2019 NBA Draft prospect Jarrett Culver could be a seamless fit with Cavs
Culver projects as a solid two-way perimeter contributor
His knack for playing the passing lanes was evident by him averaging 1.5 steals per game a season ago, and that sort of thing projects well. To simply put it, the young man competes every single play on both ends.
Texas Tech was known for being a defensive team, and that is rare to find in 2019.
Plus, with Culver playing for a defensive-oriented head coach in Chris Beard in college, that can only help him coming into the NBA, where defensive sometimes can be an afterthought now.
Throughout 2018-19, the Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the worst defensive teams in the league, and if not the worst, as they had the worst defensive rating in league history last year for a season, since that metric was recorded by Basketball Reference.
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Culver’s addition to the team would immediately improve their defensive identity, and he should project as a plus defender.
Adding a wing like Culver would potentially give the Cavaliers the chance to pair him with Sexton in the backcourt, and I believe that Culver would be an excellent, complimentary fit alongside Sexton.
Both players can score the ball, and both have a high motor and unmatched work ethic that would be on display from the start.
We saw how Sexton progressed as the season went on, and opponents stopped giving him open looks from beyond the arc, because he hit 40.2% of his three-pointers for the season (per NBA.com).
Culver, who looks to possess a strong offensive game from all levels, will become even more of a scoring threat when he shows he can be just as big of a threat from deep as he is from inside the arc.