Cavs potentially looking to add 2nd top 10 2020 pick wouldn’t seem sensible

The Cleveland Cavaliers may be interested in acquiring another 2020 draft pick.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are set to have the fifth overall selection in the 2020 NBA Draft, and though it’s of course not a certainty, given recent mocks and reports, it seems increasingly likely that they’ll end up selecting Obi Toppin.

Personally, I’d rather Cleveland pass on Toppin if he’s available there, given major defensive concerns and him already being 22 years old. Albeit for the Cavs, they are reportedly high on his offensive polish.

I do acknowledge that that part of his game would it seem that he’ll have a productive NBA career, I just myself, with how inept Cleveland has been defensively these past few seasons (last in defensive rating the last two years), would rather the Cavs go a different route there.

Nonetheless, Toppin did have 20.0 points per outing in 2019-20, hit 39.0 percent of his three-point attempts, has pretty good passing feel and was the Naismith Men’s Collegiate Player of the Year last season at Dayton. So from that standpoint, I would understand the rationale.

Anyhow, while it seems still more realistic that the Cavs will end up having that #5 selection and just that pick in Wednesday’s draft, Cleveland may reportedly look to acquire a second top 10 pick. Per a report from ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (subscription required), the Cavs are “active in the trade market” and have a number of pieces seemingly for trades “if they decide to be aggressive.”

And from there, while Givony added in his mock, in which he had them going Toppin, the Cavs could consider Isaac Okoro or Onyeka Okongwu at #5, based on what rival executives thought, he added that the Cavs could look to add one of those two “especially if they can add another pick in the top 10.”

Acquiring another top 10 pick in this draft wouldn’t seem too sensible for the Cavs, though.

In terms of rumored potential trade pieces for Cleveland, Andre Drummond, if he were to pick up his $28.7 million player option, could potentially be in-play. Although, per a report from Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, should Cleveland look to trade Drummond, provided he opts in, Fedor stated that he’s heard Cleveland’s “best chance” to deal Drummond would be near the next trade deadline.

Granted, even with him alluding to how it wouldn’t result in an immediate trade, Forbes‘ Evan Dammarell reported how Drummond is likely to opt in by his Thursday at 5 PM deadline to do so. And he noted that Cleveland at some point, again, not immediately, will seemingly look to trade him if/when that’s the case.

It’d still appear to be more so at a later point, but perhaps Drummond could be a piece Cleveland could move on draft night, maybe. Dammarell emphasized how he’ll likely not sign an extension with the Cavs.

Moreover, while Kevin Love still it’d seem unlikely to be moved soon, because of his contract, he still is a gifted shooter, elite defensive rebounder and quality passing big. And a report from Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney noted how Cleveland is “eager to dump Kevin Love,” so maybe he could factor into a potential move.

Additionally, Larry Nance Jr. has reportedly been a player that’s popped up in trade discussions around the NBA, per a report from ESPN’s Zach Lowe. And then as far as others, maybe Cedi Osman and Dante Exum, of which the latter is set to be on an expiring $9.6 million deal for 2020-21, could be potential pieces included a package?

Anyhow, to me, while I’m a big fan of Okoro and Okongwu for the Cavs, considering how both project to be such impact defenders, and could really help Cleveland’s finishing/playmaking efforts, I’d rather the Cavaliers just look to add either at their #5 pick. And that doesn’t seem realistic at this point.

I completely get that the Cavs seem destined to trade Drummond at some point, but trading back to acquire another top 10 pick potentially wouldn’t seem viable, particularly if the Cavs had to give up future assets. And while maybe the New York Knicks at #8 could perhaps have interest in Love, per Deveney, they are a team, along with the Detroit Pistons at #7, who, if anything are rebuilding and are looking to trade back, but why would the Cavs attach a future key asset in addition?

Any squad wouldn’t seem to look to add Love without the Cavs giving up a future asset/assets, and Cleveland’s Milwaukee Bucks pick in 2022 wouldn’t seem to be valued all that highly, and why would Cleveland concede a 2021 or 2022 first in loaded and deep drafts?

I wouldn’t think that Cleveland adding another top 10 pick while still having their #5 pick is all that reasonable, honestly.

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So though I could be wrong here, I wouldn’t think the Cavs could add another top 10 pick without it being more so a trade-down scenario.

For example, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley suggested a hypothetical scenario in a recent mock draft in which Cleveland traded down with the Wizards, who pick #9, and in that scenario, the Wiz landed Okongwu at #5, and Cedi Osman.

Cleveland, in exchange, landed Toppin at #9, to go with the Wizards’ #37 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, to go with Troy Brown Jr. That conversely, would be much sensible, by comparison, for Cleveland, and would seem to be a higher possibility, as opposed to the Cavs trading back into the top 10.

But would the Wiz do that? Washington giving up Brown wouldn’t seem smart for them.

So again, maybe I’m wrong, and one can say they told me so, but I wouldn’t expect the Cavaliers to acquire an additional top 10 pick in Wednesday’s draft via trade, quite frankly. If anything, a trade-down, while anything but a certainty in a generally underwhelming draft, would seem more sensible/realistic for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But them doing a reported Boston Celtics deal, in which Boston reportedly offered two of their firsts (they have #14, #26 and #30) for Cleveland’s #5 pick, wouldn’t be one I’d be willing to do, and Cleveland wouldn’t reportedly likely do so, anyhow.

I’d much rather the Cavaliers look to make trades more later on and/or near the trade deadline, as I’d be more on-board with a potential Love trade more near then or following next season, as I wouldn’t think teams would be looking to pay him big money for the next three seasons, anyhow.

And I’d rather Cleveland look to attach Osman in a package, for example, more near the next deadline, for instance, if they were to look to move him, which factoring in Dylan Windler and Kevin Porter Jr., could be a reasonable move.

Again, though, while I’m a big fan of both Okoro and Okongwu, the Cavs potentially having to concede future assets and/or maybe giving up Love/Nance would not be something I’d be on-board with if that were to be the case.

I wouldn’t frankly want Cleveland to attach a key young piece in a move, either. At any rate, there will be more rumors to come, you’d assume, leading up to the draft, but the Cavaliers potentially looking to add another top 10 pick in this draft wouldn’t seem sensible to me.

Albeit if Okoro or Okongwu, for example, were Cleveland’s #5 pick, on the other hand instead of Toppin, I’d be all for it. That doesn’t seem all that likely to be the case at this point, though, unfortunately.