Cavs will host rising NBA Draft prospect Malaki Branham for workout WED

There are just 17 days between us and the 2022 NBA Draft. While the world watches as the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors do battle in the NBA Finals, all other 28 NBA teams are preparing for the NBA Draft.

With headliners like Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith, and Paolo Banchero, there is a lot of talent to be had in this year’s draft. But, the Cleveland Cavaliers showed the rest of the league that they are back post-LeBron James, this past season. Injuries ended up derailing the Cavaliers’ playoff hopes, which might actually be a good thing considering they will now be selecting 14th, in a draft that has a lot of talent at the wing.

Once Cleveland’s season was officially over on April 16, I started to dive right into the 2022 NBA Draft class. Luckily the Cavaliers struck gold last year when they selected Evan Mobley with the third overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. All-Star center Jarrett Allen teams up with Mobley to be one of the best defensive frontcourts in the entire league. So, while the Cavs should look to add some big men for depth at the position, they need to focus on the wings foremost this draft.

With that being said, we’ve taken a look at a bunch of different guys that could or could not be available to the Cavs at #14. Johnny Davis, Bennedict Mathurin, Dyson Daniels, and Malaki Branham are all prospects that the Cavs should, and likely have, interest in. Along those lines, the Cavs now intend to host Ohio State’s Malaki Branham for a pre-draft work-out this Wednesday, per a report from Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

The Cavs are reportedly expected to bring in a number of different prospects who have received a lot of buzz around the 14th pick, per Fedor. In particular, Ochai Agbaji, Tari Eason, and TyTy Washington, but Branham will be the first.

Branahm is a “safer” prospect that also has a lot of upside.

Branham is currently viewed as one of the “safer” picks of this draft, as Fedor’s report mentioned, especially in the lottery.

He has a great mid-range game and he creates separation easily to get his own shot. The 6’5″ prospect can play either the two or three, which should fit in well with this Cavalier team. The freshman averaged nearly 14 points per game this season for the Buckeyes, and shot nearly 50% from the field and a smoking 41.6% from three.

He’s not the quickest player, but he is explosive enough and has a high basketball IQ. As I’ve written many times before, he has the frame to be a good defender, it’s just about how much effort he will put in.

Personally, I think if the Cavs come away from the draft with Branham it should be viewed as a positive sign. While we’re not totally sure what Collin Sexton’s role is going into 2022, if he’s back, Branham is a guy who is ready to contribute right now, and looks like he could be much more efficient player overall for the Cavs. However, we have training camp to figure all of that out.

The Cavs are trying to reschedule E.J. Liddell, but who else could be rolling into town?

Branham’s teammate in Columbus was junior forward E.J. Liddell, who I recently did a scouting report on. While I’m going to walk back what I said about Liddell being a perfect four on this roster, he would still be a great get for Koby Altman and company. On top of that, thanks to the Brooklyn Nets, we know that team chemistry is a vital factor in producing a winning team.

The Cavs have reportedly been trying to bring him in for a work out, per Fedor, but they have not been able to connect on a date yet. I have no doubt that the front office will bring in Liddell at some point.

Outside of Liddell, like I said earlier, I would think that the Cavs would host prospects like Agbaji and Davis. That’s while also bringing in a couple “tweeners” like Jeremy Sochan out of Baylor, or Tari Eason out of LSU. We will have to see how Branham’s workout goes this week, and then we should know more about the Cavaliers’ feelings regarding him in the coming weeks.

Overall the Cavaliers just need to bring in players that can help them get over the hump in the coming years. Whether that be a guy like Eason, or maybe even taking a chance on a guy like Jaden Hardy. Personally, I like the idea of another St. Vincent St. Mary alumni inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.