The 2022 NBA Draft is set to commence on June 23, so a week from Thursday, and the Cleveland Cavaliers will have the #14, #39 and #56 overall selections.
It appears that the Cavaliers could very well choose to keep their selection in the first round, and their #39 pick could seemingly be a player they look to develop gradually, too, if they don’t look to possibly trade that selection. When it comes to the 56th pick, the Cavaliers I’d assume could look to sell that pick, or as an alternative, the team could reportedly look to pick a “draft-and-stash” international prospect, which would not affect roster numbers this next go-round.
Now, it was a bit disappointing that the Cavs didn’t make the postseason in 2021-22, but them having their first-round pick still with them lottery-protecting that as part of the stipulations in the Caris LeVert trade with the Indiana Pacers was a silver lining. That lottery protection will apply in 2023, too. Although I do hope Cleveland makes the postseason then; if they don’t, that part of the LeVert would result in Indiana receiving two future second-rounders, to go with the other two second-rounders they got.
So, with the #14 pick in mind for Cleveland in next week’s draft, it seems the Cavaliers could go a number of directions. The likes of Malaki Branham, Tari Eason, Ochai Agbaji, Jeremy Sochan, Dyson Daniels and TyTy Washington Jr. could feasibly be in the running there it seems, along with Johnny Davis. Dalen Terry and MarJon Beauchamp are rumored to be prospects in the mix it seems, too, but I’m with our own Justin Brownlow in thinking taking them there would be a reach.
Another prospect that could seemingly be a potential target there could be Jalen Williams, a 6-foot-6, 209-pound combo guard out of Santa Clara that looks to be a possible draft riser from a strong NBA Draft Combine. To me, he could help the Cavs in multiple ways.
A Williams pick in the 2022 NBA Draft could help the Cavs in multiple ways.
Williams, as we touched on, seemed to have a very encouraging combine. There’s still some variance, like many prospects, in relation to his potential draft range.
However, he’s a player that I’d be on-board with the Cavaliers selecting in that late-lottery range, similarly to our own Amadou Sow. I’m not saying that’s the case with other guys, for what it’s worth.
With Williams, though, he looks to have plenty of capability to play at both guard spots, and could fill in in some matchups for stretches at the 3, because of his feel/basketball awareness, the modern league and with his 7-foot-2 wingspan.
With those things in mind, we’ll first take a look at Williams’ splits, and how his skill set could mesh with Cleveland.