The Cleveland Cavaliers should not be targeting Georgia’s Anthony Edwards in the 2020 NBA Draft, who is simply not what they need going forward, which is not predominantly a volume scorer.
Currently, the 2020 NBA Draft is likely to be pushed back to a later date than was originally the case, of which it was set to be on June 26. This is due to the 2019-20 NBA regular season being suspended for the Cleveland Cavaliers and other teams due to novel coronavirus concerns after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for it on Wednesday, and on Thursday, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Utah’s Donovan Mitchell tested positive for COVID-19, too.
From there, Wojnarowski reported that it was unclear as of Thursday if Gobert and Mitchell were on a charter flight to Utah from Oklahoma City, the location of what was supposed to be Utah’s last game, of which was postponed.
In regards to the Cavaliers, Cleveland was told to self-quarantine, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (and h/t ESPN’s Tisha Thompson), as they were one of the teams that as of Wednesday, were one of the teams that played Gobert/Utah within the last previous 10 days, as they played him last Monday.
As of Thursday, no Cavaliers players/staff were showing symptoms of novel coronavirus and due to limited availability of tests, they were not going to undergo testing, the team stated and h/t Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor. Fedor himself was also told to self-quarantine for the next 14 days as of Thursday.
So, considering that the season is suspended for “at least 30 days” as of Thursday, per NBA commissioner Adam Silver in an appearance on NBA on TNT, and that games are suspended until further notice but the season’s at this point postponed and not cancelled, also given other reported details as of Thursday, the 2020 NBA Draft will seemingly be pushed back later this year.
At this juncture, though I understand lottery odds now are anything but certain, the Cleveland Cavaliers are currently projected to have the second overall pick in the upcoming draft, according to Tankathon. Again, where Cleveland actually ends up picking is uncertain, but it would appear they’ll still likely have a top five selection with their record going into the league suspension being the league’s second-worst at 19-46.
In the 2020 NBA Draft, if he’s available at their selection, the Cavaliers should not target Georgia’s Anthony Edwards.
The inefficiency is off-putting, and there’s only so many shots to go around
Of course, the NCAA ended up canceling its winter and spring sports championships due to COVID-19 precaution, but the Georgia Bulldogs only had a 16-16 record this season, anyhow, and were 5-13 in SEC play.
More from King James Gospel
- 3 possible starting lineups for Cleveland Cavaliers in 2023-24
- The Cavaliers may have snagged a hidden gem in Craig Porter Jr.
- 4 players the Cavaliers should pursue in 2024 free agency
- 6 players Cavaliers might replace Jarrett Allen with by the trade deadline
- This stat is one to keep an eye on for Cavaliers’ Max Strus in years ahead
Now, I’m not going to kill Edwards for that, really, as he wasn’t playing at anything of a college basketball powerhouse with other notable draft prospects, such as at Duke or Kentucky.
Granted, the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Edwards didn’t necessarily disappoint for the Bulldogs, as he had 19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game, as indicated by Sports Reference.
However, the 18-year-old Edwards is going to play the 2 on most occasions at the NBA level, and he’s predominantly thought of to be a volume shooter/scorer, which is not what the Cleveland Cavaliers should be seeking out in the 2020 NBA Draft.
While I again understand that he was the primary focus defensively for opponents, Edwards’ effective field goal shooting clip of 47.3 percent this season was underwhelming, and his shot selection was anything but stellar.
Too often throughout the year and in SEC play, in particular, Edwards would be falling in love with contested long 2’s and for a superior athlete that could also often bull his way to the basket a bunch against smaller guards and/or less physical wings, Edwards should’ve willed his way to the cup more but instead, often was sucked into contested three-pointers.
Let’s keep in mind, he shot 29.4 percent on 7.7 three-point attempts per contest, and initially, I bought into Edwards more, but how stubborn he was in that regard and not driving nearly as often as he could’ve in some matchups, was off-putting. At times, though, Edwards displayed his ability to go on stretches of hitting high-difficult shots, and I don’t take that away from him.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, though, currently have Collin Sexton, who has been their leading scorer in 2019-20 with 20.8 points per game, to go with a youngster with good playmaking instincts in Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr., Cedi Osman and at least currently, Kevin Love, and Andre Drummond (who could very well opt into his $28.8 million player option for next season), to go with Larry Nance Jr., who needs his touches for scoring/playmaking purposes, too.
Let’s also not forget Dylan Windler, who will likely be missing his whole rookie season due to a stress reaction in his left leg, but especially with the start of next season potentially delayed due to the NBA’s suspension, I’d imagine Windler could be a key reserve piece next season as a sharpshooter and at times, secondary ball-handler/playmaker.
In addition, while he hasn’t played a bunch consistently throughout his year, Matthew Dellavedova (a team-leading 5.5 assists per game post-All-Star break, per NBA.com) has continued to show that he’s a meaningful contributor as a reserve and I believe should be brought back next season on a team-friendly deal.
Factoring in all of that, I wouldn’t want Cleveland to be targeting Edwards in the upcoming draft.
He’s going to be another player that’s going to be needing the ball in his hands often, and he doesn’t project as a player like Porter that has shown good passing instincts.
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.