Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 options with No. 5 pick in NBA Draft

The NBA Draft Lottery didn’t exactly go their way, but the Cleveland Cavaliers still have some intriguing options with the 5th overall pick.

Things couldn’t be worse for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Well, it could be slightly worse as the franchise had a chance of dropping all the way to sixth in the upcoming NBA Draft but instead landed in their second-worst possible position at fifth.

This doesn’t hurt as bad as it did last year when the Cavs narrowly missed out on a chance to draft generational superstars like Zion Williamson and Ja Morant. Nonetheless, finishing with a bottom-three record in the league and falling to 5th in the draft order in back-to-back years stings quite a bit.

Cleveland watched as the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves – teams who were tied with the Cavs in their chances of winning the top pick – both land in the top two for the upcoming draft. Meanwhile, the Charlotte Hornets and Chicago Bulls leapfrogged Cleveland to snatch the third and forth picks.

As bad as this is, Cavs fans shouldn’t hang their heads too low. Of all drafts to miss out on a top-three pick, this is one where they likely won’t miss out on much. Only three prospects are projected to have any type of star potential. Those being James Wiseman, LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards. But, even those players have significant flaws and are far from the sure-fire stars we are used to seeing high in the lottery.

The Cavaliers still have some intriguing options at the No. 5 spot. In addition to several young talents who can benefit the rebuild, the Cavaliers might have a chance to swap picks with another team and acquire even more talent. Let’s take a look at five of the Cavs’ best options with the No. 5 pick in the NBA Draft.