Cavs Draft: 3 reasons why Jalen Green should be the pick at #3

#1: The Cavs shouldn’t pass on Green’s overall talent and upside

The biggest reason the Cavs should draft Green if he’s there is that he’s so physically gifted and arguably has as much upside as anyone in the 2021 NBA Draft. Standing at 6-foot-5 and 178 pounds, Jalen has traditional size that profiles as a natural 2 guard.

And Green is very special as an athlete, to reiterate; he’s the kind of athlete that can jump out of the gym and just explodes off your TV screen. With that Green can get to wherever he wants to on the court; he can get to the rim whenever he wants and does a terrific job finishing through contact, even while he is still somewhat thin.

Regarding the skill set, Jalen Green is a guy that can score at all three levels. He’s shown that he can score at the rim, has a mid-range game, has a pull up game, can shoot it from outside, has great form on his shot,  has a lethal crossover and step back jumper as well.

Again Green is a special athlete, so he can get to wherever he wants and with his shot creation skills he can score really in a multitude of ways. With his athleticism, shot creation skills and being a three-level scorer, Green is the type of guy that can carry an offense some day.

Now, Green needs to fill out his frame more and get stronger, which is common for somebody his age (19), but in time, he’s someone that can be a quality defender. In the G League bubble, he averaged 1.5 steals a game, played the passing lanes well and showed some good instincts as an off-ball defender. The effort was consistently there from Green overall, too.

The biggest knock on Green is his vision and passing/playmaking. It’s true he only averaged 2.8 assists per game, but Green was able to make simple plays passing out of pick-and-rolls and his passing/playmaking really improved from where it was earlier in the season.

Green isn’t a finished product in that area, but it’s encouraging to see the progress he was able to make at the end of the season. He really hasn’t been asked to do a ton as a facilitator, but again the potential is there.

Green improving his vision and making better reads is the key to unlocking all his potential on offense. We already know what he is as a shot creator and scorer, but if he can unlock his potential as a playmaker that will be his key to superstardom.