Mind Character

The Road to Garland is through Cleveland.... if we don't select him, then we sure as heck better get trade value for him and not just sit at 5 and pick Culver

I just missed your post... Good stuff..

Phoenix traded out from 6 to 11, signaling that we are taking Garland at 5. Interesting pick.

Because his heights and flashes are All-NBA level talent. There's a prevailing thought in coaching, scouting and nba player development; that is, that if the player will work and they flash or have heights that high and that player is a 19 year old teenager with no facial hair or the ability to drink alcohol legally than it is worth investing in that player over the longterm 4 to 5 year developmental period. While it is under debate regarding whether Reddish will work and commit to the game at a high level, it can't be argued that his highest heights and flashes are that of an elite top talent. And that is why he's considered a lottery pick, especially when you look at the rest of the talent pool and people in the lottery are saying to themselves, " Do we gamble on Jaxon Hayes... or do we Gamble on Cameron Reddish??"

omg.. Griff got made ATL take the Solomon Hill Contract.. this is madness... lol Lakers Receive: Anthony Davis Pelicans Receive - Lonzo Ball - Brandon Ingram - Josh Hart - No. 8 pick in 19 - No. 17 pick in 19 - No. 35 pick in 19 - L.A.' 21 pick if top 8;- L.A.' 22 pick if not - L.A. swap in 23 if they so choose - L.A.' 1st in either 24 or 25 - And got rid of Solomon Hill's contract. - $31 Million Dollars of cap space to sign a max free agent if they want b/c of shedding the Solomon Hill contract.. -------- Tremendous value especially based on comparing the last 6 all-star players traded and what those respective teams received...

Nothing would be worse than a stay put and draft Reddish plan... except maybe a stay put and draft Jaxon Hayes or Rui Hachimura... I'm all good with Reddish via a trade down if it nets us another near lottery/lottery pick, but with ATL out of the loop that seems far less likely.

David Griffin doing David Griffin things... He definitely didn't deserve the extension, upgraded pay, and FO title/power he thought he earned. Dan Gilbert was definitely justified in firing him during the critical time with the draft upcoming. Griff definitely couldn't have done a better job than Altman. We should definitely be thankful Griff is gone.

What a freaking shame...

I'm All in on the Trade down with ATL then selecting Goga Bitadze and Nassir LIttle with our first 2 picks; then, selecting a high upside SG with our last pick or via trade up in Romeo Langford or Kevin Porter Jr as Langford or Porter Jr are as good if not better of a gamble than Culver or White as SG options and Nassir Little is as good or better of a longterm prospect gamble as De'Andre Hunter. Goga is just Goga and is the truth. Make it happen Kolby...

The player that intrigues me the most in terms of upside is Nassir Little, SF/PF/CF North Carolina. He has the length and ability to guard positions 1-4 and upside skill to be a plus shooter and slasher. He has the most beautiful and replicable raw shooting mechanics (despite being a really poor shooter now with mechanical breakdowns) of those thought to be considered in the top 12 outside of Darius Garland. Already, he is going to come into the league as an elite defender. He was inconsistent, but when he was locked he was an impressive energy motor guy with offensive rebound and defensive rebounding to the fast break elite impact. His ball handling is rudimentary and not good at all. If he develops a handle to get to his spots, he has an even higher upside than De'Andre Hunter. Both lack the feel to the game and vision you'd like, but Hunter has offensive versatility with back to the basket and floaters. Hunter is just further along offensively at this point and in terms of feel. I'd be thrilled if we got Nassir in a trade down picking up an additional pick. My perfect draft is a trade down with ATL then us picking Goga Bitadze and Nassir LIttle with our first 2 picks; then, selecting a high upside SG with our last pick or via trade up in Romeo Langford or Kevin Porter Jr. Tremendous young starting lineup... PG/CG: Collin Sexton SG: Kevin Porter Jr. --OR-- Romeo Langford CF: Cedi Osman CF: Nassir Little C: Goga Bitadze

