3 reasons the Cavs should keep the 14th pick in NBA Draft

For any team in the 2022 NBA Draft, the question of what to do with their draft pick looms large. Hitting on a pick can set a team up for success for a long time; missing on a pick, which is unfortunately easy to do given the uncertainty and vagaries of drafting incredibly young players and banking on their future, can set a team back in a significant way.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have experienced both sides of that coin. They navigated the uncertainty of the 2019 NBA Draft and walked away with Darius Garland at pick No. 5, who has blossomed into an All-Star in just his third season. The Cavs then whiffed on their next two first-round picks, although not necessarily due to poor talent evaluation; Dylan Windler has been beset by injury and unable to develop, and Kevin Porter Jr. flunked his way off the team due to character issues.

The Cavs could trade their pick this year for veteran help, but here are three reasons they should instead keep the 14th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft

That uncertainty looms on the Cavs as the 2022 NBA Draft approaches. They didn’t expect to be picking in the first round after trading away this year’s lottery-protected pick to the Indiana Pacers for Caris LeVert; missing the playoffs meant retaining the pick, but also taking back on the burden of how to use it.

The Cavs could absolutely decide to trade this pick again, something they can do on draft night, to add veteran help to a team with a lot of forward momentum. They could also hold on to it and roll the dice on a prospect at pick No. 14. Here are three reasons they should keep the pick and draft a player at 14 in Thursday’s NBA Draft.