Cavs: 2 realistic expectations for FA target Doug McDermott
By Dan Gilinsky
The Cleveland Cavaliers were fortunate to end up landing the #3 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, as of the draft lottery on June 22.
At that spot, the Wine and Gold should be able to snag a difference maker, such as USC’s Evan Mobley or Jalen Green of the G League Ignite squad. Both of those players could establish themselves as franchise centerpiece-type players in coming years, and I’d be more than fine with either of them for the Cavs.
Cleveland could reportedly be open to trading their top three pick, along with salary matching feasibly, for an established player of seemingly an All-Star level. But doing so would be anything but simple, and it’d appear that more so than not, the Cavaliers will eventually end up taking their pick.
Cleveland could it’d seem have the likes of Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs in mind with their pick too, for what it’s worth, and although I wouldn’t imagine it’s nearly as much, Jonathan Kuminga of the G League Ignite is reportedly in the mix for #3 as well. That’s per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
In any case, it’s nice to know that the Cavs got some lottery luck and should be set to land a potential superstar come the draft on July 29.
So how about free agency then? In that realm, the backup point guard position would be a logical spot to point to, and in that realm, the likes of T.J. McConnell, Patty Mills and/or potentially Frank Ntilikina could make a difference for the Cavaliers.
Cleveland could very well end up using their full non-taxpayer mid-level exception of roughly $10 million, but in terms of other targets, possible shooters to keep in mind would appear to be Doug McDermott, Reggie Bullock and Otto Porter Jr., for instance. In a report/mailbag set of responses, Fedor noted those players, too.
To me, in relation to McDermott though, with his perimeter shooting abilities and with how he’s a reliable player that could make a difference off the bench, here, we’ll take a closer look at him possibly with Cleveland.
Along those lines, here, we’ll take a look at two realistic expectations for McDermott with the Cavs.
The first has to do with again, his shooting.