The bleak of winter brings the heart of the NBA regular season, and while there are storylines aplenty, it never hurts to look towards the future and the upcoming NBA Draft in June.
In Christopher Kline's latest mock draft, the order simulation found the Cleveland Cavaliers picking 27th. Since the Donovan Mitchell trade in 2022, first-round picks have been somewhat hard to come by for Cleveland. Jaylon Tyson was the Cavaliers' only opening round selection since then.
While Cleveland will pick in the first round this year, they won't again (barring a trade) until 2028 and then not again until 2030. So, it's imperative that the Cavaliers gets these picks right, as with their expensive payroll it'll be highly important to find cheap rotational guys with long term value.
In the mock draft, Kline had Cleveland selecting Karim Lopez, an 18-year Mexican wing currently playing in Australia for the New Zealand Breakers.
Karim Lopez's profile fits that of a modern NBA wing
For someone so young, Lopez has a very desireable body type to translate to the next level. He stands at 6'8'' and comes in at 220 pounds, meaning that the strength component shouldn't theoretically be an issue.
As a teenager in a professional league, he has impressive statistics. In his second season playing for the Breakers, Lopez is averaging 10.6 points per game, 5.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 24.5 minutes per game.
As an off ball scorer, Lopez will turn some heads. He is a deft cutter and uses his strength at the rim well to finish through contact. He knows how to attack closeouts well and get into the lane. However, his long-term success will hinge on his ability to garner any sort of gravity as a shooter.
Lopez has a quick, high release on his shot and it looks solid, but the percentages have been abysmal over the past few weeks. Over his last seven games, Lopez has shot 2-for-22 from 3 (9 percent) and his percentage on the season has dropped to 32.5. That number still isn't terrible despite his recent struggles, and he'll need to be a viable threat from deep to be effective.
His streakiness is a bit reminiscent of 2024's first overall pick, Zaccharie Risacher, who became notable for going through slumps throughout his final pre-draft season.
Lopez's body type gives him some defensive value as well. His size and strength put him at a natural advantage and, in an ideal world, he'll be able to guard both threes and fours.
He sports a 4.1 block percentage on the season which isn't mind-blowingly good, but it's enough to support optimism about his defensive projection guarding bigger wings. He's also an above average rebounder which will help him get on the floor.
Overall, Lopez certainly has NBA tools between his physical dimensions and shooting upside, but he's still very raw. He doesn't have much of an on-ball game as his handle needs some work. While he's fluid, he isn't a super explosive athlete. The jumper will be the swing skill and if he can tick those percentages up a bit, the end product could look pretty good.
It's also difficult to project young international prospects at this stage of the draft cycle. Lopez was taken 27th in this mock, but come June it wouldn't be overly surprising if he jumped into late lottery conversations or on the flip side, fell out of the first round altogether.
Karim Lopez fits the Cavaliers long-term needs to perfection
As of now, the Cavaliers wing room consists of Max Strus, De'Andre Hunter, Tyson, Sam Merrill and Tyrese Proctor. Dean Wade is more of a big, but often plays the four and has even seen time at the three in jumbo lineups. Luke Travers and Chris Livingston are also on the roster but neither should be seen as long-term options.
Of the four wings first mentioned, Lopez profiles most similarly to Hunter and Tyson, especially Hunter as a 3-and-D player. At this point, Hunter's time in Cleveland hasn't been great and he's making over $23 million per year, fourth highest on the team.
If Cleveland is actively looking to get cheaper and gain some financial flexibility (they should be), Hunter should not be brought back after his contract expires after the 2026-27 season. If things stay bad, they may even trade him sooner.
Assuming the Cavaliers keep Hunter until the end of his contract, it would give Lopez a year to likely spend some time in the G League before being thrust into a larger role for his second season. With Lopez and Tyson as the long-term answers for the bigger wing depth, the Cavaliers could also let Wade walk in free agency this offseason.
Either way, Lopez offers the Cavaliers a way to get younger and cheaper, while addressing a hole in their roster that they can keep them contenders for the long term.