The NBA Draft is three weeks away, and the rumors abound not only about what the Cleveland Cavaliers will do, but what the teams who have the first and second selections will do as well.
It is the silly season, that’s for sure.
There have been rumors about the Cavs trading up to #1, presumably to draft Cade Cunningham, the consensus (at least he has been) best player in the draft.
However, we have heard a lot of crazy stuff for sure since the draft lottery put Cleveland in the #3 position.
We heard one pundit say Jalen Green is going to average 30 points per game someday. Does that guy understand how hard that is?
Since 2010-11, there have been 10 occurrences of a player averaging 30 points per game, and six players have accomplished the feat: James Harden (3X), Bradley Beal and Stephen Curry (both twice), and Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Durant.
That’s it.
We aren’t saying Green will never be able to do it, but predicting that is just insane to us.
We have also seen a lot of discussion about the Cavs taking Evan Mobley if he is sitting there when the Cleveland picks. We would be very, very careful about that pick, mostly because we don’t know if Mobley can defend inside.
Yes, he will be able to block shots, but can he handle the pounding he will receive with his slight frame? We heard someone saying he might be a good NBA player in 2024, and that’s exactly the point here. We aren’t sure Koby Altman and J.B. Bickerstaff can wait.
It is our opinion that pretty much everyone who plays in the NBA can put the ball in the basket. Obviously, the best players in the game are the ones who can do it on an every night basis, but unsung guys will have games where they score 25 points one night. It happens all the time.
However, playing time is earned on what you can do on the defensive end. Yes, yes, we’ve heard folks who don’t understand the game say no one in the NBA plays defense. We would instruct those people to watch a few of the more recent All Star Games, where no one is really interested in stopping anyone.
So our question is can Mobley be good enough defensively to get significant playing time or is he a project? And if the latter is true, it’s difficult to use the third overall pick on him.
We also believe in size. Of course, everyone can come up with cases where an undersized player or team has succeeded in the NBA, but by and large, if you have skilled bigger athletes who can play the position, you have a better chance.
Why is LeBron James so great? One reason is he has the skills of a small forward, and is bigger than pretty much anyone he plays against. Someone once said about him that if you are as big as him, you aren’t as quick, and if you are as quick as him, you aren’t as big.
That sums it up.
And that’s another reason we feel the Cavs’ roster needs an overhaul, no matter who they draft at the end of this month.
If they draft Green, he could play small forward, but then where does Isaac Okoro fit in? Height-wise, Okoro is probably a #2 guard, but the Cavaliers already have Darius Garland and Collin Sexton. And Green probably fits better as a scoring guard anyway.
The same is true if they draft Jalen Suggs, the point guard out of Gonzaga. The players who fit the team’s biggest need, a small forward, would be the players considered to be the 5th and 6th best players available, Jonathan Kuminga and Scottie Barnes.
Then you have the age old problem of drafting for need instead of talent. That would be a tough thing to do considering the Cavs are a team that needs impact talent too.
We are interested in seeing how it all plays out…
Cleveland Sports Perspective 