Cleveland Cavaliers: Ranking the last 10 first-round picks

5. Darius Garland

Like fellow 2019 draftee Windler, Darius Garland also dealt with a knee injury at the onset of his NBA career, one that limited the guard to just five collegiate games at Vanderbilt. With the injury mostly behind him, however, the fifth overall pick is looking like a solid piece for the team’s future.

As a rookie, Garland started every game he played in, 59 games in all. He averaged 12.3 points and 3.9 assists per game. He also showed off a promising shooting stroke, hitting 35.5 percent of his threes, with room for growth in that area.

Despite those averages, the advanced analytics didn’t treat Garland as well. ESPN’s RPM metric, for one, rated Garland as the worst qualifying player in the entire NBA in 2019-20. His defensive liabilities played a big factor in that.

There’s no reason to take a pessimistic approach with Garland yet, though, and his position here isn’t just a function of the terrible draft history of the franchise. He’s only 20 years old and is a year off a significant knee injury which led to him playing just a handful of games between high school and the pros. Figuring out how he fits with Collin Sexton remains a work in progress, but one that can be solved.

Taking a glass half full or half empty look at Garland depends on perspective. Working with a small sample size, Garland gets the benefit of the doubt here.