How much can a player improve their ball handling in 3 years? Can they go from below average or worse to good or even really good? To me, that's the primary question and issue with De'Andre Hunter. His game suffers terribly from an inability to create and shoot off the dribble because he doesn't have the ball-handling ability to get to his spots, get to where he wants to go, or the ability to separate from his defender. Once/If he can substantially improve in that area a la Kawhi Leonard (who doesn't have a superior handle but can methodically get to his spots) his game will elevate to the star impact player heights. He also lacks the awareness and vision to create for others in part due to his inability to move where he wants to quickly with a live dribble and advanced handle but also in part due to his lack of advanced feel for the game. As a Combo-Forward that's just not his game, and that's okay. His ceiling is as a 3&D scorer with in the post versatility. If he can improve his handle and feel for the game, he's going to be a tremendous player. ------------ My Final Final Final Day of Draft Cavs-Centric Prospect Draft Rankings: Tier I: 1.) Goga Bitadze, C Rep. of Georgia 2.) Coby White, CG North Carolina 3.) Darius Garland, PG Vanderbilt 4.) DeAndre Hunter, SF/CF Virginia Tier II: 5.) Romeo Langford, SG Indiana 6.) Jarrett Culver, SG Texas Tech 7.) Cam Reddish, SG/SF Duke 8.) Sekou Doumbouya, SF/CF France 9.) Nassir Little, SF North Carolina 10.) Kevin Porter Jr., SG USC 11.) Nicolas Claxton, PF/C Georgia 12.) Luguentz Dort, CG Arizona State ----------------- We win the night if we draft: Goga Bitadze + Coby White // Darius Garland // DeAndre Hunter // Romeo Langford // Jarrett Culver ( in that order )

Will be interesting to see what the pelicans do, trade or otherwise. It's going to really suck if we take Hunter or Culver or Reddish with no trade down at 5. Imo, now that would be a terrible gamble without maximizing value. Sexton and Coby White would make for an energetic and fun back court albeit with severe defensive deficiencies as well as limitations in shot creation for others. I'm all in on Coby White, CG North Carolina, Goga Bitadze, C Rep. of Georgia, Darius Garland, PG Vanderbilt, and Romeo Langford, SG Indiana in that final order. The draft can't get here soon enough.

Thanks. My mistake. I was wrong. That means so long to Skal or whhoever in my hypothetical Blazers-JR trade scenario. Point is JR plus a salary filler (Ante Zizic) to make the trade work for Evan Turner, Anfernee Simons, and their 1st round pick as a potential destination trade that yields us a pick and a young player with high upside in Simons if Portland and the Cavs would consider such a trade.

