Cleveland Cavaliers: 2018 NBA Draft grades
The Cleveland Cavaliers found themselves in unfamiliar territory in the 2018 NBA Draft, but they made due with what was in front of them.
The NBA offseason has officially begun after the 2018 NBA Draft on Thursday, and the Cleveland Cavaliers made a big move on the clock. They were in the draft lottery, not because of their record, but after a trade they made with the Brooklyn Nets. They acquired the Nets’ 2018 first round pick from the Boston Celtics after trading Kyrie Irving this past offseason for Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder.
That trade ultimately fell apart, but the Cavaliers made it all the way to the NBA Finals this past season. They were swept by the Golden State Warriors, so there’s certainly room for improvement.
It will be a big offseason ahead of them as LeBron James mulls whether or not to exercise his player option and flee for greener pastures. The deadline for that is June 29. If James opts out, he would become an unrestricted free agent.
The help James needs comes with the eighth pick in the NBA Draft. Given the plethora of talent, the Cleveland front office did well to add a new weapon to its arsenal.
The Cleveland Cavs saw seven players taken ahead of point guard Collin Sexton, but they seemed undeterred in drafting the former Alabama Crimson Tide star with the eighth pick in the draft.
Sexton brings a competitive-style of basketball to Cleveland a la Russell Westbrook 2.0, if not toned down a little bit. He was a one-and-done star in the NCAA ranks in 2017-18, averaging 19.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game at Alabama.
The 6’3″, 190-pound floor general led the Crimson Tide to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2011-12 season despite their 19-15 record to complete the regular season.
He put up a career-high 40 points on 12-of-22 shooting against the Minnesota Gophers back on Thanksgiving Day, and 17 of those points came after Alabama was left with just three eligible players due to a bench-clearing altercation during the game.
The Cavaliers found themselves enamored with Sexton, one of the top point guards in the draft next to Trae Young. It wasn’t because of a big workout either, but due to his competitive nature and performance in game settings:
The Cavs were ultimately won over by Collin Sexton's competitiveness, character and overall drive. He did not have a knockout individual workout in CLE in terms of skill work or shooting, but the team was enamored by him as a person and what they saw from him in game settings.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) June 22, 2018
The trade does bring back shades of the Miami Heat when they drafted point guard Shabazz Napier back in the 2014 NBA Draft, but this one feels a bit different.
Sexton is a key addition whether as a starter or off the bench, particularly in the scoring department when you look at the Cavaliers’ returning roster. Jose Calderon and Rodney Hood will both be free agents this offseason, leaving a void to fill in the backcourt.
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Collin Sexton is a terrible replacement though, considering he shot 44.7 percent from the floor and 33.6 percent from the 3-point arc in college.
Cleveland certainly helps its case by drafting a young score-first point guard to potentially pair alongside LeBron James for the future. The eighth pick in the NBA Draft was their only pick of the night and the Cavs’ first draft pick since 2015.
Going two seasons without a draft pick has certainly caught up with the Cavaliers when you look at young talent across the league. The Celtics seem to be getting younger by the year, as do the Philadelphia 76ers, who reaped the benefits of their own lottery pick in this year’s draft.
Getting younger while also gaining talent also helps in the potential LeBron James free agency sweepstakes. Current rumors have James deciding between Cleveland and the Los Angeles Lakers as possible landing spots this offseason.
Sexton wasn’t hesitant either about what he thought LeBron should do either, saying he wants to get back to the Finals with James next season as a rookie. Given all of that, consider the draft an overall good night for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Next: Complete 2018 NBA Draft grades for all 30 teams
Grade: B+