Cavs 2022 NBA Draft Notebook: Bennedict Mathurin Scouting Report

The Perfect Fit? Trade Up?

The biggest question surrounding Mathurin and the Cavaliers, has nothing to do with him. The Cavs shocked the rest of the NBA when they displayed their “big” lineup with Lauri Markkanen at the three. If the Cavs like what they saw from Markkanen, and want to stick with something that worked for them a lot of the season, then Mathurin may not be a top priority for the Cavaliers. Unless the Cavaleirs get lucky in the lottery, it’s very unlikely that Mathurin falls to them in the late lottery.

So, potentially moving a couple of assets to move up in the lottery, may not be what the Cavaliers want to do. However, for the sake of this scouting report, let’s just believe the Cavs would rather go back to a more “normal” offensive style in 2022-23.

As I pointed out earlier, Mathurin has great size and length for an NBA wing. Slotting him in the starting lineup with Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen could possibly take the Cavaliers over the top to being one of the true best teams in the Eastern Conference.

With Garland and feasibly a healthy Sexton taking over a majority of the ball-handling (at least with Sexton a good bit), Mathurin would be able to move freely, and come off screens to get open shots. On top of that, we all know how good Collin Sexton is at breaking down defenses via the dribble, and Mathurin and Garland could spot up behind the arc, while Sexton can also look for Mobley or Allen at the rim.

On the defensive end, as I’ve said with most prospects, it’s how much effort they put forth. Mathurin has all the ability, explosion, and size to be a good defender, it’s just how much he’s willing to buy into head coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s defensive philosophy.

As I talked about yesterday, what are those two second-round picks really worth? It’s possible that’s enough capital to move up one spot to take the former Wildcat, with another piece involved potentially. Even though there are possibly some good players to be had in the second round, I think those two second-round picks would be great in some package to move up a bit in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Overall, if you watch Mathurin you can just see that he’s built to be a star at the NBA level. Refining his ball-handling and improving his overall offensive arsenal will be a top priority at the next level. I, along with a lot of the basketball world view Mathurin as just a tier above the other players I’ve wrote about this week.

But, there might be a price to pay for that slight move up. The Cavs would be best suited to make some calls in the coming weeks, to see just how possible it might be to move up a couple slots.

Either way, Bennedict Mathurin is going to be a guy that we will be seeing in the NBA for a long time.