Cavs haven’t spoken with draft prospects LaMelo Ball, Killian Hayes

The Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t been in contact with draft prospects LaMelo Ball or Killian Hayes at this point.

The NBA pre-draft process is beginning to ramp up, with clubs being able to interview prospects virtually and see a number of them in the 2020 NBA Draft combine. The format is different, clearly, with how things have been affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic, but this is still meaningful, especially for lottery teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers.

For the Wine and Gold, they are set to select fifth overall in the upcoming draft, and they could go a number of directions there. Wings such as Auburn’s Isaac Okoro, Florida State’s Devin Vassell and Deni Avdija of the I-BSL’s Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv come to mind.

And while I’m personally not fans of either, due to defensive concerns in a perimeter-oriented NBA, Cleveland could maybe go with Dayton big Obi Toppin, or James Wiseman, who briefly played at Memphis.

That said, it would still appear, given how the consensus has seemingly still been for so long by many, that Wiseman will be gone by the Cavs selection, but a recent report from Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman noted how multiple scouts have moved USC big Onyeka Okongwu over Wiseman. Wasserman seemingly got the sense that perhaps Wiseman could fall to the 5-9 range.

Wiseman is reportedly among the Cavaliers top tier of prospects, too, so if he’s there, we could very well see them select him. Albeit again, it’s still tough to expect him there, but Okongwu, a player that’s very switchable defensively and also is a promising rim protector to couple with that, could be a really good pick if the Cavaliers went with him.

Anyhow, swinging back to the pre-draft process/virtual interviews of prospects/the altered combine format, it’s meaningful to touch on a few prospects, regarding some news there with the Cavs and LaMelo Ball/Killian Hayes.

Ball, of the NBL’s Illawarra Hawks and Hayes, of the BBL’s Ratiopharm Ulm, both have not been in contact with the Cavs, per reports on Monday.

Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor noted how Ball in a Zoom call with the media said the Cavs were a club Ball pointed out as a team he explicitly hasn’t spoken with, whereas the New York Knicks he has. Hayes, via Forbes‘ Evan Dammarell, emphasized in a Zoom call how he hasn’t spoken with Cleveland, and hit on how he doesn’t see need, too, really, given that the Cavaliers selected Collin Sexton and Darius Garland in the top 10 in the past two drafts.

Dammarell would then touch on how Hayes, following that media Zoom call, has talked with the Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls, Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards and San Antonio Spurs thus far.

In terms of a bit of other news involving contacting of prospects, Fedor would then note how the Cavaliers are set to talk to four more prospects on Tuesday. That’s including Memphis’ Precious Achiuwa and Stanford’s Tyrell Terry, both of whom they’ve previously contacted.

Lastly, Dammarell then noted how the aforementioned Okoro will be speaking with the media via Zoom on Wednesday, so we’ll find out more seemingly then.

So what’s to make of this?

This news sums up how the Cleveland Cavaliers likely won’t be adding either Ball or Hayes via the draft.

What jumps out with this news is that the Cavs likely won’t be drafting either Ball, who is a very talented playmaker that had 17.0 points, 6.8 assists and 1.7 steals per outing in NBL play in 2019-20, nor Hayes. The latter is a talented guard as well, and projecting onward, I’d expect more of the all-around variety, and had 11.6 points, 5.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game during this now-past season.

Albeit both have their question marks. That’s most notably with Ball regarding his shooting form/defensive capability against NBA guards, and in Hayes’ case, it’s more so whether or not he can be effective operating off-ball/off-the-catch if needed. In addition, the viability of him going to his weak right hand aside from step backs comes to mind.

Again, both are talented playmakers, though, and Ball is 6-foot-7, while Hayes is 6-foot-5 and has a sturdy frame already.

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But when it comes to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2020 NBA Draft, it wouldn’t appear that either will end up being selected by them.

It’s difficult to foresee Ball falling to the Cavs, quite frankly, and in Hayes’ case, his comments about the Cavs made it seem as if he’s not too realistic of a target for them.

Along those lines, a report from Fedor noted how a source seemingly hit on how unless Ball or Georgia’s Anthony Edwards drop to them, which seems very unlikely, the Cavs will go with a “wing or big.”

Fedor then touched on how Hayes, nor Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton would seem to qualify as “definitive” better options for the Cavaliers than seemingly incumbents Darius Garland and Collin Sexton, the latter of whom led Cleveland in scoring with 20.8 points per outing in 2019-20.

Of course, Garland, who shot only 40.1 percent in year 1 and mightily struggled defensively, has a lot to prove in year 2. But it’s good to know he’s looked shiftier in Cavs in-market bubble team workouts.

And with him having what’s essentially been an extended offseason to work on his game as compared to last offseason, when he was mostly rehabbing after a meniscus tear resulting in a very short stint of game action at Vanderbilt, Garland I believe should rebound well.

So again, while we’ll continue to learn more via reports of prospects the Cleveland Cavaliers have/will have been in contact with, again, these reports further drive home how it’s not likely Cleveland goes with LaMelo Ball or Killian Hayes, for the reasons stated.

When it comes to these two guard prospects, in particular, too, it’s not like maybe others, as both players don’t seem to be exactly thrilled when asked about the Cavs, likely given Garland/Sexton, and also perhaps, Kevin Porter Jr.

I can understand if that’s the case, honestly, though. For the Wine and Gold, looking onward, landing a quality defensive wing in the 2020 NBA Draft, or Okongwu, really, would be really promising, however.

We’ll be especially looking out for more draft-related conversation involving the Cavs leading up to when it happens virtually on Nov. 18.