Another thing Ford mentioned was a potential trade where the Cavs send #3 to OKC for the #6 and future assets. Ford emphasized he has heard nothing about this, but he thinks it could work for both teams based on these factors:
1. Ford loves Scottie Barnes to the point where if he were the Cavs' GM he would take Barnes at #3. He thinks Barnes fits perfectly.
2. He said OKC was bitterly disappointed by their draft slot as they were hoping to be picking much higher.
3. OKC has a shitload of future picks they have accumulated after stripping their roster of talent. They have tons of ammo to move up.
I can't see it because OKC already has Shai, who is one hell of a shooting guard. Why would they want to add Green? And I can't see the Cavs trading the pick if Mobley is there.
But I could see a trade down for Barnes, maybe with Orlando.
Here's the case for Barnes from The Athletic's David Aldridge, who anonymously quoted basketball people whose opinion he respects.
USA Basketball member: Scottie’s got some flaws to him, but the one flaw he doesn’t have is that he is a frickin’ winner. If you want to win … you’re going to draft Scottie Barnes. When he came to us, before his freshman year in high school, I knew then he was going to be something special. He has taken coaching. He has really worked on his shot. He has really worked on his form shooting, just to get better. He’s certainly not a great shooter by any means, but he’s a scorer. He can score. But he didn’t look to score a lot of times. But he knows he can impact the game doing everything else.
(Sounds like a description of Giannis, or maybe Draymond Green, or Ben Simmons)
College head coach 1 (his team played Florida State last season): He does a lot of things very, very good. He’ll defend. He’ll rebound. He can guard almost anybody. Long arms and an NBA body. Not a shooter. You have to concern yourself on how you’d guard him and how effective he’ll be. He’s not a jump shooter. You’re not going to run him off of screens, maybe spot up once in a while. He’s probably a Ben Simmons right now.
Western Conference Executive 1: I think Scottie Barnes is a big-timer, man. I don’t care about the shooting or anything; there’s ways around that. There are just guys that grab you. This kid, first of all, he’s got big size. He’s listed at 6-foot-9 but he’s probably 6-foot-8 ½ in sneakers, three-quarters. That’s good enough. His length is big-time. It’s like 7-foot-2 or something, 7-foot-3.
(Editor’s Note: Barnes’ wingspan was measured at 7-foot-2.75 at the Chicago Combine.)
Got huge hands. Defensively, he’s one of the elite guys in the draft. All this switching, that’s no problem at all for him. He gets out in passing lanes; he gets his hands on the ball; he gets the ball back for his team. That’s all great. But his passing, at that size, is really elite. And his vision and his ability in the open court. He’s so long-legged, long striding, they outlet the ball to him off a defensive rebound, well inside his backcourt. Two, maybe at the most three dribbles, he’s way down deep in the lane, and really rolling. And there’s all sorts of things he can do along the way — the pass ahead, scoring himself.
....There’s big energy that’s at play all the time. He’s said this in interviews, and I believe it when I watched him, he really takes joy in other’s success. It’s not just about him – me, my brand, my numbers. They’re up 25 or 30 on Miami and his center (Balsa Koprivica) takes a charge, and Scottie’s going berserk, going down there on the floor and picking him up and hugging him, pumping. When they come off the floor, the walk-ons are gravitating to him, and the managers are coming over and he’s hugging those. That’s huge, man. … Me, personally, and I may have some bias, but I’m taking him over Kuminga.
Eastern Conference Executive 1: Jonathan’s [Kuminga] more talented offensively. Scottie gives you something completely different. He could be a backup point guard, he could play some five, he can start, he can come off the bench. He’s an incredible role guy. Kind of like Draymond (Green), a little bit, but bigger and more physical, if that’s even possible. I do worry about his scoring. I worry about his shooting. But by all accounts, an incredible prospect. Unbelievable kid. I think people trust him a little bit more. But very, very close in everybody’s rankings. … Scottie was the fake sixth man (last year); he still played like a starter. They all don’t play more than 30 minutes a game (at Florida State); they’re all at 28. It’s really hard to evaluate. Chicago saw beyond that; they saw the size, the sheer size of Patrick Williams, and his skill set, and disregarded the production. So you have to take that with a grain of salt, because (FSU coach Leonard Hamilton’s) going to have a 10- to 12-man rotation. If Scottie was playing 35 minutes a night, that production would have been far up.
Final thought: The Cavs are huge on "culture" and wanting players who are completely unselfish and just want to win. They like workaholics. Barnes seems to be everything they value from a personal standpoint. They want more length and athleticism on the wings. If they are convinced Barnes is going to keep working on his shot until he gets it (Larry Nance Jr turned himself into a decent 3-point shooter and also Sexton, who had serious questions about his outside shooting when he was drafted) they might look to trade that #3 pick, if it's Green, to a team that drafts Barnes, probably Orlando.
Barnes actually sounds like a taller version of Okoro, or a Larry Nance, Jr clone. The conventional wisdom is that the Cavs, who were near the bottom in scoring last year, need to get a scorer to take the pressure off Sexton and Garland. They already have all these guys who can't create their own shot, especially in the half-court offense; Nance, Love, Allen, Cedi, Okoro, Wade. They could use either a power forward (Love is running on fumes and Nance is a 3) or a shot creator (like Green). One of them will be there. But if it's Green and the opportunity is there to exchange him for a better fit in Barnes plus multiple future assets, I could see it happening.