With the date for the 2020 NBA Draft set, we begin our look at each team in the lottery relative to LaMelo Ball. What’s the outlook of the team, how does Ball fit into their roster and plans and what’s the likelihood of him landing with the franchise? We continue our profiles with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Boston Celtics profile
New Orleans profile
Sacramento Kings profile
San Antonio Spurs profile
Phoenix Suns profile
Washington Wizards profile
New York Knicks profile
Detroit Pistons profile
Atlanta Hawks profile
The Team
Oddly, despite their current roster makeup, the Cleveland Cavaliers have shown interest, at least internally, in drafting LaMelo Ball. A franchise that, save for the years LeBron James was on the roster, is a consistent lottery side has drafted point guards in each of its last two seasons.
That fact alone makes their interest in Ball interesting. The fit between their last two draftees, Darius Garland and Collin Sexton, was already tenuous. Adding Ball, a third guard that needs the Ball to be at his best, makes the situation all the more confusing.
But there is an argument to be made for drafting Ball. The Cavaliers are a team in desperate need of talent and there is an argument to be made that Ball is the most talented player in the draft. If the Cavaliers feel that way, drafting Ball makes sense.
To draft Ball, like any team outside the top three. Would the team use one of Garland or Sexton as trade chips to move up? It would make the most sense in clearing out the potential logjam. But the team has other assets if they insist on keeping all three guards as joint building blocks of the future.
The Fit
It’s a two-pronged question when looking at Ball’s fit in Cleveland. If both point guards stay in Garland and Sexton, Ball’s fit is a tough one. While he showed an ability to play off the ball alongside Aaron Brooks at Illawarra, he’s at his best with the ball. But so are both Sexton and Garland.
Even if one of the two are shipped out to trade up for Ball, it’s still a problem of having two ball-dominant guards, an easier but still complicated problem.
