Redrafting the past 4 NBA Drafts for the Cleveland Cavaliers

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Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by David Richard-USA TODAY Sports) /

Glancing back at the 2019 NBA Draft

In the 2019 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers had the 3rd-best odds, but fell to the 5th overall pick, selecting Vanderbilt point guard Darius Garland. According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, Darius Garland was statistically the worst NBA player in his rookie season. So yeah, Cavs fans (including myself) didn’t really enjoy his rookie season. Sure, he had flashes of greatness, but stats don’t lie, and he was not the best. Here’s what Fedor had to say on that front.

"“Garland was last in Win Shares, Value Over Replacement Player and ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus — a player’s estimated on-court impact on team performance, measured in net point differential per 100 offensive and defensive possessions that also takes into account teammates, opponents and other additional factors.”"

When the draft rolled around, I was on the Jarrett Culver hype train, thinking that he would have been the better prospect over Garland. Luckily for Cleveland, I am not Koby Altman, and I do not make the front office decisions, so the Cavs took Garland to be the franchise point guard. Ever since his rookie season, his offense has improved dramatically, being in the running for Most Improved Player this season, losing out to the Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant. Garland was third, behind the San Antonio Spurs’ Dejounte Murray also, who finished second.

If the Cavs could do the draft over, here’s who I think should be taken at 5.

The Cavs made the right call here with Darius Garland

Was it any surprise? Garland, in my opinion, has been the second-best player from the 2019 Draft this season (Ja Morant being the only player better than him). His playmaking and leadership helped Cleveland tremendously this season, helping the Cavs to an above-.500 team for the first time since LeBron was on the team.

Currently on the Cavs’ roster from these past two drafts, we have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Darius Garland, two star guards to play in the backcourt. With this pairing, Cleveland could’ve been a force to be reckoned with for years to come.