Cavs draft: What B/R’s suggested target Jaden Springer could provide

Tennessee’s Jaden Springer might be someone the Cleveland Cavaliers could pick up in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Cleveland has gotten good play out of Darius Garland and Collin Sexton this season, but the Cavs have not had Matthew Dellavedova this season due to a concussion/his history involving those. Dellavedova could seemingly not be back next season, too, and the Cavs could benefit from having a capable backup point guard, and Springer could play some at the off guard as well.

The Cavaliers, as of now, have the 15th pick in the next draft, albeit it is obviously early. The draft brings lots of excitement for young men who are working hard to be taken by an NBA team come June. The players and their family and friends are not the only ones who are nervous.

NBA executives are also worrying that their selection might be a bust when the season starts.

In any case, one prospect that could be a good player for the Cavs to get is the aforementioned Springer, and Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman recently mocked Springer to the Cavs at #15.

So what could Springer provide for the Cavs?

The 6-foot-4, 204-pound Volunteers freshman through 13 games is averaging 10.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

Although, in those 13 games, he has started just three of them thus far, so if the Cavs were to draft him, he might be a backup guard to Garland, who seems to be fully back to form, as KJG’s John Carter hit on, after missing eight games because of a right shoulder sprain. That said, Tennessee has been in the Top 25 the past few years and head coach Rick Barnes has his squad ready to go against any opponent.

People may be optimistic to drafting a guard who came off the bench during his college career, but if you look at Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, college ball is much different than pro ball.

Springer can help the Cavs not just with his playmaking, but also shot-creating. The Cavs have a quick guard in Sexton and Springer can help with making backdoor passes if Sexton makes those cuts. Not just with Sexton, but with the bigs as well, as Springer could be effective in pick-and-roll action.

Springer can also be a capable outlet guy on a fastbreak/in secondary transition, whereas Sexton, or perhaps Isaac Okoro, could be the trail guy and can cause the defenders to break down on a 2-1 fastbreak.

Moreover, the NBA now is all about the three ball and Springer is shooting 56.3 percent from there with the Vols. Now, of course, he’s only attempted 1.2 triples per game to this point in 20.9 minutes per contest, and you read into that with a significant grain of salt regarding the 2021 NBA Draft.

Albeit Springer would appear to be a more than viable floor spacing presence, should the Cavs draft him in this sense, as Wasserman suggested.

Additionally, there have been a lot of past players who have transferred schools because they were not in the starting lineup, but Springer is embracing his role and helping the Vols to being the 11th-ranked team in the country.

With how the NBA game is now, Springer might just be a solid fit for the Cleveland Cavaliers.