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Grade the Cavaliers 2019 Draft

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The main reason Irving/Waiters failed, and the reason so may of these small guard combos fail offensively, is because of one or both players lack a jump shot and/or the ability to play off the ball. Also, Waiters just flat out wasn't a good player.

Heading into last season I would have questioned Sexton's ability on both fronts. However, throughout the season he excelled in both aspects. I'm not sure about Garland's ability to play off the ball, but he can shoot.

Offensively, it'd be very surprising if they weren't good together. Defensively, we'll see.

With Kyrie and Dion we also never knew how good Kyrie could be off the ball. Neither Byron Scott nor Mike Brown challenged him to play off the ball. We only really found out how effective Kyrie was without the ball when LeBron came back.

No matter how good Garland is with the ball in his hands, Beilein and Koby have to remind themselves that developing him off the ball is just as important to building up him and the team.
 
With Kyrie and Dion we also never knew how good Kyrie could be off the ball. Neither Byron Scott nor Mike Brown challenged him to play off the ball. We only really found out how effective Kyrie was without the ball when LeBron came back.

No matter how good Garland is with the ball in his hands, Beilein and Koby have to remind themselves that developing him off the ball is just as important to building up him and the team.

Even then, it was more of a your turn, my turn type of thing instead of Kyrie actually playing off the ball.
 
Even then, it was more of a your turn, my turn type of thing instead of Kyrie actually playing off the ball.

I think as time went on that became more of the case. LeBron would take plays off then Kyrie decided to do the same thing.
 
Collin Sexton is a shooting guard.

And that’s ok! There’s a spot in any NBA playoff rotation for a 40% 3PT shooter that can also score effectively as a slasher and in transition.

Sexton’s not that far off from being a very dynamic NBA scorer.

He needs to continue to improve his shot selection, shooting more threes and fewer long twos (this improved as the year went on, but it needs to go even further) and he needs to figure out how to draw free throws at a much higher rate than he did as a rookie. Considering he lived at the line in college, I’m optimistic he can make gains there as well.

If both of those things happen and his perimeter shooting is actually this good, he’ll have a 15 year career even if he never improves a lick as a passer or defender.

How big of an improvement he can make defensively will ultimately determine if he can remain a starter on a good team or if he’ll end up having to go to the bench as a third guard. He just can’t be a starter if he’s horrific defensively like he was last year. He doesn’t have to ever be great or even good, but there’s a wide gap between below average and bottom of the league bad.
 
He needs to continue to improve his shot selection, shooting more threes and fewer long twos (this improved as the year went on, but it needs to go even further) and he needs to figure out how to draw free throws at a much higher rate than he did as a rookie. Considering he lived at the line in college, I’m optimistic he can make gains there as well.

If both of those things happen and his perimeter shooting is actually this good, he’ll have a 15 year career even if he never improves a lick as a passer or defender.

How big of an improvement he can make defensively will ultimately determine if he can remain a starter on a good team or if he’ll end up having to go to the bench as a third guard. He just can’t be a starter if he’s horrific defensively like he was last year. He doesn’t have to ever be great or even good, but there’s a wide gap between below average and bottom of the league bad.

Couple of things.

1. IIRC, wasn't Sooper Genius Larry Drew ordering Sexton to take long twos rather than stepping back for threes? I seem to recall hearing that some months back. If so, then I can't fault Sexton for the long twos he was taking, especially earlier in the season.

Imagine -- you're a 19-year-old kid, you're in your first professional year, and you're trying to make your coach happy. If he tells you to shoot long twos or else ride the bench, then you're probably not going to respond with, "I respectfully disagree, as cutting-edge analytics show that such shots are sub-optimal. Taking such shots will hurt both my Player Efficiency Rating and the team's overall scoring efficiency." Nope, you're going to say "yes sir" and shoot long twos.

2. I give the entire team a pass on defense for last season. For the most part, the coaching staff was like, "fuck it, just go out there and play." There was no semblance of a defense being run. To the extent there was, it was installed by Sooper Dooper Genius Mike Longabardi.

Both points lead to the same place: I suspect a lot of Sexton's shortcomings last year resulted from piss-poor coaching and schemes. No, I'm not saying that under a different coaching staff, Sexton will turn into Gary Payton. I am saying -- let's see how he fares under a real coaching staff before we draw too many conclusions about his abilities. A year from now, I think we may all be talking about how much improvement Sexton has shown, and it will simply be the result of better coaching and schemes.
 
B+. Based on what other teams managed to do. NO killed it, I think the Spurs ( as usual) and Boston (as usual ) did great. Atlanta probably gets an A..

Time will tell. We walked past some guys to get Windler... Who seems a nice pick, but.. I think Kabengle has a stronger career.. we could argue that we were swinging for upside, but then we don't spend a million on Bol?..

On the other hand at least we weren't minnesota, the wizards, or the Hornets..

I think our FO is competent, but I am not convinced they are genius level..
 
