Cavaliers should consider BPA come draft time
The NBA Draft Lottery is approaching and the discussions about just what the Cleveland Cavaliers should do with their draft pick are beginning to intensify.
The exact pick the Cleveland Cavaliers will have in the NBA Draft will not be known until next week. The Cavaliers share equal odds at the Number 1 pick with the Knicks and Suns. Once the pick is known through the process of the NBA Draft Lottery, discussions about Cleveland’s pick can be a little more defined.Until now they have been mostly in the hypothetical realm and with that scenarios about things which may or may not happen have been commonplace. There is one thing that must be made clear in these discussions. The Cavaliers must consider the best player available to them when they make their pick.
There can be a case made to select position and not talent and this strategy has a history of mixed results. Teams have made the mistake many times of not drafting certain players because they already have a player at a certain position. There is no reason to continue this terrible process. Especially in an era of position-less basketball. A team can stockpile smaller players who can shoot from deep. The coach can mix and match rotations to capitalize on matchups.
One argument that has existed against the Cavaliers drafting Zion Williamson is that he does not necessarily fit with Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson. By the time the team is ready to compete again it is unlikely that one or both players are still on the team. If they are still in Cleveland it is quite possible they are coming off the bench rather than starting. The presence of Love and Thompson should not impact Cleveland if they have the chance to take Williamson.
What if Zion is off the board?
If they do not have the chance to draft Zion Williamson they need to take whoever they believe is the best player available to them. This needs to be a decision based on talent, not on position. If that is Ja Morant, take Ja Morant. If it is R.J. Barrett or Jarrett Culver, make that the pick. Cleveland needs top end talent in the worst way that they cannot afford to bypass a player due a position.
This pick will help shape the future in Cleveland. The next player the Cavaliers draft should slide right into the starting lineup and make an instant impact. Starting alongside Collin Sexton, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson. (That is if Love and Thompson are still on the roster next season). Cleveland needs someone who can make an impact now and in the future. Taking the player who they consider to be the best available with their pick is the best way to make that happen.
