The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the habit of trading their draft picks.
Not every single one, of course. They did just draft Jaylon Tyson with the No. 20 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, a promising two-way forward having a solid rookie season even if it's on a deep team contending for a title.
And also of course is the reality that half of their roster core were Top-5 draft picks by the franchise: All-Stars Darius Garland (No. 5 in the 2019 NBA Draft) and Evan Mobley (No. 3 in the 2021 NBA Draft) and 3-and-D wing Isaac Okoro (No. 5 in the 2020 NBA Draft).
Yet since drafting Mobley in 2021 the Cavaliers have largely eschewed using the draft to fill out the team, instead making timely trades to put together a team that is dominating the league right now. Their 2022 first-round pick, Ochai Agbaji, was traded to the Utah Jazz as a part of the Donovan Mitchel trade (more on that in a moment). Their 2023 first went to the Indiana Pacers as a part of the Caris LeVert trade. They have made just four second-round picks in the last seven years, two of which are not in the NBA and two of which are clinging to two-way deals.
Moving forward the script is much of the same, with the Cavaliers having moved a mountain of draft capital to land Mitchell and sprinkled a few more draft assets into the trade for De'Andre Hunter at the 2025 Trade Deadline.
Where does that leave the Cavaliers? Let's walk year-by-year and list every selection that the Cavs still have, and which ones have been forfeited to other teams on the path to building a contender.
2025 Cavaliers Draft Picks
2025 First-round pick: Owed to Utah Jazz or Phoenix Suns from the Donovan Mitchell trade. Unless the Cavaliers absolutely fall apart, they will send one of the very last picks of the first round to the Suns. If somehow the Minnesota Timberwolves passed them in the standings, then it would go to the Utah Jazz.
2025 Second-round pick: Owned by Cavaliers
2025 Second-round pick (Milwaukee): Owned by Cavaliers
2026 Cavaliers Draft Picks
2026 First-round pick: Utah owns the right to swap with Cleveland, and Atlanta owns the right to swap after Utah.
2026 Second-round pick: Owned by Cavaliers
2027 Cavaliers Draft Picks
2027 First-round pick: Owed to the Utah Jazz or Phoenix Suns
2027 Second-round pick: Owed to the Atlanta Hawks
2027 Second-round pick (Denver): Owned by Cavaliers from JaVale McGee trade in 2021
2028 Cavaliers Draft Picks
2028 First-round pick: Utah owns the right to swap with Cleveland, and Atlanta owns the right to swap after Utah.
2028 Second-round pick: Owned by Cavaliers
2029 Cavaliers Draft Picks
2029 First-round pick: Owed to the Utah Jazz or Phoenix Suns
2029 Second-round pick: Owed to the Atlanta Hawks
2030 Cavaliers Draft Picks
2030 First-round pick: Owned by Cavaliers
2030 Second-round pick: Owed to the San Antonio Spurs from the Cedi Osman / Lamar Stevens salary dump in 2023 (to sign Max Strus)
2031 Cavaliers Draft Picks
2031 First-round pick: Owned by Cavaliers
2031 Second-round pick: Owed to the Atlanta Hawks
Cleveland Cavaliers Draft Pick Summary
Firsts Owned Outright: 2030, 2031 first-round picks
First Owned After Swaps: 2026, 2028
Seconds Owned: 2025, 2026, 2028 Cavaliers seconds; 2025 Milwaukee second; 2027 Denver second