Malaki Branham could help Cavs, but other draft options may be better call

The 2021-22 NBA season has now concluded, and soon to come, the league is set to have the 2022 NBA Draft. Coming up on June 23, next Thursday, the Cleveland Cavaliers are currently set to have three selections, at #14 at the end of the lottery, and #39 and #56 in the second round.

It wasn’t ideal that the Cavaliers didn’t make the postseason, which would’ve been nice experience for a still mostly young group to have, but Cleveland retaining its first-round pick for this year at least for now was a positive.

When it comes to the potential options at the end of the lottery, in the event the Cavs keep that pick, which I’d think they will, prospects such as Tari Eason, Ochai Agbaji, Malaki Branham, Ousmane Dieng, Jeremy Sochan and TyTy Washington Jr. could seemingly be firmly in the mix. It would appear that to some extent the likes of Johnny Davis and Jalen Williams could be there as well, and Davis even more so, if he’s there.

Guys such as Dalen Terry and MarJon Beauchamp are reportedly players that could be in the running at that spot, too. Still, while those players could help Cleveland, I’m with our own Justin Brownlow in believing that’d be a reach for other at that spot, frankly. Brownlow did state that Beauchamp potentially in the second round could be a sensible pick, conversely.

Generally speaking, though, to me, at that late-lottery spot, shot creation has to be a key area of focus, and/or at #39, I’d imagine playmaking and perhaps perimeter shooting would be sensible areas to address.

At Cleveland’s first selection, it does seem that Branham is a player that’s often been linked to the Cavaliers as a potential target, and in several pretty recent mocks, he’s been the player chosen for Cleveland there. I do get the appeal too, as he’s a player that could create for himself and knock down looks at all three levels.

That said, I do think that other options could potentially be a better call.

Branham could help the Cavs, but other 2022 NBA Draft options in the late lottery could be a better call.

Branham played one collegiate season at Ohio State in 2021-22, and had 13.7 points per contest, to go with 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists. He converted on 53.0 percent of his two-point attempts, and 41.6 percent from three-point range. He shot 83.3 percent of his 3.0 free throw attempts per contest, also.

With Branham, I do get the allure. He’s a player that looks to project as being a quality shot creator, and is very polished in the mid-range via pull-ups, and showed at Ohio State how when the opportunities present themselves, he can create offense for himself and can get to his spots in the pick-and-roll.

He’s a player that could potentially be viable on pull-up threes as well, and at least on catch-and-shoots, could be pretty reliable even early on. He did attempt less than 3.0 three-point shots per game in his lone season with the Buckeyes, though.

But overall, Branham looks to be a player that could very well be an impactful offensive presence on the perimeter and as a shot creator even in the early stages of his NBA career. He just turned 19 in May, too. So looking onward, I do again get why he’s seemingly been a late riser, and he could seemingly help the Cavaliers in coming years.

In my opinion, however, I’d probably prefer the Cavaliers go with other options, among guys that could potentially be on the board in the late lottery. I can’t say I’d expect the Cavs to move up in the draft, as an aside.

Regarding other possible prospects feasibly in that #14 range, I’d probably the Cavaliers instead go with Jalen Williams, Tari Eason, Johnny Davis, if he were to be there, TyTy Washington Jr., or Ousmane Dieng. Williams, Dieng and I honestly Davis have more legit playmaking ability for others, and they could be viable shot creators in coming years in their own right, at least Williams and Davis, that is. The same applies for Washington, though he is a slender 6-foot-3.

I also firmly Dieng, Eason and Davis could be impact defenders early on, too, and have more size, from there, and others, such as Jaden Hardy and Nikola Jovic as upside swings would appear to be guys with far higher ceilings, looking at it alternatively. Maybe Cleveland could try to make a play for a prospect of that ilk in the late first round where they’d look to trade back into that there, we’d have to see.

And lastly, on the subject of Branham, there’s Collin Sexton, if he were to be back, which seems likely, and Caris LeVert it’d seem in the mix. Granted, LeVert could possibly be an expiring trade piece either way, but I’d still think the Cavaliers could try to give it more of a shot with him, as a foot sprain didn’t allow him to get into a rhythm post-deadline.

In any case, with Branham, though I highly value shot creation for the Wine and Gold, he’s fairly thin at 6-foot-5, and I question the playmaking capabilities with him, and whether he’d be able to get legit minutes early on. That’s not including Isaac Okoro, and perhaps Lamar Stevens a bit, also.

We’ll see what plays out next week, anyway. I’d just likely prefer the Cavaliers go a different route, all things considered, than Branham if he’s there.