Earlier on Thursday afternoon, the 2022 Men’s NCAA Tournament tipped off, not including the First Four games, that is. The field seems to be pretty wide-open this year, with there being so much uncertainty and a ton of upsets in college basketball regular season play this go-round.
No matter what eventually shakes out, the NCAA Tournament, even with it not being a be-all, end-all, is often a good setting for prospect evaluation. Of course, good tourney performances don’t mean a player is going to be dynamite at the NBA level, but it’s something scouts have to consider.
For the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the 2022 NBA Draft in mind in this sense, it’s not certain yet if they’ll end up securing a postseason berth, and if they ultimately do, they wouldn’t be set to have a first-round pick in this summer’s draft. Cleveland is sixth in the Eastern Conference for now, but the East has such a logjam, and it’s unclear if they’ll be able to land a Top-6 seed, or if the Cavaliers would have to make the postseason via the play-in.
If the Cavs do make the playoffs, they’d be set to have just two second-round picks; barring a potential trade, they would not have a first-round selection.
Just with that possible scenario, for now, the likes of Bryce McGowens, Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Alondes Williams and JD Davison are some potential prospects to consider for the Cavaliers in the early second round. They have the San Antonio’s second-rounder there, and Cleveland has the Miami Heat’s via the Indiana Pacers also, to come in the last handful of picks in the draft, likely.
That said, relating to the Spurs’ second, a player to watch in the tourney here is definitely Christian Braun of Kansas, who is set to play alongside his squad against 16-seed Texas Southern on Thursday night at 9:57 EST. That should be an easy W.
Braun could be a steal for the Cavs, if he were to be available in the second round, feasibly.
There’s seemingly some variance as to where Braun could be selected, but with him being a junior, I could maybe see him falling to Cleveland, or maybe they could potentially move up in the second to land him with other future picks or their other second involved.
With the possibility in mind, let’s take a look at Braun’s skill set that could translate.
Taking a look at Braun’s skill set
In his junior season, Braun has had 14.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game for the Jayhawks in 2021-22, pre-tourney.
Braun was a bench contributor in his freshman campaign, but has shown more in his last two seasons, and has settled into a starting role as more of a key offensive player for Kansas this year. That’s been alongside Big 12 Player of the Year Ochai Ogbaji, who has had steady growth over the course of his KU career as well, and our Justin Brownlow is high on, as a side note.
In Braun’s case, he did show some on-ball and driving abilities last season, and I don’t discount that. Nor his cutting and some pull-up development.
This season, though, he’s shown more consistency in regards to his driving, and just seems to be far more assertive in both set offense in catch-and-go situations, and in transition, his athleticism and body control has led to plenty of success this season.
Along with that, after he had knocked in 34.0 percent from three last season on 5.1 attempts, and 44.4 percent off the bench, this season, he’s hit 37.7 percent on 3.4 attempts per outing. Braun’s motion does lead to reason for optimism, as does his release for the next level though, and he could become a floor spacer, I’d imagine for Cleveland.
But what he has shown as far as off-the-bounce growth this season is very promising, combined with the catch-and-shoot viability.
Also, Braun is a highly capable defender on the perimeter, and in his potential role with the Cavs, especially with the rim protection of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, Braun in at least rotational stretches could be very effective against opposing wings, I believe.
He’s a heady rotator, involving the team aspect, and while he’s not long for 6-foot-6, Braun’s improved his defensive positioning over his time at KU, and he’s a good rebounder on the wing.
With his two-way potential the focus here, Braun could prove to be a steal for Cleveland as eventually a rotational regular.
Next up, we’ll examine Braun’s potential role with the Cavaliers, if they were to select him in the 2022 NBA Draft, set to commence on June 23.
Braun’s potential Cavs role
With the Cavs, I’d imagine that Braun could fill in at the 2, and some at small forward, as a capable shooter off-the-catch. And realistically, I’d imagine he could potentially develop into a short term Dylan Windler replacement and long term, a Cedi Osman replacement in coming years.
At this point, it’s tough to foresee Windler having a legitimate role with Cleveland next season, given his issues with injuries throughout his Cavs tenure, and him recently having a G League stint with the Cleveland (formerly Canton) Charge.
Plus, as we touched on, while I’ve been pleased with what Osman has often given the Cavaliers this season, with more of a defined bench shooter role, I could foresee Braun at some point being a possible replacement for Osman.
Granted, the likes of Isaac Okoro, and with them both potentially being key long term contributors, Caris LeVert and Collin Sexton, could figure into the mix still, too, as will Lauri Markkanen/perhaps Dean Wade. There’s maybe Lamar Stevens as well. We’ll have to see if LeVert is extended this offseason, and if Sexton is back, too, for context.
But if the Cavs were to draft Braun, I do believe the 6-foot-6, 218-pound wing could be a quality rotational contributor, and if the shot were to come further along from deep, perhaps he could have a shot at developing into a starter in coming years. His development as a shot creator and driver, and with solid secondary ball movement feel would be factored into that possibility as well for later on.
Anyway, while it’s uncertain if he’d be there for the Cavs, Braun, who turns 21 next month, is surely a wing prospect fans and the team should pay close attention to in March Madness. If he were to be available, and he can build on this offensive success from 2021-22 with KU, Braun could end up as a steal for the Cavaliers.