5. Cleveland Cavaliers — Jarrett Culver
6-6 wing, sophomore, Texas Tech
(Full scouting report)
The Lakers going with Garland would put the Cavaliers in a good scenario, as it would open up things a bit for them and leave a number of potential options on the board. My read currently is that Culver, Cam Reddish, and Hunter seem to be the top options for Cleveland. This is the first spot where Reddish gets serious consideration unless the Knicks move down a couple of spots. There are mixed thoughts league-wide as to if the Cavaliers would take Reddish over Hunter, despite the general consensus of the league being a bit higher on Hunter.
Culver makes the most sense to me, though.
He’s a tremendous fit next to Collin Sexton due to his ability to be a secondary ball-handler, scorer, and multi-positional defender with size. His athleticism gives some executives around the league concern that his upside could be somewhat limited, but I’m not betting against a kid that works as consistently hard as Culver.
He’s regarded by trainers and the Texas Tech coaching staff as the kind of player that you need to literally lock out of the gym to keep him from over-working himself. Personally, I’d be surprised if Culver doesn’t at least become a solid starting-quality player in the league. As the Cavs look to continue to rebuild their roster and culture, having two intelligent, hard workers like Sexton and Culver as the two centerpieces would be appealing.