My Final Final Cavs-Centric Prospect Draft Rankings: Tier I: 1.) Goga Bitadze, C Rep. of Georgia 2.) Coby White, CG North Carolina 3.) Darius Garland, PG Vanderbilt 4.) Romeo Langford, SG Indiana Tier II: 5.) DeAndre Hunter, SF/CF Virginia 6.) Jarrett Culver, SG Texas Tech 7.) Cam Reddish, SG/SF Duke 8.) Sekou Doumbouya, SF/CF France 9.) Nassir Little, SF North Carolina 10.) Kevin Porter Jr., SG USC 11.) Nicolas Claxton, PF/C Georgia 12.) Luguentz Dort, CG Arizona State ----------------- Despite playing an unfavorable position as the not amazingly athletically gifted C, Goga Bitadze is the best prospect in the draft as he has great 3pt touch, the ability to create his shot off the dribble, advanced passing instincts, and excellent shot blocking timing. He has Nikola Jokic type impact albeit to a lesser extent as a pure passer and creator for others with the elite size Jokic has. Goga is the best all around player in the draft. No prospects film disappointed me more based purely on high expectations than Jarrett Culver. He has the size and defensive upside over fellow prospects Coby White and Romeo Langford, but in all other aspects they are the superior prospect gambles imo. The highest upside player the Cavs could select is Darius Garland or Cam Reddish with Garland being more complete and potent in skill right now while Reddish likely being 3 years or more away from manifesting his all around potential. Garland is terrible on defense but his offensive elite outside scoring skill is already all star worthy. When he drives his game falls apart. Coby White is likely the safest highest upside player in the draft to pair with Sexton despite White's defensive and length limitations. With Hunter not being able to be a perimeter shot create or create for others, Romeo Langford is the next best all around player to pair with Sexton as Langford has length on the defensive end and is an effective shot creator for himself and others from the perimeter. His plus athleticism could make him the steal of the draft. All in all, watching this year's draft prospects tells me that we'd be crazy to not trade down. My final options are to trade down and select a combination of Goga Bitadze and Coby White/Romeo Langford. I go back and forth on who I'd rather pair with Sexton be it White or Langford. Langford has the higher upside for sure in all areas of the game, but I'm certain that at worst White will be an elite 6th man and/or glue guy. I'm intrigued by Garland but ultimately he may not be a fit at all with our current roster. Nassir Little is certain to be an elite defender and given the uncertainty of the other prospects development, it may be worthwhile to take a gamble on him as a run the floor, havoc, motor, defensive stalwart glue guy if we acquire an additional 1st in trade down and Little falls in the teens. That certain has value and a certain place on a young developing team. ---------------- Final Final Cleveland Cavaliers Mock Off-Season & Draft III: Trade 1 -- The Cleveland Cavaliers Trade the # 5 pick to the Atlanta Hawks for # 8, # 17, and #35 Trade 2 -- Cavs trade JR Smith and Ante Zizic to Portland for the # 25 overall pick, a future 2nd round pick, Evan Turner, and CG Anfernee Simons. Portland gets some immediate space and gets closer to being able to get below the tax and make a critical FA signing. Turner's contract joins the pile of contracts like that of Henson, Delly, Tristan, Clarkson, Knight that can be used the following season as expiring contracts exchanged with cap-space needy franchises' willing to give up 1st round picks. --------------- The Draft 1st Round: 5.) The Atlanta Hawks (via trade w/ CLE) select Jarrett Culver, SG Texas Tech. 8.) The Cleveland Cavaliers (via trade w/ ATL) select Coby White, SG North Carolina --OR-- Romeo Langford, SG Indiana. 17.) The Cleveland Cavaliers (via trade w/ ATL) select Goga Bitadze, C Rep. of Georgia. 25.) The Cleveland Cavaliers (via trade w/ PDX) select KZ Okpala, SG/SF Stanford 26.) The Cleveland Cavaliers (via trade w/ HOU) select Nicolas Claxton, PF/C Georgia 2nd Round 35.) The Cleveland Cavaliers (via trade w/ ATL) select Deividas Sirvydis, Lithuania (to keep and develop overseas like Cedi Osman) ------- Core Foundation Roster W/O Upcoming Expiring Contracts & Kevin Love: PG/CG: Collin Sexton; Anfernee Simons SG/CG: Coby White (OR Romeo Langford depending on who we draft) SG/SF: Cedi Osman; KZ Okpala PF/CF: Nicolas Claxton; C: Goga Bitadze; Larry Nance Jr.; Overseas Developmental Players: SF: Deividas Sirvydis, Lithuania

