Cavs should not target Anthony Edwards in 2020 NBA Draft

Other better options for the Cavs than Edwards, if available of course

Edwards is a volume shooter that’s not likely to be able to fill in at the 3 a considerable amount, and if the Cavaliers went with a wing early on in the 2020 NBA Draft to be an upgrade for Osman, if they are available, I’d much rather them go a different route.

The likes of either a player that has the capability to guard a variety of positions in Auburn’s Isaac Okoro, LaMelo Ball, previously of the NBL’s Illawarra Hawks or perhaps Deni Avdija of the I-BSL’s Maccabi Fox Tel Aviv come to mind.

Ball’s NBL season was cut short due to a reported foot injury, but he has a much more advanced handle, is 6-foot-8 (I know he’ll need to add weight and improve shot selection), and averaged 7.0 assists per game, and for a Cavs team that overall, needs to add more playmaking, Ball or Avdija, who has shown good passing vision and team defensive instincts, I’d prefer over Edwards for the Cavs.

Though Ball is not known for his defensive prowess, his playmaking, handle and shot-making potential from way deep would draw me to him more for Cleveland; objectively, both him and Edwards have shown lapses defensively and lack of engagement off-ball at times but Ball projects to impact winning more.

Along with that, I might even for the Cavs prefer Cleveland going with a big in USC’s Onyeka Okongwu if he’s available over other prospects, or Dayton’s Obi Toppin. For a Cavs team that had the second-worst defensive rating in the NBA going into the league’s suspension and was last in blocks, Okongwu’s 2.7 blocks, to go with 1.2 steals per game, per Sports Reference, highlight how he projects as a big-time defender early on with his outstanding instincts.

Plus, the 6-foot-9, 245-pound Okongwu, for example, has already shown terrific feel as a low-post scorer and roller with flashes of face-up scoring, as FanSided’s Jackson Frank hit on, and both are as bouncy as it gets, and Toppin has shown pick-and-pop potential with a three-point shooting clip of 39.0 percent this season.

At any rate, while Edwards could very well carve out a solid NBA career as a volume scorer, it’s unclear if he’ll ever be a key factor in eventually impacting winning, as FanSided’s Trevor Magnotti essentially emphasized in a recent big board piece also featuring Frank.

It’s evident to me that general manager Koby Altman and the Cleveland Cavaliers shouldn’t target Anthony Edwards in the 2020 NBA Draft.