Cavaliers Fantasy Trade Thread: 2020 Draft

[JJ_PR]

If I saw Achiuwa as a more athletic Luol Deng I'd certainly be on board. But even against a pretty soft NCAA schedule it was clear that Achiuwa isn't a savvy passer or a crafty ballhandler the way Deng was. Unless he has a straight line to the rim, putting the ball in his hands isn't going to be an efficient option in the NBA, so unless he makes big improvements to his game I expect him to end up in an energy guy role.

As for Smith, I think Collins is a good comparison and I agree that he's rather limited in some ways. I just brought him up because he seems like a pretty safe bet to competently space the floor on offense and defend the paint on defense, which makes him a very useful if unspectacular kind of player.

I think they'll both be competent in that regard. I just like Achiuwa better because of his versatility on defense, being able to guard both the paint & the perimeter. He's just 20 years old, there's alot of areas he can improve on.

 

[Nathan S]

I think they'll both be competent in that regard. I just like Achiuwa better because of his versatility on defense, being able to guard both the paint & the perimeter. He's just 20 years old, there's alot of areas he can improve on.

I buy that Achiuwa is potentially more versatile on defense, though Smith is a bit more proven if you're just looking for blocks and rebounds. Also worth mentioning that Smith is actually half a year younger than Achiuwa, so could also realistically learn some new tricks.

 

[adam81king]

So, we're at the point of the off-season where we're talking about the Cavaliers having 7-8 rookies, 2nd and 3rd year players on their roster?

 

[Randolphkeys]

So, we're at the point of the off-season where we're talking about the Cavaliers having 7-8 rookies, 2nd and 3rd year players on their roster?

We are definitely at the point in the off-season where people forget this is considered one of the worst drafts of the past two decades, and people are ready to go all in on it anyways.

 

[JJ_PR]

Just because we have Kevin Love doesn't mean we should shy away from some of these prospects.

I would be weary of calling this draft "weak". Remember the time a draft was called "historically bad"? Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Kemba Walker, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris & Nikola Vucevic.

This draft has loads of talent.

 

[Randolphkeys]

Just because we have Kevin Love doesn't mean we should shy away from some of these prospects.

I would be weary of calling this draft "weak". Remember the time a draft was called "historically bad"? Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Kemba Walker, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris & Nikola Vucevic.

This draft has loads of talent.

Be accurate, the 2011 draft was thought to have a clear top two players - Kyrie and Derrick Williams - followed by a second tier of strong European talent, which at the time was still not completely trusted due to some bad scouting in the previous half decade. The third tier had some college players who had weaknesses but should still be starters. As it turned out, Williams was worse than advertised, half of the Europeans ended up solid but not spectacular, and the Americans like Kemba, TT, and Kawhi did end up improving on their more flawed aspects. That was considered a decent draft at the time, just not 2003 or 2009, which had been considered elite.

This draft is being compared to the 2000 or 2013 classes, which lacked top tier talent and even the second tier would align with the third tier of a great draft. This draft has about ten guys who should be solid starters and afterwards role players off the bench. Things may always change if a player makes an unexpected leap. In 2013, Steven Adams and Greek Freak made huge jumps while others didn't. That's where we are right now.

So for myself, I'm focused on making a big board of the top five until we know where the Cavs select on August 20th. I'm not worrying too much about the mid-first round aside from my interest in the NBA as a whole because the chances of the Cavs giving up assets in a questionable draft is really low.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Why not? The Cavs are rebuilding. It makes sense to add youth to the roster. Besides, 3 of those guys could become starters once we move on from Drummond & Love.
PG: Sexton
SG: Porter Jr.
SF: Bey
PF: Achiuwa
C: Wiseman

That's fine to rebuild and acquire young talent, but you can not accumulate so much young,raw players and expect to establish a winning culture and a good team. There are always sacrifices, and I don't believe a team can maximize their player's potential when they keep gathering middling talent that don't have real defined role/skillset yet. And with all due respect, even Wiseman's ceiling is still unknown.

I think adding youth, and especially raw youth is good when it's done in moderation without sacrificing the current 'core'. I think it would be wise to try to acquire picks for the 2021/2022 drafts which are projected to be much stronger and would give us time to evaluate the players that we have on the team to make more sound choices.

 

[Vipra]

It's hard to see many teams willing to trade up in this draft, but there can be a few situations where a team might.
If the Cavs land #1 or #2 pick in the draft, some team desperate to land Ball/Wiseman/Edwards but without lottery luck, might trade up. We might land multiple first rounders in this year's draft. I don't foresee any team surrendering next year's first rounder.

I'm loosely using the B/R mock draft for picking the prospects.

