With the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets kicking off the NBA Finals on Thursday night, it’s time that the other 28 teams in the NBA turned their focus fully to the 2023 NBA Draft and offseason. For the Cleveland Cavaliers, this summer will mark the first time since 2017 that the team doesn’t own a first-round pick.
Interestingly enough, the Cavaliers didn’t have any draft picks at all in 2016 and 2017. Despite that, as the Heat have shown over the course of their improbable run to the NBA Finals, key contributors to a successful team can be found in the second round and beyond.
After a pretty shocking first round exit at the hands of the New York Knicks, it’s pretty clear the Cavaliers need to upgrade their current roster if they want to keep competing at a high level in a tough Eastern Conference.
One area where improvements are badly needed is on the wing, where the team has never really found a replacement for LeBron James since he left in 2018. Luckily for Cleveland, this month’s draft is filled with quality prospects who can help the Cavaliers with three-point shooting and perimeter defense in the second round, even.
There are a number of prospects to look at in the weeks before the upcoming draft, but today we’re going to take a look at Keyontae Johnson out of Kansas State, who could provide the team with scoring and slashing on the offensive end.
Johnson is a 2023 NBA Draft prospect who could bolster the Cavs wing production, and has the potential to be a big-time shooter.
First, we’ll take a look at Johnson’s measurables, and the strengths of his game.
Johnson had quite the scare a few years ago, but he battled through it and has been an impact player
Johnson is a 6-foot-5 wing with a 6-foot-11 wingspan that allows him to defend bigger players.
In his final collegiate season at Kansas State, he averaged 17.4 points per game, while playing over 34 minutes per game, and shooting over 51% from the field. He’s also a knockdown three-point shooter, who hit over 40% of his attempts during his senior season, while taking over three per game. During Kansas State’s NCAA Tournament run to the Final Four, he averaged 15.2 points per game and just over five rebounds.
Prior to transferring to Kansas State for his senior year, Johnson played at Florida, where he suffered a medical emergency, when he collapsed on the court in the middle of a game early on in the 2020-21 season. He had spent time in a medically induced coma.
However, he persevered and his draft stock seems to be rising.
On top of his scoring prowess, he is also a very good rebounder for his position. Johnson has great length which helps him, but he also has very good upper-body strength, which he uses to battle for position on rebounds, and also to get his shots off in tough situations.
Finally, Johnson is smooth in transition for his size, even showcasing some point-forward abilities at times this past season.
Johnson’s weaknesses and his possible fit with the Cavs
Even though he did have a stellar senior season, and looks to have an easier-than-normal transition to the NBA, Johnson still has some areas of weaknesses, and aspects of his game that he need to improve.
The first area that comes to mind, is turnovers. At times for the Wildcats he was erratic with the ball in his hands. While Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell are superb floor-generals, in a lot of the Cavaliers losses this year, turnovers were a huge part of the story.
Finally, and this can be the case for a lot of college prospects, Johnson’s shot selection was a bit shaky at times. For the most part, that can be coached at the next level as players learn their roles. However, if he continues to shoot over 40% from three in the NBA, I can handle a couple heat-checks.
As for his fit with the Cavs, it should be pretty straight-forward for Johnson. The Cavaliers desperately need shooting on the wing, and, hopefully, in volume. While he only shot three per game in college, there’s a good chance Johnson is asked to shoot more at the next level from deep, if he eventually receives a steady dose of looks.
If you look at the Cavs first-round pick last year, Ochai Agbaji, who was eventually part of the Donovan Mitchell trade, Johnson has a lot of similar traits to the former Jayhawk. Both are great set shooters, and got better as slashers in college. Neither are super fast or quick, but get to the hoop in their own way successfully. I wouldn’t put it past Johnson to have the same type of impact that Agbaji did in his rookie season; we’ll have to see on the chances for Johnson, though.
With the 2023 NBA Draft only three weeks away, there are a lot of prospects that could be a fit for the Cavaliers in the second round at their 49th pick. For instance, Santa Clara guard Brandon Podziemski would be another great wing addition, but his stock is rising fast.
With that being said, if Koby Altman is looking for a quick-impact wing player, Johnson checks all the boxes.
He can shoot from all levels, he’s solid in transition, and he can defend multiple positions. Overall he could help fix some of the issues the Cavs had at the end of the season.