A-. Outside of New Orleans getting Zion, and NYK getting RJ, I think we had the next best draft. I'm happy with all 3 assets we picked up.

I think Garland is going to be a stud in this league, the best guard in this class, and the third best player picked in the top 8 behind Zion and Barrett.

I think we identified guys with talent and scooped them up. I like both Windler and KPJ.

I know he's hurt and probably won't pan out, but I wish we picked up Bol--if for no other reason than to entertain and excite me as a fan.
 
I'm giving them an A because they snuck back in and swooped Porter Jr, Garland was always an A pick to me. His game will be respected, the floor will be open because of him. Teammates will excel along side him.

Gotta give them an A because they have a plan, stuck with it, and following their system. Don't forget Billups and Bilas praised our draft. They could've said Nawleans or Atlanta, but they chose Cleveland. We added supreme shooting.
 
Solid A

It is hard to beat teams who have Zion and RJ but I believe we picked up 3 talented players who can make impact to our basketball team.

Garland is one talented player. He can shoot outside with long range consistently. Very quiet confident guy and has potential to be a star. I thought if he was not hurt he would have been the #2 pick in the draft.

Picking up Windler and trading to get Porter was just great. Acquiring shooters and talent is always great.

I still love Collin Sexton because he tries hard and wants to be better and shows how much he has improved in school and within this one season in the NBA. Cannot wait to watch them together.

Very excited for this season.
 
Defense is more about effort and willingness to play defense than anything else. People get too caught up in measurrables. Size and length is just the difference between good and great. You have to have talent to be drafted in the top 10, Garland and Sexton have to have talent to leave early and be high picks.

But if you still believe they can't guard anyone at all, well then they just need to put up more points.
 
A minus / B plus

Just two weeks ago I was hesitant about Garland and taking another Pg. Then I realized the pay off would probably be more rewarding then Hunter, Culver or anyone else they were considering. Not taking Lillard that year was a giant mistake even with Irving. You could have traded one of them away for a kings ransom. People may not be aware that we got Larry Nance Sr by trading Kevin Johnson after drafting Mark Price.

Now I really wish we would have been able to use the JR smith contract. The fact that our insiders told us we passed on the 17th pick for Crabbe a few months ago is frustrating. You could have swung for the fences with another high reward talent like Little/Bol. Or you could have turned around and traded 17 for a protected one next year.
Waking into 2020 with two first round picks would really be nice.

You might say taking on four rookies is crazy. But the reality is you have Canton for a reason and eventually these guys will all got playing time at some point.

The more lottery tickets you buy the more you have a chance of hitting big.
Porter JR is a no brainer for 5 million. We spent 3 million on a. 5”5 Pg a couple years ago so this to me is fine . Now the hard part is creating an atmosphere for him to develop.

It is one thing to draft well , but what championship organizations do is have the right system in place to help them maximize their talent.
 
Collin Sexton is a shooting guard.

And that’s ok! There’s a spot in any NBA playoff rotation for a 40% 3PT shooter that can also score effectively as a slasher and in transition.

Sexton’s not that far off from being a very dynamic NBA scorer.

He needs to continue to improve his shot selection, shooting more threes and fewer long twos (this improved as the year went on, but it needs to go even further) and he needs to figure out how to draw free throws at a much higher rate than he did as a rookie. Considering he lived at the line in college, I’m optimistic he can make gains there as well.

If both of those things happen and his perimeter shooting is actually this good, he’ll have a 15 year career even if he never improves a lick as a passer or defender.

How big of an improvement he can make defensively will ultimately determine if he can remain a starter on a good team or if he’ll end up having to go to the bench as a third guard. He just can’t be a starter if he’s horrific defensively like he was last year. He doesn’t have to ever be great or even good, but there’s a wide gap between below average and bottom of the league bad.
I think he will excel not having to run the team. It really simplifies his role and Garland definitely looks the more natural point guard.
If Sexton can play within the offense and not have to initiate it and think as much about getting everyone else involved, take the open shot, attack and slash on closers and be a secondary handler with the starting unit we are golden.

The issue will be how we work defensively but I was pleased with Koby's interview, he didn't brush over it as if it was a non issue. He suggested we will be looking for length and mobility at both forward spots and install principles which will cover for the deficiencies, which is encouraging.
 
I think he will excel not having to run the team. It really simplifies his role and Garland definitely looks the more natural point guard.
If Sexton can play within the offense and not have to initiate it and think as much about getting everyone else involved, take the open shot, attack and slash on closers and be a secondary handler with the starting unit we are golden.

The issue will be how we work defensively but I was pleased with Koby's interview, he didn't brush over it as if it was a non issue. He suggested we will be looking for length and mobility at both forward spots and install principles which will cover for the deficiencies, which is encouraging.
You can tell that from the five games that Garland played in college? You do know that Sexton averaged more assists per 40 minutes than Garland did during their freshman seasons? Just sayin’....
 

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