Again, Reddish has issues, is far from a home run prospect, and is a big payoff gamble amongst other gambles, but I think you're mixing up some critical things in his assessment. A few things: 1.) You have to be careful trusting whatever you read on the internet without assessing how reliable the sourcing and opinion is, as well as limiting the sampling of opinions to a small and not deep analysis subset of opinions. For example, while I have gone to nbadraft.net for over a decade it's important to know that profiles like the one you quoted are written and submitted by users and/or the sites valued bloggers as those writing up that profile (William Desautelle and Tomes) aren't scouts or coaches nor have inside knowledge in the program or anything. Jonathan Givony and the DraftExpress content writers have been more tuned in over the years, but even their assessment speaks more to his assertiveness not his work ethic. 2.) You repeatedly keep mixing up and confusing "Work Ethic" and "Assertiveness" in your opinion. I haven't found one (and I've looked" reliable source to speak negatively about Reddish's "work ethic," instead multiple people ranging from teammates to coaches from high school to college all rave about his work ethic. Name me one reputable source questioning work ethic with examples. From his high school teammates, coaches and strength staff saying that Reddish was in the gym everyday at 5:45am to work on his game so often for his routine that if he wasn't there by 6:15am they'd fear something happened to him (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2766532-duke-recruit-cam-reddish-is-going-to-be-a-star-but-not-the-kind-youre-used-to "If I didn't hear anything by 6:15," Tulleners said, "I knew something was wrong." For at least an hour before class each day during the school year, Reddish would hoist shot after shot while listening to rap music on his earphones. He'd repeat the routine during breaks in the afternoon and again at night. "You're not going to have to beg to get Cam into a practice facility," Tulleners said. "You're going to have to beg him to get out."). You can readily find various other articles with depth sourcing those that would really know about Reddish's work ethic and find takes that go beyond just defending Cam out of self interest or the need to lie including Duke teammates, high school teammates, high school coaches and athletic trainers, college coaches and athletic trainers, etc (1.) https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2019/6/4/18635931/cam-reddish-nba-draft-2019-duke-scouting-report-stats-high-school-recruiting; 2.) https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2823969-dukes-cam-reddish-a-beautiful-player-battling-an-ugly-reputation ; 3.) https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2766532-duke-recruit-cam-reddish-is-going-to-be-a-star-but-not-the-kind-youre-used-to ; 4.) https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2019/05/16/cam-reddish-zion-williamson-rj-barrett-duke-nba-draft-combine/3698536002/ Now, Assertiveness? Indeed, he struggled but remember the context in that he was 4th on the team in touch time as RJ Barrett dribbled the air out the ball in isos and late game, Tre Jones the PG was second, followed by Zion Williamson in usage and touch time. Reddish was relegated to the role of 4th touch option spot up shooter and late shot clock kick out creator. In that role, he was inconsistent and struggled given his being used to being the primary ball handler. Ultimately, what happens is people try to answer the question, "If Reddish has all that amazing talent, then why did he struggle and have such a hard time this year." Given his laid back personality people come up with lazy explanations that don't require a lot of thought like, "He must not love the game and not work at it," when there are various other explanations for why he struggled some that were his fault (i.e., settled with his role instead of being assertive a lot) and others (i.e., structurally was given the role as 3pt shooter and spacer as he was 4th in touches and usage behind Barrett, Jones, and Zion). -------- In the end, Reddish may fail for a wide variety of reasons and has many issues as a prospect. He does however work at his game. The question then is in 3-5 years of work and development will he be a better NBA player and gamble compared to others like Jarrett Culver, Coby White, etc?? Only time will tell, but there is an argument to be made that a trade down from 5, the collecting of more draft capital and with it the ability to take more swings at the draft selection plate, and taking Reddish (or some other player; I prefer Romeo Langford or Goga Bitadze) is a more desirable option than just taking the gamble on Jarrett Culver who's jumpshot is broken and has his issues or Coby White who has his issues.

what evidence are you basing your opinion that he has a bad work ethic and is lazy on? Again,

Great, sobering, and concise summary of strengths and weaknesses of the draft prospects. Glaring Weaknesses with all the prospects we'll be able to take. Who do we gamble on? My last thought and what I'm sticking with until the draft is trade down multiple times out of the top 10, accumulate a ton of draft picks and take Romeo Langford, SG Indiana; followed by staying put and taking Hunter.

With my belief in Culver and Hunter's special impact fading, our options are clear in my mind: Trade down get more opportunities to gamble and take the safest, high floor player in Coby White -OR- more preferably Trade down and take the inconsistent, biggest boom, highest ceiling uber talent player in Cam Reddish. The only 3rd option that makes sense is to trade down much farther down in the draft and take an all around fit player with Collin Sexton like a Romeo Langford. I prefer the Trade down a lot select Romeo Langford option to all those options relative to taking Hunter or Culver or even Reddish or White.

