3 reasons Ousmane Dieng should be Cavs’ pick at #14 in 2022 NBA Draft
By Corey Casey
The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a position they didn’t think they’d be in. The Cavs had a breakthrough year last year and made a trade to acquire Caris LeVert around the trade deadline. When the Cavaliers acquired LeVert, they were 33-21 and were a game back of the Miami Heat for the number one seed in the Eastern Conference.
When Cleveland made the trade, they couldn’t have expected to be in the lottery or even be in the play-in. Unfortunately, the Cavs faded in the second half with the overwhelming amount of injuries catching up with them and eventually they ran out of gas.
With the Cavaliers losing in the play-in they were able to keep their first-round pick for this year (the same lottery protection applies for next year, also), which after the lottery, they found out. In a previous mock draft from Sports Illustrated’s Jeremy Woo earlier this month, he had the Cavaliers taking Ousmane Dieng out of France. Dieng played for the New Zealand Breakers of Australia’s NBL.
If the Cavs take Dieng, they would certainly be viewing this from the standpoint this is the last time in a long time they expect to be in the lottery and they’d be looking at swinging for the fences in this scenario. Dieng is a wing that has one of the highest upsides in the draft and makes a ton of sense for the Cavs for a number of reasons.
The Cavs should have a number of ways they could go at 14, but here are three reasons why the Cavs should take Ousmane Dieng with the 14th pick if he’s still on the board.