Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Draft: Obi Toppin is team’s best fit

Obi Toppin stands out as the prospect that best correlates with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ needs for the future in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Rebuilding hasn’t been easy for the Cleveland Cavaliers thus far. Before the season was suspended, the Cavs sat with the worst record in the Eastern Conference. The road back to the playoffs is proving to be a grinding one and it will likely take more than a few years to reach their destination. Selecting Obi Toppin with their first-round 2020 NBA Draft pick looks like their best bet at speeding up the process.

Toppin had a great freshman season for Dayton last year when he broke out as an unexpected star. The bulky forward averaged 14.4 points and 5.6 rebounds on his way to becoming the 2018-19 A-10 Rookie of the Year.

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Rather than making the jump to the NBA right away, Toppin elected to return to Dayton for his sophomore season. A chance to hone his skills and notch another year of development under his belt turned out to be a great decision as he has improved in every way. Toppin increased his averages for points (20.0), rebounds (7.5), assists (2.2), blocks (1.2) and steals (1.0).

His magnified statistics may come from an increase in usage. After all, he started in all 31 games of his sophomore season and played over 100 more minutes. His efficiency didn’t change too much as his usage went up. He still shot above 60 percent from the field and connected on almost 40 percent of his 82 attempts from the 3-point line.

Consequently, Toppin soared his way into winning the AP Player of the Year, the Wooden Award and the Naismith Award. It’s evident that Toppin is one of the best prospects in his class, but how can he help the Cavaliers?

One of the biggest issues for the Cavs last season was their lack of consistent 3-point shooting. They ranked in the bottom 10 of the league for 3-point percentage as well as shots made and attempted. Only three players (Kevin Love, Cedi Osman and Collin Sexton) shot above the league average from deep. Love leads this group with 146 total makes from behind the line this season.

Cleveland’s lack of reliable 3-point shooters has shrunk the floor and made it more difficult for them offensively. It is a direct reason they are 25th in points per game and it will continue to be an issue until they find more marksmen.

Obi Toppin’s instant fit with the Cleveland Cavaliers

Toppin can help them immediately. His greatest strength is his shooting ability, acting as the best shooting big man in college basketball last season. His fit with the Cleveland Cavaliers would be seamless as he is an instant pick-and-pop threat to play alongside Darius Garland and Sexton.

Aside from being a perfect aid to their shooting woes, drafting Toppin makes the most sense from a positional standpoint. With Sexton and Garland already commanding the backcourt, it would make little sense to draft another guard such as LaMelo Ball or Anthony Edwards. Especially considering that it seems only to be a matter of time before Kevin Porter Jr. forces his way into the starting lineup. An abundance of guards won’t help anyone.

The Cavaliers could also consider taking one of the towering defensive big men available in the draft. Onyeka Okongwu and James Wiseman are two centers that instantly come to mind. However, Cleveland mostly filled their need for a rim protector when they traded for Andre Drummond at the deadline. Drummond has every reason to opt into the final year of his contract and complete at least one more season with the franchise.

Because of this, it makes the most sense for the Cavaliers to draft a player like Toppin who can eat up minutes at the four as one of the team’s best shooters. Toppin will benefit from playing behind a five-time All-Star in Love. Once the front office finds a way to move Love’s hefty contract, Toppin will have a chance to emerge as a key building block to the rebuild.

It’s important to note that Toppin will only be a piece of the puzzle and not the franchise cornerstone the Cleveland Cavaliers are searching for. At 22 years of age, Toppin is older than Garland, Porter and Sexton. This limits his chances of making major developments at the NBA level.

Nonetheless, Toppin can make a huge impact on the team. His consistent shooting will bolster the Cavaliers offense and assist them in building a more competitive system as the young core continues to grow.