NBA Draft: Wings the Cavs should target in 2022 and beyond

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Koby Altman, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

Upcoming NBA Draft targets for the Cavs to target: Emoni Bates, in 2023

When Jalen Duren and Emoni Bates re-classified to the 2021 high school class, I was immediately very excited. Emoni Bates has been viewed as one of the best players to come out of high school in a while. Multiple outlets have already started comparing him to Kevin Durant. While that is an incredibly high comparison, some of it has been validated by Bates’ play. On top of all of that, he’s a 6-foot-8 wing player, with a lot of explosion.

He would be a perfect fit for the Cavs next year, and could possibly take them to the playoffs. But, we were all teased, as Jalen Duren will be eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft, whereas Emoni Bates will not. Bates will not turn 19 until January of 2023, making him ineligible.

The thought of having another high draft pick, and not being able to snag the best prospect in some time, is very disappointing. While it’s disappointing, it’s possible giving Bates more time to grow his game isn’t such a bad thing. However, I think most Cavs fans and media members expect the team to be competing by the 2022 season, so they may never get the chance to select Bates.

Still, the Cavaliers will have a lot of wings to take a look at before next summer’s draft.