King James Gospel
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How to cheer up a Cavs fan

By Kyle Stuver

BROOKLYN, NY - JUNE 22: A shot of the first round draft board during the 2017 NBA Draft on June 22, 2017 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler /NBAE via Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, NY - JUNE 22: A shot of the first round draft board during the 2017 NBA Draft on June 22, 2017 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler /NBAE via Getty Images) /
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After the Cleveland Cavaliers’ embarrassing loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday afternoon, I started to feel a lot better when I remembered that the NBA Draft Lottery is on Tuesday night.

In the NBA Draft Lottery, the Cleveland Cavaliers have a 2.8% chance of receiving top pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and a 9.9% chance of getting into the top-three.

Are these odds excellent? No.

Does it feel better to think about the future rather than flashbacks of the Celtics draining wide open 3s? Yes.

*Since I’m being optimistic, for this article, I am assuming that LeBron James signs another 1-year deal with the Cavaliers after the draft.*

In a loaded draft, there are potentially great options in both the top-three and the eight overall pick (assuming they don’t get jumped.)

This a unique chance to add a future young star to a team that is probably still the favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. A shining example of what can happen in this scenario is the Boston Celtics themselves.

Both of their third overall picks in the last two drafts came from the Brooklyn Nets (just like the Cavs pick this year.) They were able to add Jaylen Brown and then Jayson Tatum to an already talented core, and they looked loaded for years to come.

Options in the top-3:

If I’m Cavs general manager Koby Altman, I’m looking at two possibilities in this range. Let’s get this out of the way; one of them is not University of Arizona’s star center DeAndre Ayton.

He comes off of my board after getting eliminated by the MAC’s own Buffalo Bulls. That cannot happen with an elite center prospect.

With that said, I would really like Duke forward Marvin Bagley III or Serbian wunderkind Luka Doncic. I think both of these guys would be a great fit next to James and Kevin Love, and both have the upside to carry this team for the next decade.

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Options at #8:

This scenario is certainly a lot more likely (and less ideal) but there are still some excellent options here for the Cavs. I’ll throw another popular choice off of my board in Trae Young. I don’t think that another ball-dominant, undersized and streaky scorer is a good fit for this team.

He also — in no way, shape, or form — helps the defensive woes that this team continues to have.

Instead, I would look closely at Duke Center Wendell Carter Jr, Villanova Forward Mikal Bridges, or Alabama Guard Colin Sexton*

*I’m assuming that Bagley, Doncic, Ayton, Mo Bamba, Michael Porter Jr. and Jaren Jackson Jr. are all taken when the Cavs use their selection on the eight overall pick

Carter would finally give the Cavs a touch of rim protection for the first time in a while (Timofey Mozgov a little maybe?) He’s a big body who was at least able to produce decent offensive numbers as a freshman at Duke, and I think he could grow into a more refined offensive player with this Cavs squad. 

Bridges was a key player on championship level teams for his entire career under Jay Wright at Villanova. In this way, he is an excellent fit as he would instantly be a great role player on this Cavs team as well. In this year’s playoffs, the Cavalier have lacked a consistent third option, or any production of note off the bench.

During every bad Cavaliers performance, I read tweets that say “How can we keep playing Player X?” The problem is that Player X is any one of: 

Jordan Clarkson

Rodney Hood

Jose Calderon

Larry Nance Jr.

Jeff Green

That’s a third of the roster.

The Cleveland Cavaliers need a jack of all trades type player like Bridges.

Finally, and this is a bit of reach, but I love Sexton. He was a gamer at Alabama and, while he shares the streaky shooting of Young, I think he is much more versatile on offense.

The Cavs don’t necessarily need someone who is there to make the rest of the team better, they have that in LeBron. They need some points off the bench and someone to run the offense when LeBron is off the floor.

The main reason that I like him more than Young is that he is a (much) better player on defense.

Regardless of how Tuesday night turns out, Cavs fans finally have a reason to be excited come draft season. Not too many things would be better than combining a favorable outcome in the lottery with a big win in Game 2.

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Even if the Cavs do end up with the 8th pick, there are certainly some exciting options there as well.