Whom the Cleveland Cavaliers Should Target in the 2015 NBA Draft
The Cleveland Cavaliers surely aren't satisfied with the result of their 2014-15 season. They may have advanced to the final round of the NBA playoffs, but they had to watch as the Golden State Warriors celebrated their title at the center of Quicken Loans Arena. That's going to be the driving motivation throughout the offseason, and the process of improving the team begins in earnest on June 25 at the 2015 NBA draft.
That night, the Cavs will begin with two picks, though they could add to or subtract from that pair if general manager David Griffin engages in some wheeling and dealing. Cleveland will first be on the clock at No. 24, and it'll have time to celebrate its first selection and prepare for the next before coming back up at No. 53.
This offseason will surely be a complicated and involved one for the Cavaliers, especially with LeBron James and Kevin Love both expected to opt out of their deals and pursue new contracts to stay in Northeast Ohio. Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova will be negotiating as restricted free agents, and there's no telling how Griffin will choose to fill out the rest of the roster.
But everything begins with the draft.
Despite the postseason success the Cavs experienced during the first season of the second James era, this isn't a perfect roster. There's room for improvement, and each of the two picks offers opportunities to solidify one of a few weaknesses.
Jonathan Wasserman's Big Board
1 of 6If you need a quick glance at the order of resident draft guru Jonathan Wasserman's big board, we've got you covered above.
Option No. 1 in 1st Round: A Point Guard to Spell Kyrie Irving
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Matthew Dellavedova was a fun story during the NBA Finals. He worked his tail off on the defensive end, literally played to the point of exhaustion and actually managed to slow down Stephen Curry early in the series, though he was aided by some uncharacteristic misfires from the league's newest MVP.
But if the Cleveland Cavaliers do bring him back now that he's a restricted free agent, his role can't be as large. Dellavedova is best suited as a guy who plays hard against the starters in practice and eats up only a few minutes per game; he's not quite good enough to be the primary backup to Kyrie Irving on a team that can win a championship.
The facts seemed to get lost in the narrative during the Finals. Even including his 20-point outburst in Game 3, Dellavedova averaged just 7.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists while spending nearly 32 minutes per contest on the floor. Making matters worse, he connected on only 28.3 percent of his field-goal attempts and hit his threes at a 23.1 percent clip. According to RealGM.com, his player efficiency rating was 3.7, better than only the mark produced by James Jones.
Despite the cult-hero status he seemed to earn in June, a change is needed, and the Cavs should have their eyes on a number of targets. The first round of this draft figures to be swarming with point guards, though the organization can basically write off getting its hands on D'Angelo Russell, Emmanuel Mudiay or Cameron Payne, all of whom seem to function as lottery locks.
Still, there are a number of reasonable candidates here.
Tyus Jones, fresh off helping lead the Duke Blue Devils to a national title, may be a bit of a stretch, but the Cavs shouldn't hesitate to snatch him off the board if he's there. The same goes for Jerian Grant, who averaged 16.5 points and 6.7 dimes during his final season with Notre Dame.
But even if the two second-tier floor generals are both off the board, there are another two who could fill the void for the reigning Eastern Conference champions.
First, we have Delon Wright from Utah. The 6'5" guard needs to add a bit of strength to his frame, but he already has the size necessary to see over most players at his position, and he certainly has the requisite skill to excel in the NBA. Though his jumper isn't finely tuned yet, he's comfortable operating in pick-and-roll sets and thrives when making quick decisions—part of the reason he was such an efficient player in college.
Plus, he has plenty of defensive upside.
Louisville's Terry Rozier doesn't have the same natural aptitude for running the point, but he's a terrific athlete capable of contributing on both ends of the floor. He's more of a natural scorer, displaying plenty of confidence when he's attacking the interior of a defense or pulling up off the dribble from the outside.
In many ways, Wright is a point guard trapped in a shooting guard's body, and Rozier is the exact opposite. But both could certainly work in Cleveland, and either would help shore up the team's biggest hole.
