NBA Draft: 3 targets for Cavs with potential GSW #14 pick via trade

Potential Cavs NBA Draft target #2 with the #14 Warriors pick: Josh Giddey

In relation to Josh Giddey, a 19-year-old who last played with the Adelaide 36ers of the NBL, he could provide a jumbo lead guard presence for Cleveland off the bench, or feasibly be a bench point-forward/wing type early on.

Giddey I would imagine could be Cleveland’s at least de facto 1 in minutes Darius Garland is not on the floor, or theoretically, maybe over time, he could be a starting 3 option for the Cavaliers down the road.

Earlier on though, which we’ll hit on more, Giddey, though his shot is a question mark, does have great passing capabilities, particularly for a 6-foot-7 player.

He had 7.5 assists per game with Adelaide in his lone season with them, and what jumps out from his play is his vision to hit shooters with a variety of passes, including wraparounds, hook passes and his precision with both hands with his passes can’t be discounted. Plus, Giddey does have the ability to hit rollers via looks over-the-top, pocket passes and no looks.

And in the transition game, which he can help also with his rebounding acumen (7.4 rebounds per game in 2020-21), he always has his head up, scanning for lead passes, which could aid the likes of Okoro, Evan Mobley feasibly if he’s the #3 Cavs pick, among others.

Defensively, with lateral quickness concerns and him needing to improve off-ball, I’d expect growing pains there, and shooting-wise, that needs to come along in time.

But if he were there at #14 in this Sexton-Warriors hypothetical and the Cavs just ended up keeping that pick, I could foresee Giddey bringing a different element as a backup 1 for stretches, and he could help lessen Garland’s playmaking burden.

We’d have to see from there regarding the potential Giddey-wing outlook.