2022 NBA Draft Safari

foucault87 said:

Fair enough. I didnt follow the college season super closely this year.

How about Mathurin?

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He will likely be long gone by 14.

cavsfever said:

Are people still high on Tari Eason? Or is the thought that he won’t be available at 14?

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I love Eason - I think he can have a future of Bridges/Agunoby. I’ve been waiting for a player like OG to come to our roster. I feel he will end up going in top 10. He would fit really well with us.

Why not Malaki Branham? He was a freshman who shot 40% from three for the Buckeyes.

AtomicDogg97 said:

Why not Malaki Branham? He was a freshman who shot 40% from three for the Buckeyes.

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Yeah that number might be a bit inflated. He is more of a guy that makes a living in the mid range and slashing game. He was not known as long distance shooter coming out of high school, but his jumper is not bad overall, but I would not say his three point shooting is his calling card. He is a decent athlete but I would def not call him explosive. Solid prospect but there are a couple other guys that have better athletic profiles and upsides that might be there at 14.

I'mWithDan said:

We should think big here too.

Can Sexton, #14 + 2 future picks get us in the range for Ivey?

To me, we should be ultra aggressive.

This is a bite at the apple we were not expecting.

We should overextend to grab one more difference maker who is young.

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We can't trade Sexton to move up because it would have to be a sign and trade which would set off a whole bunch of tampering questions since the draft occurs before free agency.

No team in the NBA is going to trade out of the top 4 down to the #14 pick. Let's be serious here.

FWIW The Ringer mock has Tari Eason falling past 14. I think this draft has a lot of possible variance in that range and a very talented wing could fall into the Cavs’ lap.

The question is how many teams will draft for need. We do not need a PG at 14. Not do we need a PF/center.

But inevitably, once we get out of the top 3-5 consensus BPAs, some teams 6-13 will draft PG and PF/C for need. Just a matter of do enough do that to create a situation where the perfect SG/SF falls to us at 14 or into the 7-10 range that we may be able to trade into?

That said, like it or not, the FO may prefer to turn the pick plus other assets into a current NBA player in the 24-28 year old range

Aside from the top guys, there are a few Cs who could end up in the lottery- Duren, Mark Williams, and Walker Kessler. Fingers crossed that all 3 go up pretty high so if we end up at 14 that will push another of these wings down to us.

Happy to be back in this thread, always the best content!

Kind of insane how well this draft lines up for our needs. A bunch of wings should be available that are either ready to contribute day 1, are legitimate upgrades on defense, can offer shooting we sorely lack and if we move up even some that give you the scoring we are missing from wing.

Just great. Agree so much with @I'mWithDan, this is a nice surprise of an opportunity and we should be as aggressive as possible to make the most of it. If you can trade up for Smith, Ivey or Mathurin do it. Hopefully Tari is in our range, he's giving off vibes of the potential mid lottery type pick that ends up being the best player from the draft. Even if we just end up standing pat there are high level role players to be had like Agbaji, Sochan, Daniels etc.

Perfect timing.

MirORich said:

That said, like it or not, the FO may prefer to turn the pick plus other assets into a current NBA player in the 24-28 year old range

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My thoughts exactly. This makes the most sense at this point in the Cavz development. They need somebody that can contribute now . Someone like Cam Johnson of the Suns . Or if the Pacers want the pick back maybe Buddy Hield? The point is the Cavz have leverage with the pick. They get Caris Levert and keep their first rounder. Sounds like a steal to me. They can also package the pick with Levert, Cedi or Stephens/Okoro for something else. The franchise is better off now then if they lost the pick by winning last nite with the options they have now to add more talent and deph. The experience they received playing in a playoff game against the Nets and Hawks is the added bonus.

Mathurin looks really good for us but he is projected to go just too high

Tankathon has this guy mocked to us. Very raw but with upside. Not an immediate contributor

My wish list right now, in terms of fit for us:

1. For sure amazing fits but might have to jump or trade up:

Jabari Smith - ultracharged Lauri
Tari Eason - we get our creator, handler beast wing
Jaden Ivey - DG-Rubio upside
Bennedict Mathurin - legit movement shooter + defensive stopper SG

2. Still would fill big holes and would be very happy:

Sheadon Sharpe, should he stay in - big body SG, that shooting would be amazing
Keegan Murray - nice package with shooting and D, but I worry he's too much of a PF
Johnny Davis & Malaki Branham - big SGs with lots of self scoring and D
Wendell Moore - great all around package and big body

3. Very nice consolation prizes, but limited to roles:

Ochai Agbaji - actual 3&D SG
Jeremy Sochan - that defense obviously
Dyson Deniels - I like the size + playmaking
AJ Griffin - I like him, his shooting is sick, but I don't think he can hold up defensively unfo coz of the injuries

What they all the above have in common is that they're all good to great defenders (mines Griffin, Ivey in spots), and most can space the floor and shoot.

That's already 12 guys just from Cavs standpoint, excluding all the strict C/Pf/PGs.

We are sitting super pretty.

While it’s obvious the Cavz need A wing. I have always been a firm advocate in any sport of taking the BAA( best athlete available). If they took Mark Williams the rim protector and enforcer with our pick I won’t complain. Instead of trying to catch lightning in the bottle with the likes of Hartenstein and Moses Brown when Jarett Allen goes down , you have a Big man with upside in Mark Williams. The drop off won’t be nearly as bad plus you can keep JA fresh by lowering his minutes.