Cavs draft: How Jalen Green would fit in with the current CLE roster

After an impressive start to the season, it looks as if the Cleveland Cavaliers are returning to the team that we know them to be. The problems that trouble this team seem like problems that could be fixed in a single offseason and barring anything unforeseen, this looks to be that offseason.

Through 39 games played, one thing is obvious and it is that the team lacks talent. Some of the players that get quality minutes on the Cavaliers would receive little to no minutes on most playoff-contending teams. Luckily for the Cleveland, the 2021 NBA Draft is chalk-filled with talent and at 14-25, it seems as if the Wine and Gold are slated to land a high pick.

One prospect that should be on the Cavs’ radar is Jalen Green. After a fantastic season with the G-League Ignite, Green has established himself as a top-five pick in this years’ draft and has made a strong case for being a top-2 pick in it.

In 15 games played, the 6-foot-6 wing averaged 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, and shot 46.1 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from the three-point line on 5.7 attempts per game.

In his lone playoff game this season/in the G League bubble, Green put up 30 points, seven assists and five rebounds against a Raptors 905 team that featured three players in their starting lineup who have played multiple seasons in the NBA.

Green could be the final component in the Cavaliers’ young core and his uniqueness as a player is what has people raving about his play. Green is an athletically gifted player with an incredible bounce. This athleticism gives him an insanely quick first step and combined with his three-level scoring ability, you have a wing player that is oozing with All-NBA potential.

Green can fill a void created with the Kevin Porter Jr. trade and could become the most intriguing player on the team, depending on how you may view Collin Sexton or Darius Garland.

Diving deeper into what he could bring to the team, his offensive skill set would improve an offense that ranks last in points per game, 29th in three-point percentage, and last in three-point attempts. Looking at how stagnant the offense can become when only one of Darius Garland-Collin Sexton is on the court, adding another ball-handler seems like something that must happen.

His blazing speed and great finishing abilities would help improve the Cavs’ transition offense which is something that has been a plus for them, ranking 13th in the NBA at 12.8 fastbreak points per game.

Defensively, his lateral quickness will help him to stay in front of his matchups and with his player model, he looks to be someone who could potentially excel at this end in the NBA.

So how would Green fit with the current Cavs roster?

Standing at 6-foot-6 and looking at the players on the roster, it’d be interesting to see where the Cavaliers would look to play Green.

The NBA has seemed to shift towards “positionless” basketball, or seemingly near that realm of style, with many teams running wing players who are shorter than the average NBA wing. Examples of this are players like Anthony Edwards, Isaac Okoro, Norman Powell, and Luguentz Dort, all between the heights of 6-foot-3-6-foot-5 that play both wing positions.

What differentiates these players from Green is that Green weighs in at just 178 pounds while the lightest player of the four listed are Norman Powell and Lu Dort, both of whom weigh 215 pounds.

That near-40-pound difference means a lot in the NBA considering players could then use their strength to overpower Green, especially considering that the Cavaliers already run two undersized guards. Luckily for him, Green just turned 19 in February and is just starting to fill into his body.

Ideally, if selected by the Cavs in the 2021 NBA Draft, Jalen Green would be the first player off the bench to replace either one of Darius Garland-Collin Sexton as the Wine and Gold continue to stagger their minutes. During clutch situations, Cleveland could look to run all three players in Garland (who appears to have taken another step forward of late), Sexton and Green together.

In this scenario, Green would be able to get his fair share of touches, whether they be off-ball or on-ball. As the season progresses, the Cavaliers could then decide on whether or not they want Green to start, likely being at the small forward position.

The Cavs could get an assortment of players to compensate for the size lost on defense. Players like Jarrett Allen, Larry Nance Jr. and Okoro are players who excel on the defensive end and Cleveland could look to add more through trades, the draft, or potentially in free agency to come, perhaps.

Moreover, Green would be an enormous get for the Cavs in the 2021 NBA Draft, and with the season more than halfway through, this scenario could soon turn into a reality.