3 under-the-radar 2021 NBA Draft prospects for the Cavs to target

2021 under-the-radar target #2 for the Cleveland Cavaliers: Scottie Lewis – Guard/Wing, Florida

Scottie Lewis is one of the more unique players in the 2021 NBA Draft for a number of reasons. He made what many, alongside myself, consider to be an excellent decision to remain for his sophomore season at the University of Florida under head coach Mike White.

He is my favorite all-around defensive player in his potential draft class and possesses tools that could allow him to quickly find an impact filled role on any NBA team. Lewis is genuinely a superb athlete with elite, yet even still-developing defensive instincts.

The biggest takeaway for Scottie from his return to the University of Florida for another season will likely end up being the potential to vault himself into a lottery selection as opposed to a late-first or even early-second-round pick that he all but assuredly would have been had he decided to stay in the 2020 NBA Draft pool.

There were arguments that could have been made that he would have been drafted decently high in the 2020 NBA Draft had he stayed based on his potential alone, but he clearly opted to go the safer route and to take another year to focus on his development and prove that he is worthy of being a legitimate first round selection for an NBA team in the near future.

Lewis clearly must continue to develop offensively but he has every tool needed to be a capable two-way player in the NBA given his physical gifts and size. He showed a solid enough willingness to shoot and score in a unique Florida offense in that he put up 2.0 three-pointers per game on a 36.1 percent hit rate, and showcased plus touch from the charity stripe shooting a very good 81.7 percent.

This all bodes very well for his future as an NBA player, but he must continue to develop in this regard and stay consistent in order to truly be maximized as a scorer in the NBA in the future. His elite game-breaking ability and athleticism will be just as much major reasons as to why any team would love to have Lewis come the 2021 NBA Draft and why a team like the Cleveland Cavaliers would likely love to have him all the same.

Any NBA coach worth their salt would be drooling at the sheer potential that Scottie Lewis has and should easily be able to take advantage of his athleticism and defensive instincts, even with him being a likely late-lottery/first-round selection and one of the more under-the-radar players (because of how star-studded the 2021 NBA Draft Class appears to be).

The Cleveland Cavaliers have proven to be an excellent and ideal team for the likes of an almost-similar level athlete in Porter Jr. to develop into a quality young player quite quickly, so there would be great reason to believe he would fit right in alongside the rest of the Cavaliers budding young core.