Ok, so the way I see it, the Cavs spent most of last season being amongst the league's best in defence, while being middle of the pack offensively even during the better period where we didn't have injuries. That automatically makes me want to go for a prospect that can contribute in some sense on the offensive end. One that can play the wing and one that can do multiple things, because if you think about it, our problem isn't wing depth, it's that all of our wings (or players we put there) are somewhat limited:
- Markkanen: Best at shooting, can trouble on the boards and defensively on the perimeter because of his size, but both are relatively inconsistent, still going to be starting at the 3 next season unless something major happens.
- Okoro: Good defensively against guards/small wings, improving as a 3-point shooter (although slowly) but still limited outside of this. If he added some minor dribbling ability or movement shooting, things would open right up. Still high on him, he's the same age as a fair number of this draft class.
- Cedi: Can shoot, can't defend. Can dribble in the open floor, but if you rely on it regularly turnovers and dumb mistakes will undoubtedly happen.
- Wade: Can defend his position, occasionally shoot, sometimes feels like it would be better if he just was more selfish occasionally.
- Stevens: Under-rated defender well due to his combination of being quicker than most of our forwards and having more bulk than Okoro. Shot and consistency still uncertain and will be 25 when the next season starts though.
- Windler: Can shoot, in theory. Can play, in theory. Unlucky with injuries, tbf.
So, we want a wing that can do multiple things. We want a wing that can score, preferably with some level of distance shooting. We want a wing that can defend. Having a wing that can make plays would also reduce some of the burden off Garland's shoulders and likely help our half-court offence anyway. Having a wing that could provide dribble penetration would be nice.
We will not get all of these things in the same prospect. There is no wing prospect in this draft that does all of these things, certainly not one that will drop to us. So these are my opinions on the wings in the draft that will either go ahead of us or we should probably at least think about.
- Jabari Smith: Not getting him. But has a lot of the tools we'd want. Not getting him
- Mathurin: Not getting him. Again, see above, although Mathurin's defence typically shows up when he's motivated.
- Daniels: Not getting him. Not a great shot, but excellent perimeter defender and distributor. Seeing him with the bench unit of Cedi and Love would be pretty nice. Not getting him though.
- Griffin: Not getting him, unless all the teams above us freak out about his injury history. In which case it becomes a gamble of injury reoccurrence or lucking out that his body adapts. Excellent shooter, and while his defensive liabilities are a concern, I think he's got the tools to at least pull his own weight in the long run. Still hasn't turned 19 so a longer devlopment opportunity.
- Dieng: Could drop, still doubtful. Got one of the highest potential ceilings out of anyone in this draft, but his floor could also be below NBA level. Honestly just seems like a wild swing to try and link all of the flashes into a more consistent basis that would make him a good player. Whichever team drafts should probably prepare for two years minimum of this guy not being an NBA level player.
- Johnny Davis: Doubt he drops, and honestly projects more as a two way two guard than a wing. Think a lot of the concerns about his offence, while understandable, are pretty fixable, especially given that in the long run he'd likely be playing off Garland. Think the reason why scouts consider him so highly is because he was his teams best attacker and best defender and the amount of effort that takes is pretty rare in a college player.
- Sochan: Doubt he drops, seems to be too much hype. I actually really like him a lot, but I would be more reserved about his fit on the Cavs. Honestly think he's a much better prospect than Eason, who's in a similar mold of player, for reasons I'll cover down there. Also still 19, while Eason's 21.
- Malaki Branham: May be available, and has potential to grow into a good 3 level scorer, but I don't particularly like his fit. He doesn't have burst to beat players on the dribble, if he goes to the rim typically one of his big men will have sealed off the rim protecter (do we want to give Allen and Mobley even more wear and tear?). He shown to have good C&S 3, but that A) would just reduce him to a guy standing on the perimeter on those offensive plays and B) he seems to tend going towards the midrange anyway. His method for getting to his midrange spots is fairly slow as well. And his defence is bad. Really bad. I don't particularly agree that he's really got good defensive tools other than size either, the same lack of burst that limits him offensively also limits him defensively, and every time he encounters a screen he just dies. Gets good height on his jumper, and can operate basic P&R and absorbs contact well, but not overly enthused about everything else.
- Eason: Amazing defensive and physical prospect. I have questions about literally everything else. Shot 36% on 3s but only attempted 70. Fouled out on six seperate occasions, one of them within the span of seven minutes. Got 33 assists but also 73 turnovers. I do think the whole not driving left thing is an issue given that he's 21 as well, Franz Wagner had a similar problem when he was drafted but he was 19 or just turned 20, and was less prone to just recklessly trying to force his way to his right. Again, I do think he's a really good defender, but I wouldn't be certain of trusting literally anything else. Also, think his best play as a defender is being that roaming guy that gambles on the passing lane, etc. But we already have a roaming defender in Mobley who just focuses on making our defence watertight rather than making gambles. Think the Cavs want a more 1v1 defender that just focuses on frustrating their man and eventually having the last laugh rather than getting the steals and the highlight dunks. To me Eason just feels like he's got amazing physical tools, but that his technical and skills development is a pretty random mishmash of different things, and I fear you would spend more time just filling in the gaps of that development before you could start building on it.
- Jalen Williams: Should be available. Can run an offence with playmaking, has shown to be a good C&S 3 shooter, but also shown progress into developing a dribble pull-up 3. Lateral quickness is an issue, but with his wingspan I don't think you have to improve it that much until it's viable. Not that concerned about how gangly and somewhat awkward his play style is at the moment, we know he recently went through a growth spurt. Also wouldn't be surprised if you put him on an NBA level nutrition and workout plan and his body either A) gains at least an inch or two in height (that wingspan to height difference is extreme even by NBA standards) or B) gained some more muscle and mass while retaining speed. Could end up being a guy that causes mismatch problems with most of the league given his skills and frame, and again, his defence isn't good but he has consistently shown a level of effort and paying attention to the defensive scheme.
- Agbaji: Really good movement shooter, decent size and defence, but doesn't change much for the Cavs moving forward in terms of reliance on Darius to create. Would likely be a more reliable option than Cedi, Wade, Stevens and Windler, but doesn't create for others or dribble. Do think his gravity caused by his movement shooting could help lure defenders away from other options, but ultimately will just be a more consistent version of what we already have.
- Dalen Terry: An interesting option, again, more in the defending/playmaking mold like Dyson Daniels than what we're mostly looking at. Would like him if we weren't thinking about bringing Rubio back, but not at 14 when we're likely to have these other options on the board. Same with Beauchamp.
As you may have guessed Jalen Williams is my number one pick here simply because he's got a promising frame, ball handling and passing skills to actually contribute in the half-court and enough defensive promise that I think he'll eventually be able to carry his own weight there. That being said I think the front office have made enough sensible decisions recently that regardless of who they choose I'll be willing to accept they probably have good reasoning for doing so.