Option No. 2 in 1st Round: Find a Backup Stretch 4
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In the modern NBA, every team needs to have a few frontcourt options who can score from outside the paint. But given the playing style of Cleveland's biggest stars, the Cavaliers have an even more dire need for that type of contribution, as Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz recently explained:
"A power forward who can shoot from the outside is invaluable on a team with drivers like LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. Both players need their space to get to the basket, which is not easily accomplished between two big men who do their work in the paint.
The closest thing the Cavaliers had to a power forward who can shoot was James Jones, primarily a wing throughout his career. While he could space the floor, he struggled to rebound and defend the post.
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Kevin Love certainly fills this role, but he's only one player, and he's dealt with plenty of injuries throughout his career. Whether he unexpectedly leaves for a new location in free agency or returns to the team that experienced so much playoff success without him, another stretch 4 isn't just necessary; it's vital to the success of the organization.
No matter how much work he puts in over the offseason, Tristan Thompson isn't magically going to fill this role. No one else on the roster is, either.
But there's one troubling reality about this year's draft class. The Cavs' first pick of the proceedings comes at No. 24, and there's no frontcourt player projected to go in that range who is ready to step in as a stretchy rotation member right away. A handful of prospects have that type of potential, but it's going to take a while for it to manifest itself on the court.
Kevon Looney is the best example. The UCLA product would have plenty to talk about with Love, who shares the same alma mater, and he's shown signs of an expanding range. When given time to set his feet and fire away, he can drain outside jumpers, but he has a slow release that allows plenty of defenders to contest his looks and throw him slightly off. Jonathan Givony expands for DraftExpress.com:
"Looney also shows potential as a floor-spacer, knocking down 22 of his 53 attempts (41.5%) from beyond the arc on the season in the 36 games he played in. The sample size leaves something to be desired here, particularly when you consider the fact that he shot just 63% from the free throw line, but his mechanics are solid and he appears to fairly consistent when shooting with his feet set. When defenses close out too aggressively, Looney has the ability to attack closeouts and make his way to the basket in a straight line, although he does not have any type of pull-up jumper at this stage due to his rudimentary footwork and slow release, making just 5 of his 21 off the dribble attempts on the season.
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Of course, there are other options.
Guillermo Hernangomez isn't your typical international pick who goes late in the first round. He's ready to come across the pond right away and show off his skills at the NBA level. And fortunately for the Cavs, the Spaniard's skills should eventually include some pick-and-pop work, though that will require plenty more consistency than he currently displays.
Montrezl Harrell improved his mid-range jumper throughout his time at Louisville, and players such as Jarrell Martin (LSU) and Richaun Holmes (Bowling Green) could be solid reach candidates for the Cavs as well. The latter is particularly intriguing after hitting 41.9 percent of his three-point attempts during his final year with the Falcons.
Option No. 3 in 1st Round: A Trade
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The Cavaliers don't have to use their No. 24 pick. If they're not in love with any of the point guards or potential stretch 4s who are left on the board, they can package it with Brendan Haywood and make a move for an immediate contributor.
In fact, they're already thinking about doing exactly that.
As ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst reported, "Days after the end of the Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers are working on upgrading their roster by shopping the potentially valuable contract of Brendan Haywood, and—in some cases—offering it along with the 24th overall pick in Thursday's draft, sources told ESPN.com."
Haywood the basketball player is no longer a valuable commodity. Now 35 years old, the center played in only 22 games for the Cavaliers during the 2014-15 campaign and recorded a total of 35 points. For context, 38 different players needed only a single game this past season to score as many points as he did throughout the year.
But Haywood's contract falls on the opposite end of the spectrum.
Per ShamSports.com, he's owed $10,522,500 for the 2015-16 season, but the deal will only become guaranteed if he's retained past August 1. If his team waives him on or before that magic date, he's wiped off the books entirely. As Windhorst explains, "This could be attractive to a team looking to either offload salary now or use it as part of another deal that could be executed during free agency in July."
And for the Cavs, that also means they can seek out another player they wouldn't otherwise be able to get their hands on.
They can call the Denver Nuggets and ask about Wilson Chandler. They can see how much the Toronto Raptors value Greivis Vasquez, and the same is true of Jarrett Jack and the Brooklyn Nets, who so desperately need some more financial flexibility. If the Los Angeles Clippers are willing to move Jamal Crawford, that could be another option.
