3 talented players the Cavs should have drafted but didn’t

3 players the Cavs should have drafted but didn’t: AJ Griffin

The Duke Blue Devils had five players drafted in the 2022 NBA Draft, including Paolo Banchero going first overall. His teammate, forward AJ Griffin, came into the season as a similarly-ranked prospect who had the potential to even go higher than Banchero.

Unfortunately, Griffin suffered a knee injury before the season that limited him to start. He found his groove, however, and had a number of big games for the Blue Devils and was a key part of their run to the Final Four. He shot an insane 44.7 percent of his 3-pointers, including 43.2 percent on pull-up 3-pointers.

After being a lock for the Top 6 for much of the draft cycle, concerns about his multiple injuries (he missed large chunks of high school to injury as well) pushed him down the draft board. In a slide reminiscent of Michael Porter Jr. a few seasons ago, Griffin fell not only out of the Top 10 but all the way to the Cavs at 14.

The Cavs, whose biggest needs are size on the wing and shooting, had a 6’6″ gunner with a 6’11” wingspan fall right into their laps. He could have been their long-term answer at the 3 and stretched the court even better than Lauri Markkanen last season.

Instead the Cavs “played it safe” and took Ochai Agbaji, a solid but much older prospect who offers none of the upside of Griffin. There is a decent possibility that Agbaji is a long-term rotation player; there is a decent possibility that Griffin is a plus starter and at least a chance he becomes a star. This was a big miss by the Cavs.