Who are some clear targets for the Cavs in the 2021 NBA Draft?

The NBA is just about a third through the 2020-21 season and the Cleveland Cavaliers are still competing strongly for a playoff berth. Currently, the Cavaliers are the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with much-improved play from their Darius Garland–Collin Sexton backcourt. Pair them along with All-Star-type play from Andre Drummond, and an entire team that has brought into head coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s system and the future is bright with this team.

But, with the good comes the bad and there are some points of improvement with the Cavaliers. Surprisingly, their defense hasn’t been the issue this season but rather the offense.

There are a number of variables of why this is the case but, two big ones are shooting and the lack of perimeter play. These issues have shined bright due to the injury (high grade calf strain/reaggravation) to Kevin Love and the loss of Kevin Porter Jr.

Perimeter play is extremely important in today’s NBA and unforeseen events saw the Cavaliers lose this in the blink of an eye. More specifically, the decision to move on from Kevin Porter Jr. via trade to the Houston Rockets in what was essentially a dump is a setback in the Cavaliers’ rebuild and is now an area that must be tended to.

Luckily for this team, this year’s draft has a ton of quality wing players that the Cavaliers could look to add. This draft includes wing players such as Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Jalen Johnson, Moses Moody, Ziaire Williams, Brandon Boston Jr., and Josh Christopher, to name a few.

Looking at the list, Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga are the top wings of this draft. Both of them have shown off crazy athleticism and scoring abilities during their high school days and will soon give us more game film to look at once the G-League Ignite rolls around in February.

Everyone else included on the list have also shown flashes but, have also shown flaws in their games. The good thing though is that most of the flaws these players have shown are fixable and can be improved on throughout their careers. The length that these players possess, along with their scoring abilities and potential make them great candidates to be selected by the Cavaliers, depending on where the Cavs pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Landing another wing isn’t the only thing that the Cavaliers should look to do in this year’s NBA draft as finding a Kevin Love replacement is something else that the Cavaliers could try to do.

Love is a 32-year-old power forward who has dealt with injury issues for the majority of his time in Cleveland. He has three years left on his deal, including this season but, he may not finish his entire contract out with the Cavaliers.

For years Love has been a part of trade rumors but, trades have never formulated due to the size of his contract and the level of play he is at now. At this point, it may be better for the Cavaliers to just hold on to their aging power forward but in this league, nothing is certain. If the Cavs do want to look for their future power forward during this year’s draft, they will have some options.

The three power forwards that stand out the most are Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes, and Greg Brown, each having their own skill sets. Mobley is a 7-foot unicorn who can shoot, finish around the rim, dribble, facilitate, and defend at a great level for a big man.

Barnes has the body of a big but is currently playing point guard for the Florida State Seminoles, meaning that his playmaking abilities should be advanced for someone playing in the frontcourt. Lastly, Greg Brown is an athletic big with developing handles and a shot that has some potential.

Of all these options, the best one of the three looks to be Evan Mobley, and with the recent addition of Jarrett Allen, Mobley’s fit on the team becomes an intriguing one. His ability to stretch the floor and his advanced handles for a big makes him a good candidate to play the power forward position where he and Allen could create an ultra-big frontcourt in Cleveland.

Mobley has averaged 16.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.9 blocks and 2.0 assists per contest in 16 outings with USC thus far this season, but again, his two-way abilities would make him an especially nice fit with Cleveland.

So, overall, though, with a top pick, who are some clear targets for the Cavs in the 2021 NBA Draft?

Looking at the roster, the Cavaliers should take a player who would fit the current construction of the team and continue to let the young core improve with one another. This continued growth and roster fit are why I feel the Cavaliers should look towards drafting another wing player. With that being said, if Cade Cunningham is off the board, the best players for the Cavaliers to take are Jonathan Kuminga and Jalen Johnson, in my opinion.

Of all of the wing players listed, only Kuminga and Jalen Johnson possess the combination of size and length to play both forward positions, and seeing as a Love replacement will be needed soon for the club’s long-term outlook, both players can fill in that role.

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Both players possess great athleticism with high-scoring potential. Johnson projects to be better than Kuminga at playmaking while it currently looks like Kuminga projects as a better slasher.

Between the two, Kuminga looks to be the better pick due to his untapped potential, of which KJG’s Mason Cole previously highlighted, and due to the advancements that both Darius Garland and Collin Sexton have made as players.

At their peaks, a lineup with Kuminga would maybe see him play a majority of his minutes at the power forward position, with Garland-Sexton as the backcourt, Isaac Okoro at the small forward position, and Jarrett Allen as the anchor in the middle.

A starting five of this sort should be a fast-paced one, seeing as athleticism and shooting between these five has the makings of one. Defensively, both perimeter and paint defense should be a plus with the improvements that all five of these players make.

With Garland and Sexton both being above 40 percent three-point shooters already in their careers, with Okoro and Kuminga continuing to make strides, shooting shouldn’t be an issue. Garland has started off this season hitting 52.0 percent from deep via catch-and-shoots, and hit 39.1 percent on pull-up threes, per NBA.com’s shot tracking data, for further context, and Sexton has continually proven his capabilities from beyond the arc.

Now, if the Cavaliers do not end up with a top-five pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Johnson is a good second option seeing as his added playmaking and scoring abilities would also give the Wine and Gold another perimeter threat.

All in all, whatever the Cleveland Cavaliers look to do in this next draft will be dependent on where they finish in the standings.

The good thing about this year, however, is that there are quality scoring wings all throughout this draft and it shouldn’t be difficult for the Cavaliers to add one.