Should Cavs have taken Hawks trade for 3rd overall pick?
The Cleveland Cavaliers essentially selected Collin Sexton over Luka Doncic, who they had a chance to select in a draft night trade with the Atlanta Hawks.
According to cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon, the Cleveland Cavaliers had the opportunity to trade up in the 2018 NBA Draft and turned it down. The pick they turned down? The third overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks, which was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for the fifth overall pick, was used to select University of Oklahoma point guard Trae Young but could just have easily been used to select 19-year-old EuroLeague sensation Luka Doncic.
Per Vardon:
"A source said the Cavs were offered on draft night the chance to trade up to No. 3 with the Hawks in a deal that would’ve sent Kent Bazemore to Cleveland. Instead, Atlanta swapped spots with No. 5 Dallas, and the Mavericks ended up with Luka Doncic while the Hawks landed Trae Young."
Doncic, a basketball prodigy considering the talent, feel and IQ he’s shown as a player at a young age. He’s been on Real Madrid’s senior team since he was 16-years-old and ended his last season with the club winning the Spanish ACB MVP, EuroLeague Final Four MVP and EuroLeague MVP along with many other awards (like the EuroLeague Rising Star award, which he won in the 2016-2017 season as well).
As a member of their junior team in 2014-2015, he won the adidas Next Generation Tournament MVP. Suffice it to say, there’s no wonder why Doncic has drawn so much interest from across the pond.
There are questions about his athleticism and his true position in the NBA. For instance, while Doncic wants to play point guard because he’s comfortable with the ball in his hands, at 6-foot-7 and with average-at-best athleticism he’s probably better as a forward. In fact, Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle already has mentioned to the mismatches Doncic can present at power forward.
That said, while he’s an exciting prospect he’s still a relatively unknown commodity as far as the NBA game is concerned — one that is played at a faster pace and relies on speed and athleticism more than it’s European counterpart.
To that point, that’s exactly what separated Collin Sexton, the Cavaliers point guard of the future, from the other perimeter prospects taken ahead of him.
Doncic and Young.
Considering that elite frontcourt prospects like Mo Bamba, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Wendell Carter Jr. were still available, it also confirms that the Cavs felt their backcourt needed the most help.
Sexton’s combination of speed and basketball IQ not only will allow him to play at the NBA pace with ease but will allow him to have as much of a chance, if not a better chance, for him to last a long time in the league. Such has been the case for plenty of players with special athleticism, the LeBron James’, Isiah Thomas’, Karl Malones, Russell Westbrooks and Dwayne Wades of the world.
That’s not to say Sexton, who averaged 19.2 points per game in his lone year at Alabama and is averaging 18.8 points per game (on 47.5 percent shooting from the field) during the Summer League, will be a perennial All-Star. Just to say that with his talent, athleticism, feel and basketball IQ, his game should age well.
The Cavaliers did well to pick the high-speed, high potential and high character of Sexton.
Those who decried the Sexton pick because he’s not a prolific three-point shooter have been praising the pick as of late, even with him shooting 25.0 percent from three in Summer League, because he’s fearless competitor that excels at getting into the lane. Considering the pace that Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue has wanted them to adopt since taking over the team, Sexton seems like the most fitting pick for the team as well.
Unfortunately, the news that Doncic could have been the Cavs pick will draw the ire of the fan base.
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*All stats gathered from basketball.realgm.com