How the Cleveland Cavaliers could have drafted Trae Young

In the 2018 NBA Draft, Trae Young was selected 5th overall by the Dallas Mavericks, then traded to the Atlanta Hawks for the 3rd overall pick (Luka Dončić) and Dallas’ 2019 first-round pick (top-10 protected, which turned out to be Cam Reddish). The Cleveland Cavaliers held the 8th overall pick in that draft from the Brooklyn Nets, which they acquired from the Boston Celtics in the Kyrie Irving – Isaiah Thomas trade.

The Cavs selected Collin Sexton, a solid pick. However, Trae Young, who was selected a few picks before, has turned out to be a two-time All-Star and is one of the best guards in the league. You may be reading the title and be wondering, how could the Cavs have been able to draft Trae Young? Well, here’s how.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a chance to move up in the 2018 NBA Draft. Here is one way they could have drafted Trae Young.

The 4th overall pick was held by the Memphis Grizzlies. What does this have to do with Trae Young? Well, the Grizzlies were shopping the 4th overall pick and a player named Chandler Parsons, who was owed about $50 million over the next two years. Parsons’ salary was essentially dead money and Memphis would have to pay to get off of it. ESPN said this about the Grizzlies.

"“The Memphis Grizzlies are in discussions with a number of teams to trade the No. 4 pick in Thursday’s NBA draft, league sources told ESPN. Any such trade would likely include forward Chandler Parsons, whose contract is considered an albatross because of his knee problems.”"

A lot of teams were in contact with the Grizzlies for the pick, however, Cleveland was not on the list, probably because they didn’t know if LeBron James would return to the Cavs. Maybe, if the Cavs knew LeBron would leave in free agency, they could’ve pulled off the trade. Who could the Cavs have dealt to Memphis?

Both Parsons and Kevin Love were owed a bit over $24 million dollars in the 2018-19 season. Kevin Love would go to the Grizzlies, who had a roster of Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, both solid players, and may have been looking to make a playoff push. Cleveland could have also dealt the 8th overall pick, which Memphis could’ve used to take someone like Mikal Bridges or someone else to help a playoff push.

The season prior, Memphis had a record of 22 and 60, but Mike Conley only played 12 games that season, so it would make sense that they did not have a tremendous record. Maybe Memphis would want to try to bounce back the next season by making moves to get off of Chandler Parson’s contract and also getting some star talent, maybe in Kevin Love. Love was an All-Star in the 2017-18 season, averaging 17.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per night, and played a respectable 59 games in the regular season.

Travis Schlenk, the Atlanta Hawks general manager, said this about drafting Luka Dončić.

"“Not a lot of people know this: if we would’ve stayed at three, we would’ve taken Luka, but then Dallas came in an hour or so before the draft. I had told them all along that it would take another lottery pick for us to slide back.”"

Maybe Cleveland could’ve traded the 4th pick and a pick in the future for the 3rd pick, where Atlanta still could’ve landed Trae Young, and then Cleveland could’ve taken Luka. Maybe Cleveland could’ve made a similar offer with the 4th pick and a pick down the line for the 3rd pick to be able to select Luka, but you never know. Maybe the Cavs would’ve been able to pull off this trade if they wanted to, but you never know.

However, let’s assume Cleveland pulls off the trade and stays at the 4th pick, so the Cavs would have Trae Young at the point guard, and in the next year’s draft, assuming Cleveland has the 5th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, they may have selected Jarrett Culver over Darius Garland, for fit purposes.

In the 2019-20 season, Cleveland would have a similar draft selection, as Atlanta finished with the 6th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Cleveland probably would’ve selected Isaac Okoro again. However, in the 2020-21 season, the Hawks finished as the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference, so let’s assume Cleveland finishes around the same spot with Trae Young. This would mean Cleveland wouldn’t be able to draft Evan Mobley, and maybe the Cavs wouldn’t trade for Jarrett Allen.

Just thinking about it here, if Cleveland made this trade, the whole landscape of the league would change. Memphis probably wouldn’t trade Marc Gasol to Toronto, as Memphis would be contending for a playoff spot, so that means the Raptors might have not won the 2019 NBA Championship. Maybe Golden State wins again, or Milwaukee goes to the Finals. If Golden State wins, maybe Kevin Durant doesn’t leave the Warriors. If KD doesn’t leave, that means the James Harden-Brooklyn trade doesn’t happen.

But hey, I’m just rambling here. It would be crazy to see what would’ve happened if the Cavs actually made this trade. You never know what could’ve happened.