Why the Cavs should draft AJ Green from Northern Iowa

Yes, it is far too early to be making fair assessments of prospects for the 2022 NBA Draft, especially with March Madness and individual workouts still ahead of us. It may be difficult to decide who the Cleveland Cavaliers may pick. Still, this does not take away from the sheer excellence AJ Green from the University of Northern Iowa has shown us.

AJ Green is a redshirt junior who has played all of his college career in Cedar Falls. Playing the point guard position he has shown elite shooting ability, consistently finishing near the top of the NCAA in free throw percentage (18th this season) and also carries a good three-point percentage.

Coming out of high school he was ranked 74th in the country, the highest-ranked recruit in Northern Iowa history. He has come a long way, playing at an elite rate as a college athlete.

Green has started in every game he’s played at the college level and in three full seasons (plus three games last year) he has averaged 17.9 points per game and 2.5 assists per game.

In his career at Northern Iowa, Green has made the All-Conference First Team twice as well as making the All-Conference Third Team in his freshman year. He has also won the Larry Bird Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year award twice.

Green joins a short list of 10 players to win the coveted award multiple times, last done by Fred VanVleet. Other great players have made that achievement as well, such as Larry Bird, Kyle Korver, Hersey Hawkins, Doug McDermott, and Junior Bridgeman.

AJ Green is also the first player to win two MVC Player of the Year awards before his senior year in college.

Green as a true sophomore and as a redshirt junior led the Panthers to winning the regular season conference title, facing competition like Loyola, Bradley, and Drake.

While he may not be overly athletic, Green makes up for that with pure skill. He is an elite shooter from anywhere past halfcourt, making deep threes at a decent rate when left open. Green has also developed a high-level floater to help him around the rim.

Green also has a high IQ for the game, getting fouls at a high rate, making the right plays most of the time, and finding open teammates with ease.

Many thought that he would be drafted in the 2020 NBA Draft, though due to COVID-19 and lack of NBA scout feedback, Green decided to stay another year. The next season he went out with injury and missed all but three games. It is worth noting that he played very well in those games.

It is also believed by many who watch Northern Iowa that they would be ranked if they had stayed healthy all season, but due to a mixture of COVID-19 and injuries, they played much of the season without their starting shooting guard and starting center.

The Cavs have some issues with their guard depth, to say the least.

With Rajon Rondo not being the player he once was, Collin Sexton not necessarily being the best fit with All-Star Darius Garland and coming off injury, they need to add somebody to boost the backcourt, to make plays when Garland sits. Garland has been dealing with lower back soreness for some time too, and has missed the Cavaliers’ last three games, too.

Green fits what I was suggesting for Cleveland perfectly and would be a great 2022 NBA Draft selection by the Wine and Gold. He consistently makes big plays through double teams while on Northern Iowa. Last week in the final game of the regular season against Loyola, a game to decide who wins the conference, Green attacked and scored, tying the game in regulation to send it to overtime. He also scored 32 points in that game.

Green would be a great fit off the bench because while he may not be a great defender, he is serviceable enough to fit the culture. He is also a walking bucket and can create for others as well.

A fair player comparison would be Patty Mills, who is a great shooter, good playmaker, and okay defender. Both would fit just about any system very well.

All analysis done is based on Green’s achievements as of March 1, for reference, and it is possible that Northern Iowa can win the Missouri Valley Tournament and also make a splash in March Madness as well. If both of those happen it is likely that he will be drafted before the Cavaliers even get a pick, which at the moment, might not be until the second round.

If they do make the postseason, their first pick currently would likely be in the 35-40 range in the early second round, via the San Antonio Spurs.

Even though the 2022 NBA Draft is still months away, the Cavaliers should still be aware of who may be available with their second-round picks. Green is an amazing talent and should be drafted this June, and maybe the Cavaliers will be the ones to bring him in.