Specifically, I've formed my constructed opinion on the nature of Reddish's work ethic based on my perception of truthfulness being in the comments I've read or heard from RJ Barrett, Tre Jones, Zion, Duke Associate head coach Nate James, 2 long-standing Duke basketball beat-writers, Mike Krzyzewski. an assistant strength and conditioning coach, his high school coach and AAU coach, and the Duke athletic trainer responsible for overseeing Reddish's knee rehab. They have all commented favorably (and some in nuanced ways) about the nature of Cam's work ethic and commitment to the game. He's known to work on his game and get to the gym before anyone else along with teammate Tre Jones and stay late. Some have even added the contextual story of how his work ethic has evolved as he used to be a perfectionist that would shut down mentally in disappointment when he didn't meet his standard therefore hindering himself and hurting his team his freshman year in high school. He then grew out of that and lived by the phrase that he would come to internalize from Coach K which is "trust your work." So, why did he struggle this year? If he works and he has such amazing talent, why at 19 years old did he not excel abundantly? There's a lot of reasons--some Reddish was responsible for (i.e., poor shot selection 3 long 2pt FGAs a game along with 8 of his 12 shots a game being 3pts; willingness to just be a 3pt spacer without movement, hero ball hunting, etc) some he wasn't responsible for (i.e., offensive structure-wise his role saw him touch the ball 4th most and was used as a floor spacer so RJ Barrett could pound the ball and iso, Zion could iso or work in the post without the fear of Reddish's man collapsing in on him with Tre Jones being the primary ball handler and facilitator of the offense).and some that occur as a natural outgrowth of youthful development (i.e., 19 years old trying to grow his game as a role player amongst multiple ball dominant stars). We live in a World where the masses happily march to the beat of false perceived certainties, untruths, and distortions of reality. I am subject to the same thought illusions as the next person, but it just takes a little research to get a more complete, contextual, layered approximation of truth. Nothing is ever certain. If we were to say, where are the :everyone else" as you say getting info on Reddish not having a good work ethic?... the answer would be 3 fold: 1.) Personal observation and inference coming from the experience of seeing the amazing raw talent of Reddish while at the same time seeing struggles and negative outcomes on the court leading to the inference that the negative outcomes have to be "self-inflicted" or due to work ethic, and 2.) The nameless/sourceless rumor mill that begins to try to attribute Reddish's struggles to something without taking the time to look into any context of how Reddish was used or what his motivations in the game are yielding things like "I don't know who said it, but there's questions about his how engaged and hard he works," I be glad to change my opinion if presented with some substantial evidence about Reddish not working hard or not caring. I've looked but haven't seen it. I'd be glad to update the info I've read on him. Again, Reddish is not a home run pick. It wouldn't be cause for celebration. It would however be imo the gamble with biggest payoff amongst other gamble options and one to be cautiously optimistic about given the player development staff and coaches we have on our team (assuming they sustain competence in that regard).

Cavaliers trade down to # 8 and Culver and Hunter are gone who then would you have the Cavs pick?? Coby White? Someone else? It's not that Reddish is a home run pick, it's just that in a group of uncertain gambles his selection by far has the potential for biggest payoff, and in my assessment is as likely to payoff as any other of the players not named Zion, Ja, or RJ, This is the NBA not the NFL so there isn't ready-made difference makers at various positions throughout the first round. If a team doesn't get a ready made transcendent talent at the top of the draft it's all a gamble on player development. Player development is everything. The question remaining is who has the best skill base, natural ability, work ethic, and feel for the game to develop off of during a 3-4 year time course. And that goes beyond box-score scouting. Work ethic and commitment to improvement are everything in the player development game. Picks in the NBA Draft aren't often picks to celebrate on draft day as projection, time, and development are quintessential. Reddish contrary to public perception has the work ethic and commitment. He has the easiest best mechanical jump shot form with easy deep ball range, the ball handling skill of an elite combo guard stemming from his role as a PG, the ability to create for himself and others off the dribble stem, size, length, and foot quickness to be a force on defense. Simply put: He has the best skill base of the remaining likely available players. Coby White has all the energy, intangibles, and feel for the game one could want, but lacks the length and size to be a factor on defense or be able to finish at the rim. Reddish shined more when not relegated to the late shot clock 3pt shooter role after RJ pounded the air out the ball or a Zion iso or post-up, as well as when he didnt take mind numbing deep one step in 2pt shots. Beilein and co. developing reddish is a worthwhile gamble amongst gambles imo. --------------------------------------------

