Building the perfect Cavs draft: best-case for all three picks

Building the perfect Cavs draft: Best-case scenario at 39

Making a “best-case scenario” selection for Pick No. 39 is both easier and harder than it should be. On the one hand, the tier of players from 20 to 45 is nearly flat; they could go in almost any order, which means a player ranked highly by the Cavs could easily drop into the second round. That being said, it also means there isn’t a lot of differentiation from which to pluck out a diamond in the rough.

What the Cavs need to fill out their bench with are players who can play on the wing, hit outside shots and hold up on defense; obviously secondary skills (playmaking, ball-handling) or being elite at shooting or defense are nice too, but at 39 those kinds of players aren’t likely to just be languishing on the vine.

If the draft board falls in a reasonable way, Christian Braun out of Kansas may be there when the Cavs come up, and he would be an excellent addition to their bench. Braun is 6’7″ and has a great motor and would fire up the defense while on the court. Offensively he has a good outside shot but will be a dependent player; he doesn’t bring much self-creation to the table. The Cavs would be quite happy if he is on the board at 39.

Pipe-dream scenario: Dalen Terry, Wing, Arizona Wildcats – Jalen Williams was the bell of the ball at the NBA Draft Combine, and Ousmane Dieng appears to be the prospect making a push up draft board in this the penultimate week before the draft. Yet nestled between the two was a couple of weeks where Dalen Terry was the trendy name, and it’s most likely he lands in the late first round.

Yet before that surge in popularity, he was firmly in the second-round mix, and he would be a great addition for the Cavs. His size and ball-handling would be excellent additions and allow Garland to play off-ball as he loves to do at times. Terry the actual player is probably more raw that his fans would admit, but he could grow into an excellent rotation fit on this team.