Cleveland Cavaliers: Final Top 5 mock draft for the 2021 NBA Draft

The Cleveland Cavaliers and 28 others teams do not hold their own pick destiny in the 2021 NBA Draft. For every team picking later than No. 1, the decisions made by teams before them dictate who will be available to them. No one gets to pick Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham if the Detroit Pistons take him first.

The higher you are, the more likely you are to get your target, and the Cavaliers are sitting in a good spot with the No. 3 pick. Whether you think this is a 3 person, a 4 person, or a 5 person draft, picking third guarantees a top-shelf player. The Cavaliers won’t be left out in the cold with their pick.

The Cleveland Cavaliers pick at No. 3. The first five picks in the 2021 NBA Draft seem close to locked in heading into tonight

Things begin to crystallize this close to the draft, but there could still be some intrigue leading into tonight’s event. As rumors and intel swirl in the final hours, the first five players off the board, in some order, seem fairly set.

That doesn’t mean things won’t get crazy and mix that order up. Teams could trade in, trade out, or trade up; moving veterans at certain positions could influence the draft picks. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that a team has kept their true intentions a secret.

With that in mind, let’s look at what we currently project to happen at tonight’s draft. This could obviously be turned on its head any time now, but for now this is what we expect to happen. Things start with the Detroit Pistons, who start the dominos with whoever they take first overall.