Totalitarianistic regime! Down with your statue.... or is it down with the statutes? Something.... idk.... burp.
It is only through my own benevolence that such a nutcase made it past last summer.
Now on to the draft. I appreciate folk like Nathan S. who is looking at the whole draft class, but that seems like monumental task in 2020. The Cavaliers will draft in the top five. I'm going to focus on the players I believe the Cavs will decide between in October.
1. LaMelo Ball - This is one of three players I heard some buzz about in Cavs circles for the past calendar year. At first, I didn't want to believe it because LaVar Ball has managed to encapsule everything I hate about the AAU circuit. However, the positives are clear. The Cavs invested in two guards who can only defend one position. Neither is an exceptional playmaker for others. Ball has the potential to be a versatile defender while stepping into the Delly role as offensive centerpiece.
2. James Wiseman - Again, one of the players I heard consistent buzz around for the Cavaliers. The trade for Drummond, who had a very similar early career arc, would be able to transition Wiseman into his role as rim protector and rim runner from the center position next season. The negative is clearly the past year of development. Is he better than he was last July? Has he even remained as good as he used to be? The inaction isn't all his fault, but it leaves his draft status as a huge question mark.
3. Deni Avdija - The third player I've heard consistent buzz about is the only one who can also provide evidence of drastically improving over the course of the calendar year. I won't get into whether Israel made the right decision to remain open for business, but the one person who benefitted the most was Avdija. He has shown he can be more than a role player due to his improved shooting. His floor is now the highest in this class. Remember that the Cavs invited two Maccabi Tel Aviv players to the 2019 Summer League roster. To say the franchise has been digging deep on this player is an understatement.
4. Anthony Edwards - The Cavs like scoring, shooting, and production in their lottery picks. Edwards might be a little redundant with Sexton on the roster, but he is a safe bet to be a legitimate NBA starting two guard for a long time. We know the Cavs have no plan on selecting a point guard, but Edwards is a finisher who suffered from a lack of point guard next to him in college. A team with so many Anthony Bennett errors on their resume should be looking at BPA if their favorites are already gone.
5. Onyeka Okongwu - Rounding out the top five is a player who fits in perfectly with building a core of young guys. His play on the court is very similar to Tristan Thompson. While we know the young core loved sharing the court with TT, we also know TT asked multiple times for a trade out of town. IMO, the likelihood of TT remaining on the roster is lower than anybody will say right now. Big O would also fill Love's shoes as power forward of the future, with a game that seems ready to explore as soon as he develops his outside shot.