The Cleveland Cavaliers have used the NBA Draft to significant effect over the past half-decade, including drafting Darius Garland in 2019 and Evan Mobley in 2021, both of whom may go first overall in a redraft of those year’s drafts.
This year as they approach the draft they are without a first-round pick, sent out to the Indiana Pacers in the Caris LeVert trade. Given that the Cavs had the league’s fifth-best record, that pick will land at 26th in this year’s draft, hardly a pole position to add a difference-maker.
Could the Cavaliers end up with a lottery pick?
Yet in the midst of rumors swirling around a team that clearly will be looking on the open market for upgrades, the idea of a Jarrett Allen trade continues to circulate. It makes logical sense; to find a real upgrade on the wing, trading Allen is their one major bullet left to fire.
Some of those potential trades involve the Cavaliers receiving back a first-round pick, perhaps No. 10 from the Dallas Mavericks. If Cleveland does end up with a lottery pick, what kind of players could they be targeting among the top prospects? Let’s highlight three that could help to boost the young core of this team.
Draft prospect No. 3: Gradey Dick, Kansas Jayhawks
The Cleveland Cavaliers have elite on-ball guards who can create their own shot and make plays for others. They have some lockdown defenders, both on the wing (Isaac Okoro) and in the paint (Evan Mobley). What they don’t have and need to add are knockdown shooters, and Gradey Dick is among the very best in the draft.
At 6’7″ the Kansas native has excellent size for a shooting specialist, and he showed at the University of Kansas this season that he can shoot in traffic as well as when he is open. His trigger is as fast as they come, and his size allows him to get off the shot with no fear of an opponent blocking it. He displays a natural feel for relocating to open pockets on the perimeter to be set to receive a pass, and he has enough ball-handling juice to attack closeouts and get into the paint.
The question for Dick is his defensive ability. He has a slender frame and his feet aren’t the quickest, so he may be targeted. He showed growth as his freshman season progressed, but NBA competition will be another animal altogether. If he remains a target on that end his path looks like Duncan Robinson; if he can hold his own he becomes more of a Cam Johnson or Michael Porter Jr. without quite that much size.
The Cavs need shooting in the worst way, and can insert Gradey Dick into their rotation from the jump. He likely doesn’t have All-Star upside, but he could certainly become a player the Cavaliers trust in big moments spacing the floor. Few players in the draft have his sort of shooting ability.
Draft prospect No. 2: Taylor Hendricks, UCF Knights
For those NBA fans who are not locked into NBA Draft prospects at a granular level, the name of Taylor Hendricks might be new, and the University of Central Florida might be a bizarre place for a top-10 prospect to show up. Hendricks has shown over his freshman season that he deserves to be a high pick and will have plenty of name recognition a year from now.
Hendricks is a 6’9″ forward, exactly the profile that the Cavaliers are looking for to diversify their lineup. The freshman shot 39.4 percent from deep this season with excellent mechanics, and that should be a true weapon at the next level. Defensively, he has excellent size and length that help him contest on the perimeter and at the rim, where he racked up a surprising number of blocks. He’s a legitimate weakside rim protector.
The issues for Hendricks are more limiting factors to his future role, rather than reasons he will get played off the court. His handle is loose and will prevent him from creating separation with the ball in his hands, and he is a vanilla passer. Still, as a play finisher, he should excel, and the Cavs certainly have other players ready to create plays.
Hendricks would likely step right into the starting lineup at both the 3 and the 4. Long-term his best position might be as a power forward, but his shooting allows him to play plenty of minutes at the 3. The Cavs have been short of that type of player, so Hendricks would be an excellent fit for their rotation.
Draft prospect No. 1: Jarace Walker, Houston Cougars
The most-heralded prospect we’ll consider here is Jarace Walker, a 6’8″ big man from the University of Houston. Walker could go anywhere from No. 4 to the late lottery, and after Victor Wembanyama is probably the second-best big on the board.
An absolutely elite defender, Walker can do it all on that end of the court. His rotations were as crisp as a five-year NBA veteran, not a college freshman, and he is comfortable banging in the post or switching onto the perimeter. If he gets a lane to a weakside shot-blocking attempt, watch out for a highlight swat.
Walker will almost certainly be a perennial All-Defense candidate, but the swing factor for Walker will be his offense. He is an excellent passer and playmaker and a good finisher at the rim, and he can rebound well on either end of the court. Does his improved shot at Houston translate to league-average efficiency in the NBA? And can he ever create his own shot? That’s the difference between becoming Aaron Gordon and becoming Giannis-lite.
In the event that the Cavaliers move Jarrett Allen and end up with a lottery pick, Jarace Walker looks like a fascinating pairing for Evan Mobley. They would swap a bit of size for versatility, and Walker has more offensive versatility to space the court. It wouldn’t solve their issues at small forward, but it would be the path to maintaining a league-leading defense for years to come.