Patrick Williams could be defensive ace pick for Cavs in 2020 NBA Draft

Patrick Williams is not a 2020 NBA Draft prospect that’s a consensus top 10 pick, but he could be the defensive ace the Cleveland Cavaliers are looking for.

It’s no secret that the Cleveland Cavaliers need to focus on acquiring defensive players that can be quality pieces in coming years that are ideally, switchable defenders.

With the 2020 NBA Draft having such a dearth of star potential it seems, wherever the Cavs end up selecting, they need to prioritize the defensive end, playmaking feel and/or prospects that have shown encouraging signs in both of those areas.

Granted, positive shooting indicators are always an added bonus for today’s perimeter-centric NBA, but to me, again, the Cavs need to put their onus on the defensive end.

That should relate to looking to add a defensive ace in the upcoming draft, too, I believe, to help out pieces such as Collin Sexton, Darius Garland and others. That feasibly includes Kevin Love as well.

In terms of that defensive/secondary playmaking variety, Auburn wing Isaac Okoro jumps out to me, and KJG’s Grant Puskar, and USC big Onyeka Okongwu is a player that could be a rock solid pick, too.

Okoro had 0.9 steals and even for a natural wing, 0.9 blocks per game, in his lone collegiate season, per Sports Reference, and his secondary playmaking feel is particularly encouraging.

In Okongwu’s case in the defensive sense, similarly to Okoro, he should be very switchable, even at 6-foot-9 and 245 pounds. He could be at minimum, a good post-up/rolling presence, and also a heck of a team defender that had 2.7 blocks and 1.2 steals per game as also a true freshman.

If those pieces are potentially not on the board at the Cavs’ pick, though, or if Cleveland went in a different direction, and stressed having a bigger potential long-term starting 3 option, another young prospect could prove to be a rock solid pick.

Enter Florida State’s Patrick Williams, who could be the defensive ace the Cleveland Cavaliers are looking for via the 2020 NBA Draft.

Williams is not a piece that’s likely stood out a ton to fans as a Cavs 2020 draft target the way Edwards, Ball and perhaps others have.

Williams was a bench contributor for Florida State this season, as he played only 22.5 minutes per game, and had 9.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per outing in that workload.

That being said, Williams, as KJG’s Amadou Sow previously highlighted, played for a Seminoles squad and head coach Leonard Hamilton that utilized an “11-man lineup,” and Williams’ 16.4 points per-40 minutes are more relative, considering that.

More importantly, however, Williams’ big-time defensive potential is what really jumps out from the Cleveland Cavaliers’ perspective, which I’ll stress from here.