Devin Vassell should be a prospect the Cleveland Cavaliers are very strongly considering in the upcoming draft.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have a lot of issues to fix and they can look to get rid of some in this year’s NBA Draft. As of now, the Cavs would enter the draft with the fifth overall pick where they could end up with an impactful player.
Looking at their roster, there are a multitude of different directions that they could go in as they look to improve the team. Ultimately when projecting forward, though, now I believe the Cavaliers should key in on selecting a wing player in the 2020 NBA Draft, of which will firmly be on November 18, per a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The current state of the NBA is wing-driven. Looking at the last 10 NBA Finals MVPs, Dirk Nowitzki was the only non-wing player to win the award, in 2011. Luckily for the Cavaliers, this year’s draft is filled with a ton of wing talent.
The Cavaliers are in desperate need of defense and someone who can provide the Cavaliers with length to make up for the length lost due to their small backcourt tandem of Darius Garland and Collin Sexton. Offensively, they could use someone who would work well off-ball, shoot three-pointers at a high clip, and give them just a little something as a secondary/tertiary facilitator.
For those capabilities, enter Florida State’s Devin Vassell for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Vassell is a name that has seemingly been talked about a ton by the Cavaliers and as KJG’s Billy Beebe pointed out, you can see how Vassell would be a seamless fit on the squad.
Vassell played two seasons at Florida State and this past season, he averaged 12.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, shooting 49.0 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from three-point land.
Offensively, Vassell has a polished shot with a really high release and as stated above, his off-ball ability would be great for the Cavaliers. Looking at this past season, Vassell averaged 1.039 points per possession in spot-up situations, ranking in the 80th percentile, per Synergy Sports and as h/t The Stepien’s Cameron Purn.
Defensively, Vassell takes the cake. He is arguably the best wing defender in this year’s draft and has the statistics to back it up. Vassell stands at about 6-foot-7 with an estimated near-6-foot-10 wingspan. Vassell averaged 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks per game last season in just 28.8 minutes per game.
Looking at advanced stats, Vassell had a steal rate of 2.8 and a block percent of 4.1 in 2019-20, which were highly impressive.
Looking at players in the 2010s with a steal rate of at least 2.5 and a block rate of at least 4.0 in college, names such as Matisse Thybulle, Avery Bradley, OG Anunoby, and Andre Roberson come up. Looking at this list of defenders, it seems as if Vassell is in good company.
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Vassell does come with his flaws, however. Despite his estimated 6-foot-7 frame, Vassell only checks in at 195 pounds, per an NBA.com 2020 NBA Draft profile.
In the NBA, it is likely that he will play a lot at the small forward position and for him to hang around them, he must bulk up and add size. Vassell also struggles in the general sense in shot creation, seeing as he ran an isolation play just 3.2 percent of the time, according to Synergy, albeit he did show some pull-up promise.
Taking everything into account, there doesn’t seem to be a better fit in this draft than Vassell from the Cleveland Cavaliers’ standpoint, and again when factoring in Darius Garland and Collin Sexton, among others.
The Cavaliers’ current small forward position is currently up for grabs, seeing as Cedi Osman and Kevin Porter Jr. (though a natural 2) have made their cases for the position.
A Vassell pick would be him firmly in the running for that position and has the best shot at starting right away, from my viewpoint. And while Dylan Windler it would seem should be in the fold next season, he could feasibly get plenty of burn at the 2, anyway, and Porter, a willing and capable passer, could appear in varying lineups.
His fit offensively is seamless, seeing as he wouldn’t take touches away from the high usage players on the team such as Sexton and would serve as a great kick-out option. As he continues to grow offensively, we could see him attempt to play on-ball and again, this shouldn’t be an issue seeing as our young guards have shown off-ball abilities as well.
Defensively, Vassell is an amazing team defender and would give the Cavaliers that “3-and-D” player that they have been looking for. His length should help him create turnovers, leading to more fastbreak/transition points for the Cavaliers.
The ball is in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ court, though, no pun intended.
In any case, a potential Vassell pick in the 2020 NBA Draft comes down to how the Cavs feel about him but, if they are to make it, they would be receiving an impactful player that can grow with our current young core for many years to come.