The Cleveland Cavaliers could add a quality wing in the 2020 NBA Draft.
I give Cedi Osman credit for hitting 38.3 percent of his three-point attempts in 2019-20, which was a career-best in relation to his three seasons. Osman, even while Kevin Love being mostly healthy likely played into it some, was largely underwhelming in the starting 3 sense on-ball for much of his second full season in that role for the Cleveland Cavaliers, though.
That’s why I could very well see the Cavaliers end up going with Auburn’s Isaac Okoro, who while he only hit 28.6 percent of his three-point attempts, could benefit similarly as to how Osman has in working with a great Cleveland player development staff.
They worked wonders for Osman’s catch-and-shoot ability, in particular, himself, along with Collin Sexton, who has hit 39.2 percent of his three-point attempts through his first two seasons with Cleveland. That’s even after Sexton’s perimeter shooting was a key weakness coming into the NBA out of Alabama, and he hit only 33.6 percent of his triple attempts with the Crimson Tide in his lone collegate season there.
Okoro, who is about as switchable as it gets, and can do so to a large degree 1-4, is a very gifted athlete and is a solid 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, and has impressive team defensive feel, too. That, and his timing led to 0.9 blocks and 0.9 steals per game as a Tiger. He is also a player that is a good driver and would be able to accumulate a bunch of free throws for Cleveland if they drafted him, and is adept at finishing through contact both on-ball and as a cutter.
Florida State’s Devin Vassell, who had 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks per contest in his sophomore campaign as a Seminole, could be a highly capable defensive wing for the Cavs in coming years, too. On the offensive end, he is a polished pull-up shooter and spot-up shooter that hit 41.7 percent of his three-point attempts at FSU in two seasons as well.
Additionally, in more so the hybrid 3/4 sense, I’d be more than fine with the Cavs potentially selecting Vassell’s teammate at FSU in Patrick Williams, who is still just 18 and had 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals in only 22.5 minutes per game as a Seminole as a freshman. Williams could be a multipositional piece for the Cavs at 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds, and has an arrow pointing up, too.
Plus, CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish had Cleveland going with Deni Avdija fifth overall in a recent mock draft on Friday, and as Parrish alluded to, Avdija could mesh well with the likes of Darius Garland and Collin Sexton at the 3. He could play the 4 for stretches, too, and his pull-up/pick-and-roll ball handling/secondary playmaking potential could peak the Cavs’ interest, albeit I’d probably rather they go with Okoro, for instance.
Anyway, what is evident to me when looking at next season is one thing that’s encouraging.
It appears that if the Cleveland Cavaliers go with a wing in the 2020 NBA Draft, that’d be a key strength for them in the near future.
Osman again probably is not a player that should be starting for an extended period into next season, given his relative limitations on-ball and on-ball against starting wings defensively. But as a rotational wing option, he could still be a nice piece to have for Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and company.
Kevin Porter Jr., who was Osman’s primary backup last season with Dylan Windler not active due to injury in 2019-20, did still hold his own in minutes at the 3 for a rookie bench contributor, though. While I’d expect him to play more minutes at the 2 going forward, he still could be a good option to have for some stretches at the 3, and displayed plenty of flashes as a rookie on-ball, and had 10.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.9 steals in 23.2 minutes per outing.
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Speaking of Windler, though, he could bring quite the sharpshooting element to the Cavs, as KJG’s Matthew Fagan demonstrated, and Windler is recovering well in regards to his complications involving a stress reaction in his left leg, per a report from Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor.
Windler, whether or not he can potentially be a starting 3 option, hit 40.6 percent of his 534 career three-point attempts in a four-year collegiate career at Belmont, and could bring a knockdown catch-and-shoot/off-movement element to the Cavs.
That’s at least in a rotational sense, and Windler is a polished pull-up shooter and finisher/cutter as well. I’d imagine he could very capable as a 2 man option, too, though.
Anyhow, it seems that if the Cavs go with a wing in the upcoming draft, that could be a key strength, in the collective/depth sense, for them in the near future. That was a great point from Justin Rowan, formerly of Fear The Sword and co-host of The Chase Down Podcast, on Friday that jumped out to me.
Next season is gonna be weird for the Cavs. Going from Cedi and KPJ being the only guys playing SF to those two, Windler and whoever they draft likely being in the mix.
— Justin Rowan (@Cavsanada) August 21, 2020
Gives you a lot of options on the wing to go with Garland, Sexton and Exum
As a group and having those said options Rowan hit on, with hopefully Windler being mostly healthy and essentially as an additional 2020 pick, along with a player such as Okoro, Vassell or Avdija/Williams, could be really good for the Cavaliers.
In the near future, that’d be nice to have from a game-to-game/matchup perspective, and Windler/KPJ and Windler/Osman, and/or Windler/Okoro, to name a few examples, could be productive pairings for stretches at the 2/3.
Of course, the Cavs could potentially select a guard such as Tyrese Haliburton perhaps at their fifth overall 2020 NBA Draft pick, or perhaps USC big Onyeka Okongwu. Albeit Fedor expressed how he believes fans are seemingly higher on Okongwu for the Cavs than the Cavs themselves, but he could be a defensive tone-setter for them in coming years, so I’d think they’d still consider him.
Nonetheless, the above tweet from Rowan again was a great point, and perhaps following the upcoming draft, wing could be a key strength for the Wine and Gold in the near future and allow them to have more lineup versatility, collectively.
We’ll see if they go wing ultimately. For a quick update, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Friday that the NBA’s board of governors discussed possibly moving back the mid-October draft/free agency following that with league commissioner Adam Silver via conference call.
It should be fun to see what the Cavs choose to do, whenever the draft eventually is.