Two goals for Devin Vassell if he’s selected by Cavs in 2020 NBA Draft
By Billy Beebe
Devin Vassell should be a prospect that’s definitely on the Cleveland Cavaliers radar.
After finishing their 2019-2020 campaign ranked 29th in defensive rating, the Cleveland Cavaliers should strongly consider taking defensive prospects in the upcoming draft. In that realm, Florida State’s Devin Vassell is one of the names mentioned when talking defense for the 2020 NBA Draft.
While Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman has Vassell going 11th in his latest mock draft, this doesn’t mean he won’t be a Cavalier. On top of the fact that the lottery hasn’t happened yet, the Cavaliers showed last year that they aren’t afraid to make draft day moves.
While it would feasibly be a pretty high selection and some believe NBA owners could lose “tens of millions per franchise” next season and look to cut salary/sell even first-rounders, per a report from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert did spend $5 million during the last draft. Along with that, the Cavs sent the Detroit Pistons four future second-round picks for Kevin Porter Jr., so if a potential deal arises, the Cavaliers might go for it.
Detroit had the pick due to a trade before the 2019 draft with the Milwaukee Bucks, and received record compensation for Cleveland to acquire Porter, essentially from Gilbert, for context.
At any rate, getting an additional first-rounder even with picks perhaps for sale at some point still very well might not be a simple move. But Vassell could be a prospect the Cavs consider if they end up with seemingly the fifth or sixth selection in the 2020 NBA Draft, regardless.
Factoring in that, here we’ll suggest two goals for Vassell if he is selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The first relates to further building on his college statistics.
#1: Finding a way to have near his college statistics in his rookie season with the Cleveland Cavaliers
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Devin Vassell was the leading scorer and rebounder on a Florida State team that finished their season #4 in the Associated Press top 25 rankings. With all that being said, Vessel averaged only 12.7 points and 5.1 rebounds, but did 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks per outing.
As next season progresses, Vassell would seem to have a very good shot of being in a starting role pretty early on, or at least would have a reasonable shot of playing a significant chunk of minutes off the bench. Either way, the 6-foot-6 2/3 should have a legitimate shot at replicating near his college numbers from his sophomore season.
Vassell hit a robust 41.7 percent of his three-point attempts in college, and showed he’s a highly capable pull-up shooter in his second season at FSU, in particular.
If he’s able to hit near 12 points and five boards per outing, that’d be promising, and he could do so if ample opportunities arise.
The second goal for Vassell has to do with eventually taking hold of a starting role.
#2: Earning a starting job for the Cleveland Cavaliers
Both the starting shooting guard and small forward position will be up for grabs next season for the Cavaliers. The Darius Garland-Collin Sexton experiment didn’t impress, while Porter Jr. and Cedi Osman lacked consistent value. If Vassell can show his ability to be consistent and valuable on both ends, there is no reason he doesn’t find himself in the starting lineup.
Albeit consistency is the key word. The Cleveland Cavaliers are craving a three-and-D wing that can bring “it” night-in and night-out, and Vassell could fit the bill. If Vassell lives up to his pre-draft profile, the Cavs have a key piece in their rebuild.
The Cavaliers have gotten a mixed bag of results from their rookies over the past two years.
While Dylan Windler (stress reaction in his left leg) and Garland have been victims of injuries, with Garland seemingly timid last season as a result and reportedly affected by a meniscus injury dating back to college at Vanderbilt, Porter Jr. has had trouble with consistent play. Plus, he missed 15 games combined due to a knee sprain and a concussion in 2019-20, too.
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Moreover, if Vassell achieves the goals set, he’ll avoid past flaws in Cavalier rookies.