2021, 2022 drafts could turn Cavs into one of better young, up-and-coming teams

A closer look at Cunningham and also 2022

Cunningham could also fit very well with Garland. Thanks to Garland’s ability to shoot so well from three-point range, he’s very capable of playing off the ball at times and would work well with Cunningham, who can create for himself on the perimeter, finish through contact inside and make plays for others, and could be a nice lob passer for Larry Nance Jr. or others down the road.

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Cunningham is also 6-foot-7 (per ESPN.com) and can be a good defender with his size and 7-foot wingspan (per ESPN), which could allow him to defend multiple positions, per Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of ESPN (subscription required), so again, perhaps the Cavs can’t pass him up, anyhow, but options should be there.

Again, I believe Cunningham would be a great fit next to Garland and could cover elite point guards covering any defensive deficiencies Garland may have out there, much like how Klay Thompson usually guards the elite point guards the Golden State Warriors play instead of Stephen Curry, and maybe Cleveland can add some decent rim protection by that point, anyhow, and Cedi Osman is able to be in more matchup-sound situations guarding opposing 3’s.

Anyway, the 2022 double draft is also something to keep an eye on, as NBA teams are reportedly preparing for a possible generational draft according to Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports. As I’ve touched on, too, the most well known player in the draft is Emoni Bates, who is already being talked about as, well, a generational prospect.

That of course, is a ways away, but the buzz surrounding Bates is hard to ignore.

The rest of 2022 is a little harder to project, though, because it’s a full year behind, but we should know a lot more about the rest of those prospects next year. Still this is something to keep an eye on, because potentially the deep pool of players, even if they lose two to reclassification in the 2021 draft, will feature top high school kids and the one-and-done players that are in colllege then, again, creating a particularly deep pool of players.

In addition, the Cleveland Cavaliers also have the Milwaukee Bucks’ 2022 first round pick, which is top 10 protected (and if they convey a first-rounder to the Boston Celtics, per Real GM), but that seems to be a good possibility the Cavs could snag that pick, too, or potentially have that as trade capital.

Anyhow, the Cavs have three first-round picks combined from the 2021 and 2022 drafts currently.

This could be a golden opportunity for them to get a potential franchise player in what are expected to be two of the strongest drafts we’ll have seen in a long time.

They could continue to add to what is a promising young core, then, too, and really vault themselves toward the postseason.

By 2022, the Cavs would be hoping all these pieces coming together would likely cap off their rebuild, and get them right on the cusp of being a legitimate playoff team in the Eastern Conference.