Next year, the Cleveland Cavaliers could land their long-term stretch big.
The 2021 NBA Draft is still a ways out, but that’s one the Cleveland Cavaliers and many other teams will likely be excited for. It’s viewed as the deepest draft in years. You have the franchise-caliber star power at the top, but even later in the lottery you can argue some All-Star talent can be found at those later spots.
In a perfect world and best-case scenario, the Cavaliers and general manager Koby Altman would get the first pick and would have the easy decision of drafting guard Cade Cunningham out of Oklahoma State. The Cavs could fall again in the lottery and that would bring a number of options into play, though, and if Cleveland makes strides next season, that could be the case either way.
If that were to happen, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, considering the strength of the 2021 draft. The Cavs aren’t ready to compete for a playoff spot next year, but they could ultimately target a stretch big next year. Kevin Love has likely seen his best basketball, while by the time the 2021-22 season rolls around, he’ll be entering his 14th NBA season, provided he’s still around.
With that in mind, the Cavs next draft could very well land Love’s long-term replacement, and the targets we’ll examine here could be much better alternatives than Dayton’s Obi Toppin, whose been linked to perhaps be that in the upcoming draft.
But there are major defensive question marks involving Toppin, and if the Cavaliers were to look to trade Love down the road, the targets we’ll look at here would project as better options.
Three potential 2021 stretch big targets come to mind for the Cavs.
The first is a player that’s set to play at USC next season.