There are plenty of veterans who could help out this team, and the certainty of those additions could be more valuable than taking a flier at No. 24 if the primary targets are already off the board.
Option No. 1 in the 2nd Round: Strong Perimeter Defender
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There's no such thing as having too many wing defenders.
However, the Cleveland Cavaliers don't have an excess of players who can reasonably fit into that category. LeBron James certainly does. Iman Shumpert does as well, and J.R. Smith is occasionally capable of looking like such a commodity. But beyond them, they're running on empty.
According to Basketball-Reference.com, the Cavaliers only rostered seven players this season who finished the year with positive defensive box plus/minuses, indicating that everyone else was worse than a league-average defender would've been on an average team:
- Iman Shumpert: 1.3 DBPM
- Brendan Haywood: 1.3 DBPM
- LeBron James: 1.2 DBPM
- Anderson Varejao: 1.0 DBPM
- Timofey Mozgov: 0.8 DBPM
- Shawn Marion: 0.7 DBPM
- Will Cherry: 0.7 DBPM
Especially with Shawn Marion retiring—and it's not like he played much in the first place—that's not exactly promising. Cleveland has to find a way to boost its ability on the less glamorous end, even if the team did begin to coalesce on defense during the postseason run.
Fortunately, adding a point-preventing contributor should be possible with the No. 53 pick.
If Notre Dame's Patrick Connaughton doesn't end up rising too high up the boards, he'd be the perfect find. Sure, he can shoot from the corners, but his primary asset may well be his defensive mentality. The wing player has an uncanny ability to anticipate the development of plays, and the combination of his length and impressive athletic tools allows him to wreak havoc both on and off the ball.
Beyond the former member of the Fighting Irish, Stanford's Anthony Brown could overcome his lack of elite physical tools to become a strong defender at the next level. Josh Richardson is another option after making the SEC All-Defense team during his final season at Tennessee.
If Connaughton is gone, the Cavs aren't out of luck, even though they're drafting so far down in the proceedings.
Option No. 2 in the 2nd Round: Never Enough Shooting
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It's no longer possible to roster too many three-point shooters. The NBA continues to trend in a direction that values perimeter marksmanship more and more, and that's not going to change anytime soon.
The Cavs certainly qualified as a jump-shooting team for much of the year, but now they have to reload with some younger players. James Jones and Mike Miller will both be playing out their age-35 seasons during the 2015-16 campaign, and Cleveland would be wise to find replacements for the two veterans who have achieved so much success next to LeBron James.
Every draft class is filled with players capable of knocking down shots from the perimeter. This one isn't going to be any different. And among the many second-rounders who could fill this role, Michael Frazier stands out.
| 2012-13 | 3.1 | 46.8 |
| 2013-14 | 6.8 | 44.5 |
| 2014-15 | 5.8 | 38.0 |
As you can see above, Frazier produced some rather elite jump-shooting numbers during his three seasons with the Florida Gators, and his shooting form indicates that the transition to the next level and its deeper arc won't cause him too much trouble.
Writing for Yahoo Sports, DraftExpress.com's Jonathan Givony provided a detailed breakdown of this class' shooting numbers, and Frazier ranked in the top five for catch-and-shoot points per 40 minutes (No. 5), three-pointers attempted per 40 minutes (No. 2) and free-throw percentage (No. 4), all of which are good indicators of future shooting success in the Association.
"I'm the best shooter in the draft," Frazier recently told reporters after a workout, per Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel. He might not be too far off the mark, which is normally true of his perimeter shooting, as well.
Of course, some team could snatch Frazier off the board earlier, and that wouldn't exactly be the end of Cleveland's hopes for a shooter. Patrick Connaughton also fits this role, and the same is true of Eastern Washington's Tyler Harvey, UC Davis' Corey Hawkins, Spanish small forward Daniel Diez and Israeli swingman Shawn Dawson, among others.
All stats, unless otherwise indicated, come from Basketball-Reference.com.
Adam Fromal covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @fromal09
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