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Cleveland Cavaliers: Grading each member of the young core

By Tony Pesta

CLEVELAND, OHIO - FEBRUARY 03: Collin Sexton #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers taunts the New York Knicks bench after scoring during the first half at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on February 03, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO - FEBRUARY 03: Collin Sexton #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers taunts the New York Knicks bench after scoring during the first half at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on February 03, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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Cleveland Cavaliers (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
Cleveland Cavaliers (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Cleveland Cavaliers have placed their fate in the hands of their young core. How has each member performed this season?

Entering year two of their rebuild, the Cleveland Cavaliers hoped to see significant improvement from their young core. Now that we have hit the midpoint of the 2019-20 NBA season, it’s time to reflect on what we have seen thus far.

Currently, the Cavaliers have four active players that can be considered part of the “young core.” These players are Kevin Porter Jr. (19), Darius Garland (20), Collin Sexton (21) and Cedi Osman (24). Still yet to make his NBA debut is Dylan Windler (23) who is sidelined for the remainder of the season with a lower leg injury.

Each member of the core is either a rookie or sophomore aside from Osman, who is playing in his third NBA season. Even so, this is only Osman’s second season as a rotational player in the league.

With this many young players on the roster, it is a huge disappointment to see the Cavaliers left unrepresented in the NBA’s Rising Stars Challenge. It feels as if they could have easily had three members selected to the roster but are ultimately left with none.

The Cavaliers are sitting with a 13-39 record which makes them the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference behind only the Atlanta Hawks. Most of the blame has to fall on the young core who have repeatedly blown leads due to bad execution late in games.

The franchise has a lot of questions to answer regarding each player’s fit together. The Cavaliers are in desperate need of a few things but it’s important to first evaluate the talent that is already on the roster. Here are grades for each member of the young core in order from the youngest to oldest players.

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