3 targets for Cavs if they trade up to late first round of 2023 NBA Draft

With the 2023 NBA Draft a bit less than a week away, the Cleveland Cavaliers are slated to have the 49th pick in the draft. Sure, the pick isn’t as high of a selection as some people may like, but the second round still holds plenty of talent. With the Cavs’ first-round pick going to the Indiana Pacers, the Cavs probably will not have the ability to select a high-end talent next week.

Despite that expectation, the Cavs still could make a trade to get another draft pick. After all, the Cavs traded cash for the 49th pick last year from the Sacramento Kings, which they used to select Isaiah Mobley. The Cavs still could make a trade and get another selection somewhere in the draft, or move up by packaging that selection, perhaps.

According to Sam Vecenie of The Athletic (subscription required), the Cavaliers, among a few other squads, could get back into the draft, most likely eyeing a late first-rounder. The Cavs probably wouldn’t be trading for a lottery pick, unless they offered Jarrett Allen in a deal. However, Dean Wade, Lamar Stevens, and Cedi Osman could all be offered alongside the 49th pick to jump back into the first round near the end.

Now that raises the question, if the Cavs did have a late first-rounder, who would they target? Well, this draft is a deep one, so the 25-30 range should still have some quality rotation-level players.

Let’s just assume for this article’s sake that the Cavaliers miraculously got a pick near the end of the first round for the 49th pick and the rights to the 39th pick last year, Khalifa Diop, or one of those rotation pieces we touched on.

With all of that said, here are a few prospects the Cavs could eye near the end of the first round.

We’ll begin with a small forward who could be a sharpshooter for Cleveland for years to come.