Cavs potentially trading up for RJ Barrett would fit Koby Altman’s style

It’s been reported that the Cleveland Cavaliers “really like” Duke’s RJ Barrett, who is projected to be a top three pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, and if Cleveland were to take him, they would seemingly have to move up, which would play right into general manager Koby Altman’s style.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have the fifth overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, so yes, the May 14 draft lottery didn’t go as hoped for them.

General manager Koby Altman and new head coach John Beilein did not seem to be too disappointed, though, and as we previously noted, both had the right attitude after the lottery outcome for now, given that Cleveland is likely going to have to build for the long-term over a number of years, anyway, and it’ll take time to develop talent.

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When you factor in how the Cavaliers’ head coaching search went in regards to them reportedly interviewing a bunch of candidates that were mostly younger assistant coaches that would fit an analytics-driven approach, and then ultimately going with a seemingly surprise candidate in Michigan’s former head coach in Beilein (who is 66 but has embraced analytics) to fill that role in the organization, though, one would think that them going with a bold move in the 2019 NBA Draft wouldn’t be a huge shock.

As Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor demonstrated in an article published this week, it’s clear that Altman and Cleveland’s leadership (especially owner Dan Gilbert) will willingly take gambles, as was the case with Beilein, who had no previous NBA assistant, let alone head coaching experience and is well, not the youngest.

Playing off that sort of bold attitude to decision-making, though I wouldn’t at all mind a number of players Cleveland could pursue with their fifth and 26th pick, it wouldn’t be shocking if the Cleveland Cavaliers and Altman in particular chose to potentially package their fifth and 26th overall picks in the 2019 NBA Draft to trade up to the number three spot in a deal with the New York Knicks.

The reason for that speculation is that according to Basketball Insider’s Steve Kyler, the Cavs “really want” Duke’s RJ Barrett, who is seemingly a consensus top three player in this year’s draft.

Barrett led the ACC in scoring this year as a freshman with 22.6 points per game on 50.6% effective field shooting and as we’ve noted here at KJG, though he only shot 30.8% from three-point range, displayed that he is a very capable finisher at the rim and in the paint (as evidenced by him shooting 52.9% from two-point range, per Sports Reference).

Along with that, when his feet are set, he is a capable shooter from deep, particularly as a result of perimeter ball swings, which could play out well in Beilein’s motion offense and with a player with the gravity with the shooting gravity of Kevin Love on the same floor with him, which would be the case often if Love is healthier next season for Cleveland.

Barrett has also shown that he is a more-than-capable playmaker on the wing, as evidenced by him posting an assist rate of 23.5% (and ultimately 4.3 helpers per game, per Sports Reference), which would also likely be maximized with better floor-spacers, which were few and far between at Duke, who really only had one highly-capable regular rotational perimeter shooter in Cam Reddish last season, mixed in with Alex O’Connell (who unfortunately only played 14.0 minutes per game).

To recap, however, I agree with our own Robbie DiPaola and Corey Casey, in that I’d be more than okay if Altman and company didn’t ultimately trade up with the Knicks and went with Duke’s Cam Reddish or someone such as Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter at number five, coupled with a rotational scorer/shooter such as Kentucky’s Tyler Herro at number 26.

That being said, it’s been reported by SNY’s Ian Begley (and h/t Forbes’ Evan Dammarell) that some Knicks talent evaluators are “fans” of Reddish, so perhaps a Cavs’ number five and 26 package could be in the works, it would seem, and that sort of deal would be on-brand for Altman and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who as we’ve hit on (along with Fedor) are not going to shy away from being bold.

Along with the Knicks’ Reddish rumors, it seems likely that the Memphis Grizzlies are shopping veteran point guard Mike Conley, given that they made it known that they will select Murray State dynamic point guard Ja Morant second overall with Duke can’t-miss prospect Zion Williamson presumably taken first overall by the New Orleans Pelicans (per ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and h/t Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz), leaving the Cleveland-New York deal to be all systems go for Barrett.

From the Knicks’ perspective, it seems as if Reddish should be there for them at number five.

The Los Angeles Lakers are picking four, and with Vanderbilt point guard Darius Garland (who has shown elite perimeter shooting potential) reportedly leaving the draft combine early (per The Athletic’s Joe Vardon) and not speaking with the Cavs, and with him being represented by the same agency as LeBron James (Klutch Sports), combined with him reportedly maybe having a “promise” from a lottery team (per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium), it would be logical for him to be taken by L.A. and New York still being able to draft Reddish while also adding the 26th pick in the potential Cleveland deal.

It would seem reasonable that Lonzo Ball could be traded this offseason by the Lakers, anyhow, (with constant trade rumors surrounding Ball and other young Lakers), which would free up the reigns more for Garland. It was reported by NBA.com’s Sam Smith that Cleveland could be in play for him, too, in a “trade possibility,” but with this potential deal with the Knicks, that wouldn’t be in play.

So back to the Cavs’ Barrett prospects.

Barrett, in my opinion, is the second-best player in the 2019 NBA Draft, and he projects as a high-quality wing scorer and highly-capable secondary playmaker at 6-foot-7 (per Sports Reference), and if Cleveland traded up for him, that’d be a successful draft.

It’s important to note, though, speculation and rumors will be flying around constantly, so this is by no means a set in stone ordeal, but if it did occur, I’d be on-board. As we’ve also highlighted, the J.R. Smith deal will likely be in play for the Cavaliers during the June 20 draft or shortly after, so keep that in mind with the often wheeling-and-dealing Altman, too.