What if the Cavs had drafted Haliburton instead of Okoro?

What if the Cavs had drafted Haliburton instead of Okoro?

Time to put some meat on the bones: what if the Cavs had drafted Tyrese Haliburton instead of Isaac Okoro?

At first glance, that prospect might seem unrealistic. The Cavs had taken two “point guards” in a row in Collin Sexton and Darius Garland. Yet Haliburton is essentially the same size and length as Okoro, and the Cavs showed the season before they were not afraid to draft for the same position if a guy on the board was the best player available. As a bottom-feeding rebuilding team, drafting for fit should have largely been off the table.

That first season on the Kings, Haliburton proved himself while starting only 20 games, otherwise coming off the bench behind De’Aaron Fox. He could have done the same for the Cavaliers, especially as their point guard depth that season was perilously thin due to injuries. A three-guard rotation of Garland, Sexton and Haliburton would have been very feasible. Perhaps Haliburton playing so well from the jump would have softened Sexton’s monster scoring season (24.3 points per game) but perhaps not.

It’s unlikely that there would have been much change to the team’s record, if any, so it’s reasonable to think they still land at No. 3 and get Evan Mobley. Last season would have been the real divergent path. Perhaps the team still trades for Ricky Rubio, but it’s likely they see the burgeoning talent in Haliburton and instead go for a veteran wing or forward.

Haliburton and Garland together would have been an interesting fit, but one that could certainly have thrived. Their shooting and off-ball gravity would have paired wonderfully together, with small-small pick-and-rolls a weapon in the coaching staff’s arsenal.

The Cavs would still be without a wing stopper in this scenario, but perhaps they found one in free agency or on the trade market. Not having Ricky Rubio likely means a slower start to the season, but having Haliburton healthy wen Sexton and Rubio went down would have raised the Cavs’ floor as well. Maybe the team ends up in the same spot, but maybe they also ride the injury and COVID wave better and slip into the playoffs. It’s absolutely certain the Cavs wouldn’t have traded a first-round pick and the first pick of the second-round for Caris LeVert, and Haliburton is already a better player and boasts a significantly brighter future.

That’s the biggest difference: the Cavs’ future would be a supernova right now with Haliburton in tow. Garland and Haliburton would be one of the best backcourt in the league, and paired with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen the Cavs would have the best young core around, full-stop. Perhaps Collin Sexton would have been traded already, and perhaps the Cavs had traded some assets for a forward like Harrison Barnes or Jerami Grant, but the core of this team would be truly elite.

This scenario obviously didn’t happen, so the Cavs have to determine how to move forward with Okoro and not Haliburton. Still, if they had gone in another direction and taken the Iowa State guard, they would be in a very different place right now as they look ahead.