Cavs 2022 NBA Draft Big Board: Longshots, fallers, and realistic options

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Jabari Smith, Auburn Tigers. (Photo by Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports) /

Cavs Big Board (April 8, 2022)

Tier One (Longshots)

1. Jabari Smith, Wing, Auburn (6’10”, 220 LBS)

2. AJ Griffin, Wing, Duke (6’6″, 220 LBS)

In this tier I have the two players I think would fit in well on the Cavalier roster, but likely won’t be available when the Cavs make their selection in the 2022 NBA Draft, if they have that in the first round. I don’t need to get into too much about Smith. I would say he’s the most NBA-ready of anyone in this year’s draft, but he does need to add some muscle.

Smith can hit pull-up jumpers and is also a solid catch-and-shoot scorer. Defensively I don’t think he’ll be as “switchable” as a lot of teams think he will be. He’s definitely got the lateral quickness, but at times he just plays flat-footed and gets blown by.

However, everyone likes to talk about how good Griffin was from the outside this year, well Smith shot 40% from three. That’s wildly accurate for two 18-year-old’s. Lauri Markkanen has been playing the three offensively for the Cavs for most of the year, and has done so valiantly, but if the Cavs could get their hands on Smith, they would be immediate title contenders.

I mentioned a couple of cons about Smith in the above paragraph. Well one thing scares me more than anything about AJ Griffin, he’s been dealing with injuries for basically the last year-and-a-half. But you rarely see a college player, especially someone as young as him, shoot 44% from three for the season.

Granted, he did miss time over the course of the season, but he’s still a very good shooter. On top of that, he wasn’t allowed much freedom in Duke’s offense. I think in a much more open flow type of game in the NBA, Griffin will shine.

Now, I would say there’s probably about a very, very small chance the Cavs could land either of these two players. They would either need to make a significant trade, or once again get lucky in the lottery. I mean, let’s be honest the Cavs have been incredibly lucky in the lottery in prior years.

Like I said this tier is just two guys that are fun to think about. Anyhow, let’s move on to the second tier.