Cleveland Cavaliers Mock Off-Season & Draft II: Trade 1 -- The Cleveland Cavaliers Trade the # 5 pick to the Atlanta Hawks for # 8, # 17, #35, and #44 Trade 2 -- Cavs trade JR Smith and the $2.7Mil+ Trade Exception (from Sam Dekker) to Portland for the # 25 overall pick, a future 2nd round pick, Evan Turner, CG Anfernee Simons, and PF Skal Labissiere. Portland gets some immediate space and gets closer to being able to get below the tax and make a critical FA signing. Turner's contract joins the pile of contracts like that of Henson, Delly, Tristan, Clarkson, Knight that can be used the following season as expiring contracts exchanged with cap-space needy franchises' willing to give up 1st round picks. --------------- The Draft 1st Round: 5.) The Atlanta Hawks (via trade w/ CLE) select Jarrett Culver, SG Texas Tech. 8.) The Cleveland Cavaliers (via trade w/ ATL) select Cameron Reddish, SG/SF Duke. 17.) The Cleveland Cavaliers (via trade w/ ATL) select Romeo Langford, SG Indiana 25.) The Cleveland Cavaliers (via trade w/ PDX) select KZ Okpala, SG/SF Stanford 26.) The Cleveland Cavaliers (via trade w/ HOU) select Nicolas Claxton, PF/C Georgia 2nd Round 35.) The Cleveland Cavaliers (via trade w/ ATL) select Deividas Sirvydis, Lithuania (to keep and develop overseas like Cedi Osman) 44.) The Cleveland Cavaliers (via trade w/ ATL) select Paul Eboua, Cameroon (to keep and develop overseas like Cedi Osman) ------- Core Foundation Roster W/O Upcoming Expiring Contracts & Kevin Love: PG/CG: Collin Sexton; Anfernee Simons SG/CG: Romeo Langford; SG/SF: Cam Reddish; KZ Okpala PF/CF: Cedi Osman (small ball line-up); Skal Labissiere (big line-up); C: Larry Nance Jr.; Nicolas Claxton;; Ante Zizic Overseas Developmental Players: SF: Deividas Sirvydis, Lithuania CF/PF: Paul Eboua, Cameroon -------- Next Year Roster W/ 2019-2020 Expiring Contracts & Kevin Love: PG/CG: Collin Sexton; Matthew Dellavadova (a valuable expiring contract the following year at 9mil+); Brandon Knight (a valuable expiring contract the following year at 15mil+) SG/CG: Romeo Langford; Anfernee Simons; Jordan Clarkson (a valuable expiring contract the following year at 13mil+) SG/SF: Cam Reddish; KZ Okpala; Evan Turner (a valuable expiring contract the following year at 18mil+) PF: Cedi Osman (small ball line-up); Larry Nance Jr. (big line-up); Skal Labissiere; C: Kevin Love; Tristan Thompson (big line-up ... a valuable expiring contract the following year at 18mil+); John Henson (a valuable expiring contract the following year at 8mil+); Nicolas Claxton; Ante Zizic

The Cavs have the best expiring contract assets heading into next season that can be used to acquire late and potentially additional lottery pick draft capital and/or young players in upcoming years. Kolby Altman has to take advantage of this opportunity to setup the franchise with an abundance of draft assets for the next 3 to 5 years or so depending on when the picks convey. As it stands, there is approximately $66Mil in Contracts Expiring after the 2019-2020 season ($81Mil if we take on an expiring contract equal to JR Smith's contract via pre-draft trade). Those contracts are as follows: 1.) Tristan Thompson (a valuable expiring contract at 18mil+); 2.) Brandon Knight (a valuable expiring contract at 15mil+) 3.) Jordan Clarkson (a valuable expiring contract at 13mil+) 4.) Matthew Dellavadova (a valuable expiring contract at 9mil+); 5.) John Henson (a valuable expiring contract at 8mil+) 6.) $15Mil '19-'20 Expiring Player Contract we'll probably receive via the upcoming pre-draft JR Smith trade to acquire another 1st round pick & draft assets. ------------------------------------- It will be interesting to see if Altman and co. can turn those assets into picks/players that can help us compete in the playoffs in a sustainable way. There's a lot to work with.

