooting, as he shoots 28.9 percent from three-point range and 61.1 percent from the free-throw line for his career.

However, in the final month of the season, Payton averaged 16.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 51.3 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from three-point range and 82.4 percent from the free-throw line.

While Felder has to overcome defensive issues, he still needs to learn the NBA game well enough to be able to control the game and be a floor general. In that time, Payton can be the point guard.

Payton is set to be a restricted free agent in 2018 but Felder’s contract isn’t guaranteed for the 2018-2019 season. Essentially, the first-round pick would be being used to allow Payton to compete with Felder, although Payton’s success could cause him to make move like that of Matthew Dellavedova in the future.

Dellavedova accepted a four-year, $38.4 million contract from the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency that the Cavs were unwilling to match.

Still, with all the trouble the Cavs went through to get a backup point guard, it’s clear that the Cavs value a player who excels as a floor general. Payton’s defensive ability will also be the closing thing to Dellavedova that they’ve had since his departure.

If Felder stayed with the Cavs, it would be as the third-string point guard. That wouldn’t be too bad though as he’d be sure to play games where Irving rests his knees and would spend a lot of time starring for the NBA G-League’s Canton Charge in the meantime.

However, if Irving actually retires early as he’s alluded to doing, Felder could still wind up as the backup point guard one day.

Korver, who should re-sign, Jefferson and “Champ” should all be on the team next year. The team will probably look to re-sign Dahntay Jones as well.

Again, Osman and Derrick Williams are the two young players that the Cavs are already invested in developing. Osman has already shown a swingman’s skillset and Williams, whose athleticism, ability to handle the ball and make the open jumper give him the ability to play on the perimeter.

They don’t necessarily need a wing to develop now. They do, however, need a point guard.

Will the Cleveland Cavaliers use next year’s first round pick to trade for one? Or will they keep the pick instead?

What do you think the Cleveland Cavaliers will do with their first round pick? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.

*All stats courtesy of www.basketball-reference.com