NBA Draft: What if the Cavs get the No. 1 pick this summer?

NBA Draft: What if the Cavs get the No. 1 pick this summer? The Pick

That leaves the Cavs with a few options in our hypothetical. First, they could trade down. This would allow them to pick up a valuable player and then take a wing at a place that better fits their value. That could deliver a lot of value, but it may also mean missing out on a generational talent in exchange for a riskier pick.

Door number 2 is taking the best player available no matter the fit. If Holmgren or Banchero that likely means moving Jarrett Allen in a year or two. If Jaden Ivey, it means crossing your fingers and hoping it works.

Door number 3 may allow the Cavs to have their cake and eat it too. Jabari Smith of the Auburn Tigers is 6’10” tall and seems ready-made to play power forward at the next level. Yet this season has shown that the versatility of Evan Mobley allows for some unique pairings at the 3.

Smith could come in and be an elite version of Lauri Markkanen, who in this scenario would become somewhat superfluous. Smith has been a knockdown shooter this season, hitting 41.9 percent of his 3-pointers for the Tigers. He is a dominant scorer inside and out, and could benefit from the playmaking of Mobley and Garland to shore up his greatest offensive weakness as a creator.

Defensively is where the transformation would truly happen. Markkanen is a below-average defender at the 4, which makes him a relatively poor one at the 3 who is helped by the brilliance of Allen and Mobley behind him. Smith, by contrast, is an elite defender at the college level, with the lateral mobility to guard on the perimeter. He’s not Evan Mobley, but he’s going to be a great defender at the next level.

A front line of Smith, Mobley and Allen would absolutely destroy opponents defensively and unlock options at the 2 since the help behind is so stout. Any of the three can guard in space, and any can erase shots as weakside shot-blockers. Offensively the fit isn’t a dream, and the Cavs will need to get on-ball creation from the 2, but Smith is by far the best option of the consensus top tier.

This exercise is mostly in a dream world, but one-percent chances do happen around…well, one percent of the time. What this shows us is the difficulty of going from three high-end starters to a complete package. The Cavs have very specific roster constraints they now work with in order to take a playoff-level core all the way to the top tier of title contenders. If they somehow get the No. 1 pick, Jabari Smith could help them get there.