The Cleveland Cavaliers got some lottery luck Tuesday night. moving up in the process to get the third overall pick in this summer’s draft.
Now, the speculation can begin. What should the Cavs do this summer so they can win more often during the 2021-22 season.
You have to assume the Pistons will select Cade Cunningham with the first overall pick, so Cleveland will be reliant on what the Rockets will do with the second overall pick. But likely they will have to choose between USC big man Evan Mobley, Gonzaga point guard Jalen Suggs, or Jalen Green, who spent the season in the G League.
Any of those choices would likely cause of reshuffling of the roster, at least to us.
Why take the 7’0″ Mobley if the wine and gold will be offering Jarrett Allen a long term contract this off-season? Our other issue on him is his weight, he likely needs to put on 30-40 pounds to withstand the pounding NBA big men take inside. He will surely have to play there on the defensive end.
As for drafting Mobley and dealing Allen? We know the type of player Allen is and he is just 23 years old. He’s demonstrated he can play and will likely continue to get better. If Allen were approaching 30, trading him might make sense. Right now, he seems to be a guy you should be building around.
Green is a 6’6″ shooting guard, which would seem to put four players (Green, Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, and Isaac Okoro) at guard, but only two can play at a time, and you can only get enough minutes to keep three of them happy. We understand Okoro played small forward much of his rookie year, but his size would seem to indicate his future is at guard.
The second best player in the draft after Cunningham just might be Suggs, the 6’4″ lead guard who helped take his college team to the NCAA title game. If Houston passes on him, the Cavs almost have to take him, right?
GM Koby Altman’s history has been to pick the best player available, so if Houston passes on Suggs (they have John Wall, although they are probably trying to move him), do the Cavs take him? Again, if they do, it would seem they would have to reshuffle the roster, particularly in the backcourt.
He’s strong, a good passer, and can defend either guard spot.
For us, we would take either Suggs or Green and then see what you can get for one of the starting guards currently on the roster, and try to fill the biggest position of need (as we see it) on the roster, that being at small forward. Cleveland desperately needs someone at that spot that demands attention from other teams defensively.
Which leads us to the other debate surrounding the Cavs this week, would/should they try to get Ben Simmons if Philadelphia wants to move him?
That answer is unequivocally yes. Simmons is probably one of the top 25-30 players in the league, his playoff performance vs. Atlanta not withstanding.
No, he’s not a good shooter, but on the other hand, he knows it and does force shots. He’s a very good passer, good rebounder, and was runner up for defensive player of the year, something the Cavaliers need badly.
Now, the question is do the Cavs have what the Sixers want? My guess is they would want Garland and Larry Nance Jr. for starters. That’s the bigger question.
Our guess is winding up with the third pick will mean a roster shakeup for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and a reshuffling of what has been ridiculously called the “Core Four”.
Get ready for an interesting basketball summer.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 