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Cavs’ NBA Draft Preview: Picks, options and prediction

By Josh Cornelissen

Johnny Davis, Wisconsin Badgers. Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images
Johnny Davis, Wisconsin Badgers. Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images /
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Isaiah Mobley, USC Trojans. Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images /

Cavs’ NBA Draft Preview: Cavs at No. 58

Historically, a pick at the very end of the draft has a miniscule chance of returning much value. Only 24 players drafted 58th have even played a minute in the league, and only eight reached 100 games for their careers. It’s certainly a lean group.

Kurt Rambis is certainly the headliner of the group, a big drafted in 1980 by the New York Knicks who found his way onto the Showtime Lakers as a backup and parlayed that into a long coaching career. Henry Bibby’s son Mike had a much longer NBA career, but the point guard still played 675 games in the league. Tom Owens was a journeyman that played for nine different playoffs teams.

A few players picked recently have shown some promise. Paul Reed went 58th to the Philadelphia 76ers two years ago and has been an analytical darling, and may emerge as the team’s backup center this year. Similarly Jericho Sims was a raw center out of Texas that the Knicks took last season who showed some flashes down the stretch.

The Cavs can hold onto this pick if someone they really like drops, perhaps Keon Ellis or Dereon Seabron. Another very strong option is to go for a stash candidate, taking a swing on a player like Matteo Spagnolo of Italy, or Karlo Matkovic of Serbia. One popular choice among fans is Isaiah Mobley from USC, the brother of Evan Mobley.