Cavs NBA Draft Notebook: Do they need to take an instant impact player?

With the NBA Playoffs really starting to get exciting, the 14 teams who did not make the postseason have to start looking towards the 2022 NBA Draft. After losing to the Brooklyn Nets in the opening game of the Play-In Tournament, the Cleveland Cavaliers then dropped their do-or-die matchup with the Atlanta Hawks days later. While it sucked to see such a promising season get derailed mostly because of injuries, by failing to qualify for the playoffs, Cleveland held onto their first-round pick this season.

In early February, the Cavaliers traded Ricky Rubio, a lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick, and 2027 second-round pick to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Caris LeVert and a 2022 second-round pick. Luckily for the Cavaliers, now-President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman did put a lottery protection on the 2022 pick, so the Cavs will retain the pick this year.

If they fail to reach the postseason in 2023, they’d have their first-rounder as well; hopefully they do make the playoffs next season, though. But with that in mind involving the 2022 NBA Draft, let’s take a look at where the Cavalier roster currently stands.

Heading into the 2022-2023 season, Cavalier fans have to be excited. Heading into the 2022-2023 season the Cavaliers have one of the NBA’s best frontcourt duos in Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. Allen, who was a first-time All-Star this season, will be back at the beginning of the season fully healthy, barring any unfortunate setbacks this summer. Mobley will have to work on adding bulk to his frame over the offseason, but he should only be better next season.

Another first-time All-Star, Darius Garland had a breakout season this year, averaging 21.7 points per game and also dishing out over eight assists per night. Isaac Okoro and Lauri Markkanen will be back next season as well, with Okoro hoping to make the same third-year leap Garland did this season (I’m not saying that’s easy). Kevin Love and Cedi Osman should also be back to bring some long range shooting into the mix. However, there are some questions that need to be answered in the coming months.

Collin Sexton could potentially return to the starting lineup, after missing the majority of this season with a knee injury. Without Sexton, the Cavs had an incredible season, and Garland, Allen, Mobley, and pretty much everyone else shined. Sexton is a great offensive player, who has averaged 20 points per game early in his career. Having said that, he can be a liability on the defensive end, and has a high usage rate which could hurt the Cavs offensive flow they had this season.

On top of that, Sexton will be looking for an extension this offseason, as will Caris LeVert who was acquired near the trade deadline. It seems a bit redundant to me to keep both, but that is a possibility. With that being said, the draft will be critical this summer for the Cavalier front office. If they plan to move on from Sexton, they will probably be looking for his replacement in the draft.

No matter how you feel about Sexton and LeVert, the question that the Cavs front office will be asking themselves around draft time is the following: Do the Cavs need to add an instant impact player with their first-round pick, or can they possibly take a player who’s younger with a bit more upside, but could take a little bit longer to develop?

So with that in mind, let’s take a look at both options.