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Cavaliers: Top Rookie of the Year competitors for Darius Garland

By Tyler Marling

Cleveland Cavaliers Darius Garland (Photo by Stephen Pellegrino/NBAE via Getty Images)
Cleveland Cavaliers Darius Garland (Photo by Stephen Pellegrino/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images
Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images /

Ja Morant

Another pretty obvious choice. Ja Morant was incredible at Murray State. Per Sports Reference, for his career, Morant averaged 18.7 points, 8.2 assists, and 6.1 rebounds per game while also sporting an impressive career PER of 26.7.

Morant has a lot of Russell Westbrook in his game. He is a freak athlete whose motor is always revving. The question with Morant is if he can limit turnovers. While Morant did handle the ball the majority of time for the Racers, he averaged 5.2 turnovers per game which translated to a 20.5 turnover percentage rate (Sports Reference).

The Memphis Grizzlies have completely stripped the roster down in an effort to reboot the franchise after trading two of the franchises’ best ever players in Marc Gasol and Mike Conley. The top two options for Memphis next season will clearly be Morant and fellow promising, young player Jaren Jackson Jr.

For Morant, the Conley trade should allow him to be the primary ball-handler and playmaker, which will allow him to put up huge numbers next season, which gives him an edge on Garland.

The Grizzlies front office should hope for a ROY campaign for Morant as they will be favorites to have the top odds for the number one pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.