The Cavaliers fumbled away Game 1 of the NBA Finals and never rebounded. They were swept on their own home floor. Now, Cleveland must pivot toward a future that looks incredibly uncertain.
The Cavaliers traded Kyrie Irving last summer after he requested to be dealt, and in that exchange with the Boston Celtics, they recouped Brooklyn’s unprotected first-round pick in this year’s draft. That pick was the prize the Cavs wanted in the Irving deal all along, and ended up at No. 8 overall.
Now, it’s time they decide what to do with it.
Cleveland is in an interesting scenario. The 2018 NBA Draft is littered with talent from the top prospects to mid-late first-round picks. Normally, the No. 8 pick is an asset, but things are not so simple in this case.
The wild card in Cleveland’s immediate future is LeBron James. He becomes an unrestricted free agent in July, and it’s impossible to tell if he plans to stay with the Cavaliers or leave for sunnier skies elsewhere. Whatever Cavs GM Koby Altman does, he has to do with the team’s future in mind, but that future is impossible to forecast because it changes so much with James’ decision.
As such, Altman has three real choices.
1. Trade the pick to get LeBron some veteran help
James scored 51 points in Game 1 against the Warriors, and it still wasn’t enough. His teammates missed free throws, forgot the final score, and eventually were blasted away in overtime. The rest of the series was history.
The biggest knock on the Cavaliers all season has been the talent drop-off between James and the rest of the roster. Kevin Love is a perennial all-star, but he doesn’t consistently play like it. No one else on the roster — save for maybe Rodney Hood — is capable of creating a shot for themselves or another teammate. As a result, virtually all offensive decision-making falls on James’ shoulders — at age 33.
LeBron James needs help, and the Cavaliers have no cap space to sign meaningful, impact players in free agency. They also have no players they could feasibly trade to bring back a real difference maker.
That is, unless they trade that No. 8 pick in hopes of convincing James to re-sign.
Cleveland could package pick No. 8 with Love to bring back another player who could shoulder some of James’ offensive load. The Cavaliers need a guard or a wing, but will any team agree to trade a proven wing for Love — or any other player on the Cavs roster — and a pick outside the top-5.
Here’s the thing, though: there are no assurances that LeBron James returns, even if the Cavs trade the pick. Altman will want that assurance before he deals the pick, but there’s no way James will give it, especially without seeing who the Cavs get in return and all other roster moves.
That means it doesn’t make much sense to mortgage the future for a player — no matter how great — who no one expects to return home next season.
2. Pick LeBron’s guy to get him to stay
The Miami Heat thought they were on to something. During the 2014 NCAA season, LeBron James publicly expressed his admiration for UConn’s Shabazz Napier.
No way u take another PG in the lottery before Napier.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 8, 2014
Miami had the No. 26 pick and Napier was in range. When the Charlotte Hornets drafted Shabazz Napier with the No. 24 overall pick, LeBron celebrated the selection.
Almost immediately after, the Heat swung a trade, sending the No. 26 and No. 55 picks to Charlotte for Napier. Maybe, just maybe, this move would double as a form of loyalty to James, who could show his loyalty in return by staying in Miami.
We all know what happened next. James decided to go home to Cleveland, and Miami missed out on players like Nikola Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jordan Clarkson, Jerami Grant, and Kyle Anderson with that pick. Without James, Napier floundered and was traded Orlando for a protected second-round pick the Heat never actually received.
Four years later, the Cavs are in a similar predicament. James has been outspoken about the magnificent season Trae Young had in Oklahoma.
“What he’s doing right now is very special,” James said in late January. “He’s a very special player. He can add a lot to any team if he decides to come out into the draft.”
Three weeks later, he laughed about the idea of Young needing to think hard about declaring for the draft.
“What decision? That ain’t no decision,” James said. “That’s like saying my waking up this morning—that ain’t no decision. Brushing my teeth—that ain’t no decision. He better go pro.”
Young could pan out to have a successful NBA career, but will he be the best available at No. 8? Moreover, will James even stick around to see Young grow? With so much uncertainty, how can the Cavaliers make a pick based on James’ potential preferences?
That leaves just one good option.
3. Pick the best available player, no matter what
Many teams live by the ‘best available’ draft philosophy, and no team is in the more perfect scenario to do this than the Cavaliers. They have no control over what LeBron James does with the fourth and likely final chapter of his basketball career. But just like any breakup, sometimes you have to just do what’s best for you.
No. 8 isn’t the sexiest pick in the draft, but it sure isn’t the worst. Luka Doncic, Deandre Ayton, Mo Bamba, Jaren Jackson Jr., Marvin Bagley III, Miles Bridges, and even Trae Young all project to be off the board by the Cavs’ pick in our latest Haiku-edition 2018 NBA Mock Draft. But that doesn’t mean there’s not a player available that can help Cleveland in the immediate and long-term future.
Michael Porter Jr. underwent season-ending spinal surgery, but had it not been for that setback, we’re talking about a legitimate top-3 or top-5 pick in this year’s draft. Collin Sexton is another dynamic guard projected to fall outside the top-10, and one, if not both of the Bridgeses (Miles and Mikael) could be available at No. 8.
The Cavs might not land an all-world talent, but they’ll surely land a player they can feature for years to come. That has to be the goal independent of James’ decision.
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