Local reporters seem to believe it’s De’Andre Hunter at 5, which would be fine, but not ideal

Local reporters seem to believe that the Cleveland Cavaliers will select Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter if they do, in fact, draft fifth overall in the 2019 NBA Draft. That would be fine, but it wouldn’t be ideal, I believe.

At this point, it seems that the top three of the 2019 NBA Draft, even with recently reported workouts for Vanderbilt point guard Darius Garland and North Carolina combo guard Coby White related to the New York Knicks (who select third overall), is pretty set of Duke big Zion Williamson going to the New Orleans Pelicans, the Memphis Grizzlies taking Murray State point guard Ja Morant and the Knicks ultimately taking Duke wing RJ Barrett.

Of course, as we’ve noted here at KJG based on reported interest from teams such as the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls, the New Orleans Pelicans could possibly deal their fourth pick in a trade-down scenario, and that could mean the Hawks select Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter, a wing player that projects as a solid “three-and-D” player in the NBA.

Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor believes the Boston Celtics (who have three first-round picks) and Minnesota Timberwolves (who have the 11th pick and need long-term point guard help) could be involved in a potential trade-up to New Orleans’ spot at four, too, by the way.

At any rate, it seems that while taking that potential shake-up at four in the 2019 NBA Draft into consideration and fit with the team, that both Fedor (in a recent mock draft) and The Athletic‘s Joe Vardon believe the Cleveland Cavaliers will select Hunter fifth overall, which would be a fine/solid choice, but not an ideal one.

Vardon noted that in an appearance Thursday on ESPN Cleveland’s the “Really Big Show,” per Aaron Goldhammer, a co-host on the RBS.

Fedor would go on to essentially mention in his mock draft that Hunter, given his great intangibles, reportedly strong work ethic, and team-first approach while being maybe the best on-ball (and solid team defender, too) defender in the draft “will appeal to this braintrust.”

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ defense was atrocious last year, as we’ve highlighted time and time and time again here at KJG.

So, I’d be more than fine if Cleveland did select Hunter, a player that is one of the best wing prospects, at fifth overall.

He’s a player that should be a reliable contributor on both ends of the floor, and would fit right in with the winning culture head coach John Beilein and the coaching staff and general manager Koby Altman and the front office are trying to build.

Additionally, Beilein “really likes” Hunter, according to a report from Sam Amico of Amico Hoops, and that could play into the Hunter-to-Cavaliers narrative, too.

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That being said, while I don’t realistically want Cleveland to draft Garland (if he’s available) or White, given how that would likely stunt the growth of Collin Sexton as a primary playmaker, I would much rather Cleveland go with Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver (the player Fedor had going right before Cleveland in his mock) or Duke’s Cam Reddish.

Hunter had 15.2 points per game on 57.9% effective field goal shooting, along with 5.1 rebounds per contest in 2018-19, and shot 41.9% from three-point land in two collegiate seasons (per Sports Reference).

Culver had 18.5 points per game on 50.5% effective field goal shooting, and while he did only shoot 34.1% over two collegiate seasons from three-point land (per Sports Reference), he took a big step as a playmaker and overall offensive focal point in 2018-19, as our own Robbie DiPaola detailed.

Along with that, while Culver and Reddish are not quite the defenders that Reddish, they both project to be plus defenders in the NBA, and might end up being more disruptive off the ball, anyhow, and played the passing lanes very well in college.

As KJG contributors have often noted, too, Reddish, while only having 13.5 points per game and shooting only 35.6% from the field in his one year at Duke (per Sports Reference) underwhelmed in college, he was marginalized considerably playing alongside Williamson and Barrett, and Fedor also noted how Reddish was dealing with a core muscle injury throughout the season, too.

Plus, on the rebuilding Cavaliers in the coming years, Reddish could benefit from having more opportunities to make plays with the ball in his hands in some instances and not just as a spot-up specialist; spacing provided other better shooters such as Kevin Love, Cedi Osman (and potentially Sexton) could help Reddish showcase his shooting range as well.

Playing off that, working with a player development specialist such as Cleveland’s Mike Gerrity wouldn’t hurt, either.

Again, I’d much rather see Cleveland go with the greater upside of Culver or Reddish than Hunter if the Cavaliers pick fifth overall, and if Culver and Reddish are available at that spot.

If Culver is selected fourth by New Orleans or Atlanta or someone else, then I’d still go with Reddish, and if Cleveland does trade back, with say Atlanta (the Hawks have three picks in the top 17), perhaps they could snag Reddish and a nice prospect such as Kentucky’s PJ Washington or Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke along with the Duke wing, anyway.

Both Culver and Reddish have higher ceilings than Hunter, and while it’d be fine if Cleveland ultimately drafted Hunter with its first selection in the 2019 NBA Draft, as Fedor and Vardon seem to believe they will, the Cavs could be better off.

Armed with the contract of J.R. Smith, Cleveland could seemingly acquire an additional late-lottery selection, too, and Cleveland has the 26th overall pick (of which they could pair with Smith to move up this year or maybe in a deal for a future pick), so I wouldn’t go too safe if they don’t need to from a wing perspective.

Thursday at 7 P.M. is when we’ll start to see what unfolds in what could be a crazy draft.