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Darius Kinnard Garland

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What is Darius Garland's Ceiling?

  • One Time All-Star

    Votes: 14 8.9%
  • Occasional All-Star

    Votes: 16 10.2%
  • 5-6 Time All-Star

    Votes: 31 19.7%
  • Perennial All-Star

    Votes: 40 25.5%
  • An All-NBA Team or Two

    Votes: 23 14.6%
  • Perennial All-NBA Teamer

    Votes: 20 12.7%
  • Occasional MVP Candidate

    Votes: 11 7.0%
  • Perennial MVP Candidate

    Votes: 2 1.3%
  • MVP, Baby!

    Votes: 10 6.4%
  • Being Jim Chones

    Votes: 12 7.6%

  • Total voters
    157
These videos are great. Now if we could just replace NBA athletes with random guys, we'll be set with Garland

It shows you how incredible NBA Athletes really are. Those random guys probably are pretty good ball players and Garland was abusing them. Garland at this point is an average pg in the NBA (good backup pg at this point), but that isn't bad for a rookie.
 
I believe him. He has tools. He has skills. He was spooked. Not quite as fearless as Sexton, definitely more tentative. I knew it after the first game when he was talking about how big and fast guys are. He needs the game to slow down for him, and that is often a multi-year thing. He ducked reporters a lot reportedly, staying in the lounge area of the locker room that is off limits to reporters. We all know he needs to work on his body, he needs to work on his mentality too. I think he can do it. The big question is whether he and Sexton can coexist or whether he needs to come off the bench.
 
He needs to improve a heap next season but I think he gets a little hard done by, for example his stats are basically the same as Herro's who gets a heap of love from media as the 'best of the rest' besides Morant and Zion.
 
I mean maybe he didn't feel like himself, but he also needed and still needs to reinvent himself to match NBA level competition so the only thing that will save him is being better than himself
 
The reason Garland was drafted so high, and the reason I was so high on him, was because he looked like he was going to be an elite shooter. Period. He looked like the next Steph Curry.
Now the issue is whether injuries and inconsistent playing have changed his potential, or merely delayed his development. That decision needs to be made before the draft. Confidence in Garland will lead to the Cavs drafting Toppin or Wiseman. A lack of confidence means we take Ball.
That would immediately give the Cavs a big backcourt with Ball and KPJ. Sexton comes off the bench as instant offense. But then Garland never develops an rots on the bench.
 
The reason Garland was drafted so high, and the reason I was so high on him, was because he looked like he was going to be an elite shooter. Period. He looked like the next Steph Curry.
Now the issue is whether injuries and inconsistent playing have changed his potential, or merely delayed his development. That decision needs to be made before the draft. Confidence in Garland will lead to the Cavs drafting Toppin or Wiseman. A lack of confidence means we take Ball.
That would immediately give the Cavs a big backcourt with Ball and KPJ. Sexton comes off the bench as instant offense. But then Garland never develops an rots on the bench.
I keep reading that the Cavs just need to take the best player and maximize the talent because they're so far from being contenders. The prevailing wisdom is you just grab the best player regardless of position for a few years and then sort it out.

However, this year there is no consensus at the top of the draft. There are 5-6 players who are pretty similar in terms of potential so it might be better to take one at the positon of greatest need.

"This is a unique draft. Anybody who has it figured out already is lying. There’s no consensus first pick. There’s no consensus top 5 yet. Anything from like No. 6 on down, it’s a total crapshoot." - Fran Fraschilla, ESPN

Here's a recent comment on Garland:

"Garland? Egads. He’s a skill guy and sometimes those guys need more time to find their way, but he looked completely overmatched as a rookie. I’d be pretty worried about this if I were the Cavs, given that they used the fifth overall pick on him. Also, both Garland and Sexton are 6-1 and below-average defenders. I don’t see any way the Cavs can continue to start them together and expect to win. At the very least, I would think bringing Garland off the bench might put him in a better position to succeed". - John Hollinger, former NBA executive

Hollinger added,

"Fortunately, the other thing the guards in this draft have is size. If you look at the potential top six players (the Cavs can finish no worse than sixth in the lottery), Cleveland won’t be picking another (small guard): LaMelo Ball is 6-6, Killian Hayes and Tyrese Halliburton are 6-5, and Anthony Edwards is 6-4 and built like a tank. That makes it easier to pair one of these guys with Sexton and/or Garland; in fact, it’s likely preferable to playing Garland and Sexton together."

Bickerstaff explained what the Cavs are looking for.

"[We need] Swiss Army knives. Dribble, pass, shoot, and versatility on the defensive end of the floor. Long guys, athletic guys, fast guys. Those types of players that can do a bunch of different things, especially on the defensive end of the floor. And then offensively, having the ability to break guys down off the bounce. From an offensive standpoint, it’s how much skill can we put on the floor. And it doesn’t even matter position to me anymore. You just want to be able to put skill on the floor at all positions. And then obviously those positions can complement one another with their different strengths."

So who in this draft best fits the template of "long, athletic, fast guys" who can break down an opponent off the dribble and guard different positions on defense?
 
"[We need] Swiss Army knives. Dribble, pass, shoot, and versatility on the defensive end of the floor. Long guys, athletic guys, fast guys. Those types of players that can do a bunch of different things, especially on the defensive end of the floor. And then offensively, having the ability to break guys down off the bounce. From an offensive standpoint, it’s how much skill can we put on the floor. And it doesn’t even matter position to me anymore. You just want to be able to put skill on the floor at all positions. And then obviously those positions can complement one another with their different strengths."

