We’re now on the eve of the 2022 NBA Draft, and it seems as if the Cleveland Cavaliers could go a number of different directions with their first-round pick, which is at #14. That end-of-lottery selection was retained with the team having a lottery protection on the first-round pick they included as part of the Caris LeVert trade back near the past deadline, and the same will apply in 2023, involving Cleveland’s first.
Rumored potential targets seem to be Malaki Branham, Ochai Agbaji, Tari Eason, Dyson Daniels, Jeremy Sochan, Ousmane Dieng and Jalen Williams, among others. A recent report from Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype suggested that the Cavaliers could be open to trading back, if an additional future first-rounder were to be included in a hypothetical deal.
Also, on ESPN Cleveland’s The Really Big Show (subscription required), ESPN NBA Insider Brian Windhorst reported that a rumor within the league is that Cleveland may have made a promise to Dieng that they’d take him if he’s on the board.
We’ll have to see what plays out in the first round on Thursday night on that, among other things. From there, the Cavaliers are slated to have two second-round picks, too, which are slated for #39 and #56, respectively.
I’d think some potential targets for the second round could be Alondes Williams, Jake LaRavia and David Roddy, along with some possible rumored prospects such as Andrew Nembhard, for one. It was reported by Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com that with the second second-rounder, the Cavaliers could very well go with a “draft-and-stash” international prospect. A guy such as Hugo Besson of the NBL’s New Zealand Breakers could seemingly be a target in that scenario.
The Cavaliers should be able to feasibly get at least one rotational contributor in the upcoming draft, if not two. Time will tell if those guys will be factors early on next season, but in general, I could foresee the 2022 NBA Draft leading to possibly a few current Cavs players being replaced.
Whether that’s maybe later in the offseason or say, by mid-season, is not a certainty at the moment.
Either way, with that in mind, we’ll take a closer look here at two Cavs, in particular, who could be replaced as a result, ultimately, of the upcoming NBA Draft.
We’ll begin with a guy who has had his ups and downs in his time mostly at the 3, in Cedi Osman.