Cleveland Cavaliers: Three prospects to avoid in the 2020 NBA Draft

Cole Anthony – PG, North Carolina

North Carolina’s Cole Anthony is a player that has a game capable of becoming an All-star level guard if he develops right down the line with the right team but there are multiple major red flags for nearly every potential NBA team that he exhibited during his stint with the Tar Heels.

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Assuming he does indeed declare for the 2020 NBA Draft like many assume he will, he very well will end up being a top 10 pick in this unique draft.

He’s a prolific athlete capable of getting to any spot on the floor with his craftiness, speed and handle, yet showcased that he was not an effective decision-maker when asked to be the primary facilitator for his team.

He averaged 3.5 turnovers to pair with his relatively underwhelming 4.0 assists per game, and while he certainly put up decent shooting numbers from three-point land at 34.8 percent on 6.4 attempts per game, per Sports Reference, his assist-to-turnover ratio and turnovers in general are a clear bad sign for his future as a starting-level NBA player and likely, at point guard.

Cole is also not seen as a particularly impressive defender despite having plus tools and athleticism so while he certainly can improve in that department his issues will remain a slight draft knock, nonetheless.

He definitely did showcase that he can score with the best of them in his time at North Carolina, but if his decision-making does not improve substantially he may struggle to quickly find his place in the NBA. Similarly to Avdija, Anthony is by no means undraftable and I am not going out of my way to say that he should be completely avoided as a prospect by any stretch.

He definitely is NBA-ready as a scorer, particularly when it comes to shooting off-the-bounce, and very well may only improve surrounded by NBA talent and athleticism, and is a plus athlete for his size at 6-foot-3 as well to boot. Hopefully, he is now truly able to be fully recovered from a partially torn meniscus during the season, too.

His playmaking may very well even improve with the right team and right head coaching situation as well and theoretically that could even be a team like the J.B. Bickerstaff-led Cleveland Cavaliers if the team planned on eventually moving on from one of their two young guards in Darius Garland or Collin Sexton.

This is not a real viable path that the Cavaliers appear keen on pursuing, though, so as such, Anthony has no clear fit on the Cavaliers. Anthony might be a really successful point guard in the NBA but it is absolutely not happening in Cleveland.