The Cleveland Cavaliers found out their 2020 NBA Draft position on Thursday, but it’s nice to know Dylan Windler should technically be another pick, too.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, at least for now, are slated to have the fifth pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, as KJG’s Grant Puskar hit on, so a solo draft at this juncture. We’ll eventually see what plays out there.
Auburn’s Isaac Okoro, who projects as a very switchable defender, as KJG’s Billy Beebe and Amadou Sow (who highlighted some potential lineups involving him) discussed, could be in the running for Cleveland if available. So could USC’s Onyeka Okongwu, who I believe could be a defensive tone-setter for the Cavs.
Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor did say how the Cavs are not as high on Okongwu as seemingly fans are, though, but I still believe he’d be a fine pick for them, especially given his switchability and team feel defensively. Perhaps Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton, who could be a seamless fit alongside Collin Sexton, as Sow detailed, and likely take over the starting 1 role for Darius Garland, could be in the conversation as well.
Anyhow, what is also a plus for the Cavaliers, though, is that next season, they should feasibly have their own de facto second 2020 NBA Draft pick in Dylan Windler.
In that regard, Windler counting as an additional pick will hopefully pay dividends for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Windler was the 26th overall pick by Cleveland in the 2019 NBA Draft, and it was unfortunate that he didn’t get to appear in 2019-20 in what was formally supposed to be his rookie campaign for the Wine and Gold.
Windler, on the plus side, is recovering well in regards to complications involving a stress reaction in his left leg, however, and it was nice to hear that he is “feeling good” in that realm, per a report from Fedor.
It’d be productive for Windler to at least be able to get some quality work in the in-market bubble program, of which was reportedly agreed upon this week by the NBA and NBPA, from the Cavs’ perspective, too.
When looking at next season for Windler, in what Cavs fans hope would be the case, and I’d think will, given him coming along well in his recovery, is him at least being a high quality rotational shooter.
Windler was a player that some members of the Cavs organization believed could have potentially taken over as Cleveland’s starting 3 for Cedi Osman at the midway point, as Fedor expressed in the above report.
That could possibly play out as next season progresses, perhaps, but either way, again, Windler if able to be mostly healthy, could definitely project as a knockdown shooter. That’s via catch-and-shoots/off movement, I’d imagine.
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That’d again essentially be like adding an additional draft pick next season, too, which would hopefully pay dividends for the Cleveland Cavaliers and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and the coaching staff after a bit of adjusting early on.
Windler, as KJG’s Matthew Fagan demonstrated, had a reputation as a sharpshooter at Belmont, and hit 40.6 percent of his 534 career three-point shot attempts in a four-year collegiate career as a Bruin.
Windler hit 42.9 percent of a healthy 7.1 triple attempts per contest in 2018-19, too, and he could very well help space the floor in his minutes-share for pieces such as Collin Sexton, Kevin Porter Jr. and others, such as who Cleveland’s draft pick is in mid-October as well.
Along with the polished pull-up shooting, spot-up/off movement shooting range, and cutting/finishing prowess Windler has, he could function as a solid secondary playmaker and/or ball-mover in stretches on the floor for Cleveland, too.
I’d imagine that his two-man game with Larry Nance Jr., and the aforementioned Porter, could be a go-to one for the Cavs to utilize featuring key bench pieces throughout games, for instance. That could give the Cavaliers an added boost.
So hopefully, Windler can be mostly healthy next season, and be essentially an additional pick for the Cavs to have, to go with their number five pick. I firmly believe Windler being back, which should include the rebounding element, too (he averaged 7.8 per game at Belmont), should pay dividends and be an added weapon for the Wine and Gold next season.
Let’s hope he can be healthy, though, to reiterate.