The Cleveland Cavaliers are no longer a rebuilding team trying to develop a number of young players and biding its time until it made a leap forward. They also aren’t a veteran team who has drafted a bunch of late-round players to fill out the back end of the roster. Their core is largely made up of its young players, and the rest of the youngsters were jettisoned to bring in Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert and Max Strus.
Even so, it’s always important to be evaluating a team’s young prospects. Who is in the pipeline, developing their skills from inside of an organization, gaining institutional knowledge and being groomed to thrive on this specific team. Teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder or New Orleans Pelicans have a lot of work to do in this area; the Boston Celtics much less so.
The Cavaliers don’t have a lot of pro
Looking at the Cavs’ roster, some of their “younger” players don’t fit the purpose of this exercise; let’s age-out Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen. Emoni Bates needs a ton of development, but as the team’s only draft pick this year his inclusion seems obvious. We also know that the Cavs already gave up on Lamar Stevens, Ochai Agbaji and Dylan Windler, all through different means.
With the roster being filled out with veterans in their prime, there isn’t much room for prospects. Which young players should the Cavs protect a spot for as they develop them into future contributors, and who should they give up on and move in a trade or by waiving them? Let’s take a close look at five such players.
The Cavaliers should develop Craig Porter Jr.
The Cavaliers used their only draft pick this year on Emoni Bates, a player once heralded as the second coming of Kevin Durant and now a one-trick pony struggling to adapt to new expectations. Bates will certainly get a shot to grow into an NBA player, but it’s the guard no one had heard of who may end up being a longer-lasting NBA player.
Craig Porter Jr. went to junior college and then Wichita State University, hardly a hotbed of NBA talent (all apologies to Fred VanVleet and Landry Shamet). He wasn’t even particularly dominant in the American Athletic Conference, and he was more than simply undrafted; many Top 100 lists didn’t even include Porter.
That’s why it was so surprising when the Cavaliers signed Porter to a two-way contract. What did they see in the guard? That became apparent the second he stepped onto the court in Las Vegas Summer League. Despite playing alongside high-volume players in Vegas he stuffed the stat sheet, nearly lodging a triple-double in the title game and finishing with averages of 12 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
At 6’2″ Porter lacks the size to play on the wing, so he will need to catch on as a backup point guard. It costs the Cavs very little to keep on a two-way deal for this season and let him get plenty of run in the G League. If he can show that the passing from Summer League was not a fluke, there is a long-term NBA future ahead of him.
The Cavaliers should give up on Sharife Cooper
Giving a two-way spot to Craig Porter Jr. doesn’t close the door on Sharife Cooper ever joining the Cavaliers on a full-time basis, but it pushes it nearly shut. With Ricky Rubio and Ty Jerome already on the roster, it’s unlikely the Cavs make room for Cooper.
It’s been an up-and-down professional career for Cooper, who is an excellent passer and can knife to the rim with ease. As he has aged his strength driving into the paint has only improved. The problem is that he is a truly terrible shooter and poor defender; he doesn’t bring enough to the table to justify his weaknesses.
Cooper has spent the last couple of seasons running point for the Cleveland Charge, and he has thrived in that role. On a rebuilding team or a G League team, Cooper has the burst and passing ability to excel; against meaningful NBA opponents, he doesn’t have the same advantages.
The Cavaliers wanted it to work out with Cooper. If his shot came around, he could be an offense-first guard to plug into some rotations. If his defense came around, he could step in and run the offense in lineups with plenty of shooting around him. Without either, it’s hard to envision a lineup where Cooper would be a net positive, and that means the Cavs need to move on.
The Cavaliers should stay the course with both Mobleys
The Cleveland Cavaliers hit a home run with the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, drafting USC big man Evan Mobley, a defensive phenom who looks as good or better than even other recent stars prospects. Is it possible they did something similar with the 49th pick of the following draft, when they selected Evan’s brother Isaiah late in the second round?
Isaiah Mobley has already proven he is far from simply Evan’s older brother. He was dominant in the G League last season and carried that into Las Vegas Summer League, where he won MVP of the Championship Game. He has size and strength and enough passing, scoring and perhaps even shooting skill to see the court, and he has room to grow even further.
It may seem obvious to tell the Cavaliers to develop Evan Mobley, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. With Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland dominating touches, slotting Mobley in as a low-usage finisher on offense would be a disservice to his upside; whether or not his 3-pointer comes along, his upside as a passer and playmaker should be given space to grow this year; Cleveland’s best shot at a title is probably two seasons from now, and they will need Mobley fully deployed to have that shot.
Isaiah should likewise see the court this season as the primary backup to Jarrett Allen at center. He may not play every game, as Evan often plays center when Allen is sitting, but he should see some minutes behind them and the bulk of the minutes when Allen or Evan miss time. His passing and defense should fit well in the Cavs’ scheme and he is probably already a better two-way player than Damian Jones. Long-term, it’s not unrealistic that Mobley and Mobley could be the team’s two centers and even share the court at times.
The Cavaliers need to face the music on Isaac Okoro
Isaac Okoro is an exceptional defensive guard, able to match up with any opposing backcourt player. He can press fullcourt, he can slither over screens, and he uses angles extremely well to cut off driving lanes and stay with his mark. Add in some fast hands, and Okoro is a sublime option to deploy on even the best offensive guards in the league.
The problems start from there, however. Okoro is 6’5″ without exceptional length or strength, making him an average defender of small forwards and unable to switch onto larger forwards and bigs. On offense, he is a heady cutter but otherwise becomes a major drain on an offense, with his reticence to shoot paired with poor shooting percentages. He was essentially played off the court in the playoffs despite the Cavs needing someone to match up with Jalen Brunson.
They’ve tried for three seasons now to make Okoro work at small forward, and it is time to move on. Any commitment to Okoro from here on out needs to be as a backup, defense-specific shooting guard who sees the court for limited rotation minutes or in specific situations. That kind of player can be valuable, but only in the right role.
Okoro may bring the shot around and become a more balanced, and therefore more valuable, player. Cleveland just can’t extend him or carve out a rotation role for him based on that expectation. As they build out their future rotation and financials, Okoro should be a minor priority; he hasn’t earned anything more than that.