3 prospects Cavs could look to add with 2nd-round purchase in 2020 NBA Draft
By Amadou Sow
The Cleveland Cavaliers are slated to pick fifth overall in the upcoming draft, but they could perhaps look to add another selection.
The 2020 NBA Draft is just about six weeks away and it will be interesting to see what moves the Cleveland Cavaliers look to make in the coming weeks.
The Cavaliers have said on multiple occasions that they will look to go “best player available,” while also seemingly looking to satisfy a need. The Cavs could feasibly go in a number of directions, though, and for more on reported details, you can view those here and also here.
Albeit if the Cavs follow their word, it seemingly means that Isaac Okoro or Devin Vassell are definitely two players they are eyeing, seeing as they would help on the defensive end and are highly-touted prospects. Seeing as their fifth overall pick could be used on a need, they could look to make a move on a second-round pick to draft a raw talent, in hopes of hitting on the selection.
The Cavaliers do have the ammo to go out and find themselves a high second-round pick without breaking the bank and/or could possibly attach a future second-round pick to cash considerations in that suggested scenario.
If they decide to follow this path, here, we will look at three players the Cleveland Cavaliers could add via second-round pick.
We’ll get right into it with a high-upside prospect in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Potential Cleveland Cavaliers second-round target #1: Jaden McDaniels
Jaden McDaniels is an interesting player and one who has been scouted by many teams. In college in his lone season at Washington, McDaniels struggled with consistency and maturity issues. These issues led to him being benched in that time and his draft stock dipping.
Once seen as a highly-touted prospect, McDaniels has since fallen and on multiple sites, they have mocked him anywhere from just outside the lottery to the late 30s. Despite his constant mishaps and underwhelming play, McDaniels is oozing with potential and with his size, projects to be a lethal weapon for any offense.
McDaniels stands at 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-7 wingspan. Offensively, his shot creation abilities scream loud. For someone his size, McDaniels moves very fluidly, both on and off-ball. As stated, McDaniels’ shot-creation gives him potential as a three-level scorer.
Defensively, his length and mobility give him great potential as a shot blocker.
The issues for McDaniels are fixable. With professional training, McDaniels can add strength and improve his build. With the Cavaliers, McDaniels can work on his craft without having to stress too much about his offensive workload.
With offensive players such as Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, Kevin Love and Kevin Porter Jr., McDaniels can come into the league and have a limited role offensively. On catch-and-shoot jump shots, McDaniels averaged just under 1.2 points per possession, ranking in the 83rd percentile, per Synergy Sports and as h/t NBA.com.
This would allow him to exert more energy on the defensive end, an area where the Cavaliers need to improve.