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

3 reasons Cavs should keep 14th pick: Low cost

The 14th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft will make around $3.22 million next season (depending on how they negotiate off of that rookie scale number) and roughly $15 million over the course of a four-year rookie contract before becoming a restricted free agent, at which point the Cavs would maintain team control over offering an extension or matching a salary sheet.

Flipping the 14th pick for a veteran almost certainly means giving up matching salary from a player on the roster, and then paying that veteran player their market value, with the likelihood of unrestricted free agency looming in that player’s imminent future.

For example, at the trade deadline, the Cavs traded a protected first and a lucrative second-round pick for Caris LeVert, who makes $18.79 million next season; that’s third-most on the team behind only Jarrett Allen and Kevin Love. LeVert then hits unrestricted free agency next summer, putting pressure on the team to either extend him or trade him again.

A rookie selected at 14 is none of those things. They will be a small addition to the Cavs’ cap sheet, allowing them plenty of flexibility over the next few seasons before a decision has to be made. Those millions of dollars can then be used somewhere else, either paying players such as LeVert or Collin Sexton or adding key free agents.