Sounds like Anthony Edwards
 
I keep reading that the Cavs just need to take the best player and maximize the talent because they're so far from being contenders. The prevailing wisdom is you just grab the best player regardless of position for a few years and then sort it out.

However, this year there is no consensus at the top of the draft. There are 5-6 players who are pretty similar in terms of potential so it might be better to take one at the positon of greatest need.

"This is a unique draft. Anybody who has it figured out already is lying. There’s no consensus first pick. There’s no consensus top 5 yet. Anything from like No. 6 on down, it’s a total crapshoot." - Fran Fraschilla, ESPN

Here's a recent comment on Garland:

"Garland? Egads. He’s a skill guy and sometimes those guys need more time to find their way, but he looked completely overmatched as a rookie. I’d be pretty worried about this if I were the Cavs, given that they used the fifth overall pick on him. Also, both Garland and Sexton are 6-1 and below-average defenders. I don’t see any way the Cavs can continue to start them together and expect to win. At the very least, I would think bringing Garland off the bench might put him in a better position to succeed". - John Hollinger, former NBA executive

Hollinger added,

"Fortunately, the other thing the guards in this draft have is size. If you look at the potential top six players (the Cavs can finish no worse than sixth in the lottery), Cleveland won’t be picking another (small guard): LaMelo Ball is 6-6, Killian Hayes and Tyrese Halliburton are 6-5, and Anthony Edwards is 6-4 and built like a tank. That makes it easier to pair one of these guys with Sexton and/or Garland; in fact, it’s likely preferable to playing Garland and Sexton together."

Bickerstaff explained what the Cavs are looking for.

"[We need] Swiss Army knives. Dribble, pass, shoot, and versatility on the defensive end of the floor. Long guys, athletic guys, fast guys. Those types of players that can do a bunch of different things, especially on the defensive end of the floor. And then offensively, having the ability to break guys down off the bounce. From an offensive standpoint, it’s how much skill can we put on the floor. And it doesn’t even matter position to me anymore. You just want to be able to put skill on the floor at all positions. And then obviously those positions can complement one another with their different strengths."

So who in this draft best fits the template of "long, athletic, fast guys" who can break down an opponent off the dribble and guard different positions on defense?

Sounds like Okoro or Vassel to me
 
I keep reading that the Cavs just need to take the best player and maximize the talent because they're so far from being contenders. The prevailing wisdom is you just grab the best player regardless of position for a few years and then sort it out.

However, this year there is no consensus at the top of the draft. There are 5-6 players who are pretty similar in terms of potential so it might be better to take one at the positon of greatest need.

"This is a unique draft. Anybody who has it figured out already is lying. There’s no consensus first pick. There’s no consensus top 5 yet. Anything from like No. 6 on down, it’s a total crapshoot." - Fran Fraschilla, ESPN

Here's a recent comment on Garland:

"Garland? Egads. He’s a skill guy and sometimes those guys need more time to find their way, but he looked completely overmatched as a rookie. I’d be pretty worried about this if I were the Cavs, given that they used the fifth overall pick on him. Also, both Garland and Sexton are 6-1 and below-average defenders. I don’t see any way the Cavs can continue to start them together and expect to win. At the very least, I would think bringing Garland off the bench might put him in a better position to succeed". - John Hollinger, former NBA executive

Hollinger added,

"Fortunately, the other thing the guards in this draft have is size. If you look at the potential top six players (the Cavs can finish no worse than sixth in the lottery), Cleveland won’t be picking another (small guard): LaMelo Ball is 6-6, Killian Hayes and Tyrese Halliburton are 6-5, and Anthony Edwards is 6-4 and built like a tank. That makes it easier to pair one of these guys with Sexton and/or Garland; in fact, it’s likely preferable to playing Garland and Sexton together."

Bickerstaff explained what the Cavs are looking for.

"[We need] Swiss Army knives. Dribble, pass, shoot, and versatility on the defensive end of the floor. Long guys, athletic guys, fast guys. Those types of players that can do a bunch of different things, especially on the defensive end of the floor. And then offensively, having the ability to break guys down off the bounce. From an offensive standpoint, it’s how much skill can we put on the floor. And it doesn’t even matter position to me anymore. You just want to be able to put skill on the floor at all positions. And then obviously those positions can complement one another with their different strengths."

So who in this draft best fits the template of "long, athletic, fast guys" who can break down an opponent off the dribble and guard different positions on defense?

He also mentioned "pass" and "shoot" in his description. So he's basically saying that we need the next LeBron, Kawhi, etc.. And of course that's what we'd like to have. Who wouldn't?

I dunno -- I'm skeptical of drawing too specific a conclusion from a broad statement like that. Finding a guy that can do everything well isn't something that happens in a draft this weak. So I suspect we're going to take that down a notch. They don't want a guy who can only do one thing, or even a couple of things, well. But outside dream scenarios that generally don't exist, you're going to have to compromise on something. I suspect defensive ability/versatility may be the one thing they consider essential, and are willing to mix and match offensive skills as long as the guy can contribute meaningfully on that end too. That would still point to quite a few possibilities, though.

But hell...this is Bickerstaff, not Altman. So who the hell really knows?
 
Sounds like Anthony Edwards
I just get a bad feeling about drafting Edwards thinking him and Sexton will be fighting over who is going to dominate the offense and take all the shots.
Obi, Ball or Okoro (if we slide back to 5 or 6),,,then again I'm not as tuned in to these guys as most of you and I am enjoying everyone's takes on all these guys.
 

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