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3 potential wings for Cavs to take with fifth selection in 2019 NBA Draft

By Robbie DiPaola

Duke's Cam Reddish (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
Duke's Cam Reddish (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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Cleveland Cavaliers
Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images /

After enduring a tumultuous 19-63 record this past season, the only silver lining for the Cleveland Cavaliers was the 2019 NBA Draft lottery and the chance of landing the likes of Duke’s Zion Williamson or Murray State’s Ja Morant.

The Cleveland Cavaliers still went into the night with a 14.0% chance to land the top pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and a 40.1 percent chance to land in the top three (per Tankathon). However, with the new draft lottery odds (as we’ve often noted), Cleveland also had a 47.9% chance of falling outside the top four at either the fifth or sixth overall pick.

Almost right from the start of the lottery, you could tell this one would be vastly different than the ones we witnessed in the past.

The Los Angeles Lakers, who had the 11th-best odds to get the top pick, were vaulted up into the top 4 along with the Memphis Grizzlies, who had just the eighth-best odds at grabbing the No.1 pick.

There was just that feeling as the 2019 Draft lottery progressed that tonight would not end well for those supporting the Wine & Gold. Those feelings were confirmed, when NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum pulled the Cavaliers logo out of the number five envelope (as shown by the Cavs’ Official Twitter).

First off, the fifth overall pick by itself is another solid building block the Cavaliers can use to try and work their way back up the Eastern Conference ladder. But, with the second-best odds to land the top pick, getting the fifth overall pick feels like just another “L” in a season full of defeats.

Securing a top-three pick would have assured the Cleveland Cavaliers get one of the assumed “Big 3” from this year’s draft class of Duke’s Zion Williamson, Murray State’s Ja Morant, and Duke’s RJ Barrett. Beyond those three players, the rest of the lottery-projected players are more of a mystery, but three wings do seem to stand out for Cleveland’s first selection in the draft (they also have the Houston Rockets’ first-round selection of 26th due to trade, which we’ve hit on).