NBA Draft: 3 prospects for Cavs to watch in Sweet 16

NBA Draft: 3 prospects for Cavs to watch in Sweet 16 – Wendell Moore

The Duke Blue Devils are at the center of the media circus, as they tend to be. They are loaded with high-valued freshman, have a polarizing team history and this season have the added relish of a retirement tour from legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski as he plays his final games. They beat Cal-State Fullerton and Michigan State to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, where they play Texas Tech on Thursday night.

The “veteran” among the team’s core rotation is Wendell Moore, who is a junior but also very young for his class at just 20 years old. He is something of a do-it-all player for the Blue Devils, starting nominally at the 2 but often guarding anyone from point guards to power forwards. He has grown into his role as this team’s ace wing defender and secondary ball-handler, and this season his scoring has finally taken the uptick Duke fans have been waiting for.

Moore is averaging 13.5 points per game this season to go with 5.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists. He is shooting 41.3 percent from deep, and pairing that with his 81.1 percent career free-throw percentage and relatively pure form suggests he can be a solid shooter at the NBA level; not a 40 percent guy, but a solid 37-38 percent guy. Add in the ball-handling and the defense and he is a late lottery pick masquerading as an early second-round pick.

The Cavs need to stock up at the 2 and 3 trying to find an answer, and Moore would give them a role player who can fit in nearly any lineup combination. At 6’5″ he is small and quick enough to defend opposing guards, but he is also strong enough to take on larger players. He would be a high-character, high-effort, multi-faceted wing to plug into their rotation.