Trading up for Ball:
Bulls (7?, 47) - Cavs should not be interested
Knicks (6?, 27, 38) - One of Deni/ Vassell/ Hayes/ Toppin/ Haliburton should be available. Plus Pokusevski/ Oturu/ Jalen Smith
Pistons (5?, future pick) - It's complicated

Trading up for Wiseman:
Celts (17, 26, 30) - Achiuwa/ Nesmith/ Bey, plus Pokusevski/ Oturu/ Jalen Smith
Kings (12, 35) - Vassell/ Nesmith, plus Pokusevski/ Oturu/ Jalen Smith

Trading up for Edwards:
Knicks
Bulls
Pistons
Wolves (3?, 16, 33) - One of Deni/ Vassell/ Hayes/ Toppin/ Haliburton should be available. Plus Achiuwa/ Nesmith/ Bey

None of these has a good chance of really happening. But then what are the armchairs for?

 

[JJ_PR]

If the Cavs are gonna tank & follow the OKC model, might as well add as many good young players as possible. That's what OKC did.
PG: Collin Sexton
SG: Kevin Porter Jr.
SF: Saddiq Bey
PF: Precious Achiuwa
C: James Wiseman
That backcourt is very similar to what OKC had in Westbrook/Harden. They where never able to draft a big like Wiseman though.

 

[JJ_PR]

It's hard to see many teams willing to trade up in this draft, but there can be a few situations where a team might.
If the Cavs land #1 or #2 pick in the draft, some team desperate to land Ball/Wiseman/Edwards but without lottery luck, might trade up. We might land multiple first rounders in this year's draft. I don't foresee any team surrendering next year's first rounder.

I'm loosely using the B/R mock draft for picking the prospects.

Trading up for Ball:
Bulls (7?, 47) - Cavs should not be interested
Knicks (6?, 27, 38) - One of Deni/ Vassell/ Hayes/ Toppin/ Haliburton should be available. Plus Pokusevski/ Oturu/ Jalen Smith
Pistons (5?, future pick) - It's complicated

Trading up for Wiseman:
Celts (17, 26, 30) - Achiuwa/ Nesmith/ Bey, plus Pokusevski/ Oturu/ Jalen Smith
Kings (12, 35) - Vassell/ Nesmith, plus
Pokusevski/ Oturu/ Jalen Smith

Trading up for Edwards:
Knicks
Bulls
Pistons
Wolves (3?, 16, 33) - One of Deni/ Vassell/ Hayes/ Toppin/ Haliburton should be available. Plus Achiuwa/ Nesmith/ Bey

None of these has a good chance of really happening. But, what are the armchairs for?

The Cavs should not get cute & trade down. Secure Wiseman & trade back into the first round using Garland. We also have the Bucks pick which could net us another first in this years draft.

That's what I would do.

 

[Derek]

The Cavs should not get cute & trade down. Secure Wiseman & trade back into the first round using Garland. We also have the Bucks pick which could net us another first in this years draft.

That's what I would do.

Why do you want so many picks in this year's draft?

Trading last year's #5 pick for a pick in this year's draft would be selling at a tremendous loss.

I say, use the picks we have, and if you want to unload some guys, it should be for future picks.

 

[JJ_PR]

Why do you want so many picks in this year's draft?

Trading last year's #5 pick for a pick in this year's draft would be selling at a tremendous loss.

I say, use the picks we have, and if you want to unload some guys, it should be for future picks.

We only have 1 pick in this years draft. I'd say, since we have to trade one of our pg's & my preferance is Sexton over Garland, might as well trade him for a prospect in this draft.

Value wise, it isn't the best, but I think it's better than trading him for middling future firsts.

 

[Derek]

We only have 1 pick in this years draft. I'd say, since we have to trade one of our pg's & my preferance is Sexton over Garland, might as well trade him for a prospect in the draft.

Value wise, it isn't the best, but I think it's better than trading him for middling future firsts.

I think one pick is enough in this draft considering Windler will be a rookie next season as well.

Plus, no summer league, shortened off-season, probably starting next year in a bubble... Not very conducive to bringing in a lot of new faces.

 

[JJ_PR]

I think one pick is enough in this draft considering Windler will be a rookie next season as well.

Plus, no summer league, shortened off-season, probably starting next year in a bubble... Not very conducive to bringing in a lot of new faces.

We're in the middle of a rebuild. Give me as many fresh faces as possible. I want to see a youth movement on this team. This draft has loads of talent at positions of need.

I remember in '13 people saying the same thing. "We don't want to bring too many rookies". Cavs ended up bringing 4 rookies that offseason.

As long as the Cavs bring the right players, it isn't an issue imo.

 

[JJ_PR]

Another prospect I'd like to see the Cavs give a hard look: Ty-Shon Alexander, 6'4" Jr. combo guard out of Creighton. He's a combo guard that can create his own shot & was playing so well he was shooting up the draft boards.

If the Cavs can buy a second round pick, I hope they use it on this guy. He could be a fantastic bench plug for us moving forward.