Rookie Expectations for the Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers are a little over a year into their rebuilding process. In the 2019 NBA Draft, they made a splash with three first-round picks. With their original pick, Cleveland selected Darius Garland out of Vanderbilt. Dylan Windler from Belmont was selected with the twenty-sixth pick from the Houston Rockets. The Cavaliers traded four future second round picks to the Detroit Pistons for the thirtieth pick, originally from the Milwaukee Bucks, to select Kevin Porter Jr. from USC. Cleveland made the most out of their picks after a disappointing lottery that gave them the fifth pick.

Pick Number Five: Darius Garland

After falling to number five in a lottery where Cleveland was tied for the best odds, they made a solid selection. It was a questionable and surprising decision for the Cavs to draft another point guard in the lottery after selecting Collin Sexton with the eighth pick in the 2018 draft. Most analysts and fans expected Cleveland to take Jarrett Culver or Cam Reddish, but instead they went with who they thought was the best available. Although many were surprised, Cavaliers management drafted Garland in hopes that he could fit in well next to Sexton. Rookie coach John Beilein expects both guards to fit in well in his system. Garland seemingly plays similarly to former Cavalier, Kyrie Irving. They both handle the ball incredibly well, but are not seen as great ball distributors. Garland is also an effective shooter and should be a key piece in the Cavalier offense.

Pick Number Twenty-Six: Dylan Windler

Dylan Windler is an interesting pick, mostly because many people didn’t expect him to go as high as he did. We have seen from the summer league that he is a high volume shooter and can do a little bit of everything else. In his final season at Belmont, Windler averaged 21.3 PPG, 10.8 RPG and shot 43% from behind the arc. His improvement over his four-year career at Belmont led them to a March Madness berth. They were an eleven seed pitted against a six seed Maryland. Although they lost by two, Windler dropped thirty-five points as well as eleven rebounds. The Cavaliers may have found a diamond in the rough with Windler.

Pick Number Thirty: Kevin Porter Jr.

As mentioned earlier, Porter Jr. was selected by Cleveland after they traded four second rounders to get him. He was a steal at thirty, as some analysts expected him to go in the lottery. He had subpar stats due to a lack of playing time in college. Being highly touted in high school, though, helped him keep his draft stock. Shooting guard is a big area of need for Cleveland. Having a younger guy to come in and replace JR Smith will be a great help. Porter Jr. will likely come off the bench, with the current idea of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland running the back court. Look for KPJ and Windler to be some off the first players off of the bench for the Cavaliers this year.

We have seen some Dylan Windler in the summer league, but Garland and Porter Jr. both missed it with injuries. Both should be prepared to start the regular season. This adds more excitement to the start of the NBA season to see how they will play at the highest level.

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