Cleveland Cavaliers Mock Off-Season & Draft: The Cleveland Cavaliers Trade the # 5 pick to the Atlanta Hawks for # 8, # 17, and a future 2nd round pick. The Atlanta Hawks select Jarrett Culver, SG Texas Tech. The Cleveland Cavaliers select Cameron Reddish, SG/SF Duke at 8. The Cleveland Cavaliers select KZ Okpala, SG/SF Stanford at 17. The Cleveland Cavaliers select Nicolas Claxton, PF/C Georgia -OR- Luguentz Dort, CG Arizona State -OR- Kevin Porter Jr., SG USC at 26. Reddish (a former high school PG) and Okpala have all-star ability and both can create off the dribble and guard the perimeter with length allowing us a switchable lineup with tons of floor spacing. As much as I like Culver and Hunter, it's more valuable to trade down and take an additional shot at the draft selection gamble, especially for high upside players. At worst, it gives a more young talents to use in trade down the line. In the NBA, player development is everything. Beilein, Bickerstaff, and our advanced player development staff and co. will allow us to take such an approach, as well as maximize the complete skill set of Reddish and Okpala. A potential late game line-up of Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman, KZ Okpala, Cam Reddish,and whoever else (Kevin Love still on the team?, Larry Nance Jr., Nicolas Claxton, or Jordan Clarkson) would be a potent movement based offense with at least 4 players that can create off the dribble an for their teammates on the floor. Claxton will be on the Giannis 4-year development plan albeit he won't be an MVP guy at the end of the 4--6 year plan but instead will be a glue, mismatch quality impact starter and perfect complimentary offensive and defensive player to a star player or star players. Trade-Away: JR Smith (we will); Tristan Thompson (we probably won't); Kevin Love (we probably won't) Core Roster: PG/CG: Collin Sexton; Matthew Dellavadova (a valuable expiring contract the following year at 9mil+); Brandon Knight (a valuable expiring contract the following year at 15mil+) SG/SF: KZ Okpala; Jordan Clarkson (a valuable expiring contract the following year at 13mil+) SG/SF: Cam Reddish PF: Cedi Osman (small ball line-up); Larry Nance Jr.; Nicolas Claxton C: Kevin Love; Tristan Thompson (big line-up ... a valuable expiring contract the following year at 18mil+); Ante Zizic

This. I thought Okpala would be the guy back early at the beginning in the college season that I'd want most in the top 10.... then the mid to tail end of the season inconsistency occurred. He has it all except for one issue. He has Length, a handle to create his own shot, a good feel for the game to make plays for others off the dribble, defensive tenacity when he's engaged, and an easy 3point shot with an even better mid-range jumper. KZ Okpala, SG/SF Stanford; Nicolas Claxton, PF/C Georgia; Cameron Reddish, SG/SF Duke; and Kevin Porter Jr., SG USC are all players in this draft that have the potential to be one of the top 3 players in this draft when it's all said if not challenging for the best. All have all-star, but right now Okpala has the least holes in his game and is still one of my favorites in the draft. There's no way imo he falls to that late pick of ours, but it would be great if he did.

The NBA misses on players every single year. It's easy to get locked in on the big names in basketball even more so than football. Will be interesting to see: 1.) If there are the Giannis or Donovan Mitchell types in the talent pool that most of us have yet to discover AND 2.) If the scouting staff and execs are able to recognize such guys, have the balls to take that prospect at 5 in the face of unpopular public reaction, and/or convince Dan Gilbert to go with such a move.