The Cleveland Cavaliers, the way things are shaping up, will likely have another good shot at a top five pick. At least where we stand on Wednesday as far as odds, Cleveland would be set to pick fifth in the 2021 NBA Draft, per Tankathon. But of course, there’s still uncertainty with ping pong balls.
Nonetheless, even while the Cavs could, in theory, have a shot at getting into the postseason via the play-in, that still seems unlikely.
The Cavaliers have shown promise recently, and Cleveland knows what they have in Darius Garland, who has really put it all together lately, as KJG’s Dylan Conatser highlighted. The same goes for known commodities in Collin Sexton, Jarrett Allen, and looking onward, Larry Nance Jr., I would think.
And though I believe his defense, even against so many difficult matchups throughout the season, has been solid, Isaac Okoro does need a full offseason to work on his offensive game more.
He wasn’t able to have close to that with this past offseason’s layout, and with rookies having the quickest draft-to-season turnaround in NBA history, given the COVID-19 impact with the schedule. Okoro has again hung in there, but he’s had only 7.8 in 32.0 minutes per outing, and hit only 28.3 percent of his three-point attempts.
He’s shown signs as a driver, has been an instinctive cutter, and if he can develop a pull-up game, could be much better off in the near future, though.
From there, in regards to Kevin Love, he has barely played with Cleveland this season due to a calf strain/complications with that, but perhaps he can get back in game action fairly soon. We’ll have to see, albeit with him, it’s unclear what the near future-outlook will be.
Maybe he’ll be a factor again sooner rather than later, and/or be more involved next season, but long-term, we could eventually see him traded, given the constant rumors. We’ll table that for now, though, and Love last season when he was mostly healthy did have 17.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per outing, and hit a career-best 37.4 percent of his three-point attempts.
In any case, for the Wine and Gold, it’s evident to me that with their next draft selection, which is reportedly set to be on July 29, a key scoring and/or third playmaking presence, with some regularity with the latter, must be a priority.
Clearly, at least for now, a handful of prospects that jump out in that realm are the likes of Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes.
More so at this point via potential trade-down scenario could involve the likes of Moses Moody, Franz Wagner, Jaden Springer and/or perhaps James Bouknight with Cleveland’s first pick in that scenario, but here, we’ll focus on the second prospect mentioned. That being Green.
Green’s all-around scoring tool box should make the Cavs strongly consider drafting him if he’s available for them.
To me, from I’d say #2 on, as Cunningham I’d take first, if the Cavs were at that #2 slot/below it, if he’s there for them, Green could be tough to pass up because of his scoring polish.
How Green’s scoring versatility would make a difference for the Cavs
Green has a truly lightning quick first step which makes him so difficult to stay in front of, for one. But the change of pace he displayed in the G League bubble with the G League Ignite squad was really nice to see from him, too.
With his quickness, and ability to explode to get blow-bys leading to looks at the rim, where he can finish with both body control/touch and also with above-the-rim power could really help out the Cavaliers. That’d be feasibly in both settled offense with the pressure he’d put on defenses, and in the open floor, too.
Green showing a combination of pull-up viability, feel for getting to step backs at times and even pull backs mixed in in his G League Ignite burn was also very promising to me.
There was flashes of that previously in high school/AAU run, sure, albeit the shooting off-the-bounce he displayed in the G League bubble was especially encouraging. And that leads one to believe with his driving/finishing prowess/explosiveness, that he can fill it up in that way in the near future in the NBA as well.
Additionally, Green, who had 17.9 points on 46.5 percent shooting, and who hit a solid 36.5 percent of his 5.7 three-point attempts in 15 bubble games, demonstrated plenty of catch-and-shoot viability. That was in burn alongside Kuminga, former longtime NBA lead guard Jarrett Jack, fellow 2021 NBA Draft prospect Daishen Nix and others.
Now, that’d be likely in minutes at the 2 and 3 for stretches I’d think, and/or as a de facto 1 in some spurts, and whether or not the 6-foot-6, 178-pound Green could be starting at the 3 alongside Garland and Sexton is something the Cavs would have to iron out. He’ll need to add weight, regardless, in coming years, though, objectively.
But that sort of thing shouldn’t be too much of a deterrent for Cleveland, however, and I wouldn’t think it would be.
The Cavs could figure things out involving Green’s potential fit
Rest assured, Garland-Sexton-Green in crunch time, with Green’s ability to score at all three levels and with him showing positive signs off-ball defensively in the G League bubble, would make Cleveland very dangerous with all three being dynamic shot creators. The likes of Isaac Okoro, maybe Dylan Windler and Larry Nance Jr./Kevin Love/Dean Wade and Jarrett Allen mixed in, and/or others at times could fill in with them, anyhow.
Moreover, Green could begin as Cleveland’s sixth man/key bucket-getting presence off the bench, and the Cavaliers could figure things out down the road from there/how they’d be able to get him starting at the 3 with help around Garland/Sexton.
That’s not something that again, should be at all a possible deterrent in this case, with how Green could have sky high potential, and could be something of a Kevin Porter Jr. replacement, if you will, that could be crucial in crunch time.
Plus, while 2.8 assists per outing in the G League bubble didn’t necessarily highlight it, Green did show plenty of positive playmaking signs, and his feel for hitting bigs/cutters with pocket passes/wrap-arounds was great to see. That could take some pressure off of Garland and Sexton in potential burn together in the near future.
So looking onward, if the Cavs have the opportunity to land Green in the 2021 NBA Draft, while I couldn’t fault them for going with Kuminga or Mobley, given the two-way impact/potential for both, Green’s scoring tool box should make Cleveland strongly consider him.
Cleveland needs bucket-getters and shot creators at that aside from Sexton and Garland, and Green could end up being an elite one pretty early on.