Mock Draft 3.0: NBA Draft comes into focus with lottery set

The Cleveland Cavaliers come into the 2022 Draft with a solid young foundation in place, and no piercing “needs” on a team that barely missed out on the playoffs. They have a dynamic young core with Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, and other still-young pieces in Lauri Markkanen and (potentially) Collin Sexton.

What they almost certainly will go after is depth on the wing, players who can fill minutes at the 2 and 3 and unlock lineup versatility that the Cavs have been lacking. The way the draft board falls here that gives them a variety of options: Ochai Agbaji and Malakhi Branham are two players popularly mocked to the Cavs. Instead, we are going to reach a bit to highlight one of the fastest risers of this part of the draft cycle.

Jalen Williams is a 6’6″ wing who played for Santa Clara in the West Coast Conference last season. He fits the profile of a late riser in that he played for a small school and was out of the national limelight, but he looks the part of a first-round pick and is virtually a lock to land there. The question now becomes how high can he go?

Williams has good size and an amazing 7’2″ wingspan, and he leverages that as a defender. That length should allow him to be versatile positionally, able to defend anyone from point guards to most 4s. He has a tight handle and great passing skills as a former point guard, has a solid outside shot and enough shot creation to function as a nominal backup point guard. He looks like a better defending, better shooting Caris LeVert with perhaps a touch less on-ball creation. That kind of player fits much better with what the Cavs are doing than LeVert himself.

This is probably too high ultimately for Williams, but he will probably go in the 15-25 range now. Given his perfect fit with the Cavs’ current roster he would be a reasonable pick at 14, or a few picks later if Cleveland trades back. Either way Williams’ rise up the draft boards is just one of many interesting realities to come out of the NBA Draft Combine week, as the 2022 NBA Draft comes more and more into focus.