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2015 NBA Draft: Cleveland Cavaliers Workout Syracuse C Rakeem Christmas

By Nick Dudukovich

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Feb 24, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Syracuse Orange forward Rakeem Christmas (25) shoots over Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Pat Connaughton (24) in the first half at the Purcell Pavilion. Syracuse won 65-60. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

The 2015 NBA Draft may be Christmas day–as in Rakeem Christmas–when the Cleveland Cavaliers add a new addition to their roster this Thursday.

Christmas, a 6-foot-10, 243-pound center out of Syracuse is known as a rim protector, but he impressed scouts during the NBA combine by showing a more polished offensive game that involved shooting mid-range jumpers.

If the Cavs find a way to draft Christmas, the Wine & Gold should win the rebound battle every night with Timofey Mozgov, Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love and LeBron James ripping down boards.

Christmas’ wingspan stretches 7-feet, 5.25 inches. He averaged 17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game in his senior season at Syracuse.

As indicated in Michael Scotto’s Tweet, the Cavs worked Christmas out, but whether or not Christmas is a first-round pick, remains debatable.

Christmas may be a stretch at 24, as DraftXpress has the big man going 36th to the Timberwolves. He also rates 34th on Chad Ford’s big board.

So if the Cavs do celebrate Christmas, they’ll have to take the 23-year-old in the first round, because it’s unlikely he’ll be around when the Cavs pick again at 53. With that in mind, it’s probably a stretch to make him their first-round choice.

Christmas was a four-year player in school, and in today’s NBA, that almost hurts your draft stock, but ESPN’s Jay Bilas believed the Virgin Islands native boosted his stock with his combine showing. Bilas said Christmas could be a late first-round pick, but added the second round is where he’s likely to be drafted.

The Cavs’ first-round selection is intriguing because GM David Griffin could go in several different directions. Despite Matthew Dellavedova having a few great postseason games, Cavs fans were quickly reminded that he’s Matthew Dellavedova, so a backup point guard is an option.

No matter where you stand on Delly, you’ll probably at least agree Delly is not a guy you want playing 30 minutes per game. If Delly’s playing 10-12 minutes a game, and he returns to Cleveland at a franchise friendly price, perhaps that Cavs could look elsewhere, such as shooting guard.

LeBron James needs his rest, and finding a viable wing to back James up needs to be a priority. Perhaps it will be Justin Anderson, or Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Either way, the Cavs will be searching for James’ backup through some channel this offseason. Considering they  won’t have cap space to make a big splash in free agency, suggests Cleveland will have to find  this player through the draft.

On the other hand, the Cavs have to start pondering a future with Anderson Varejao, who is getting older and has battled various injuries throughout his career. There’s also Mozgov, who can be a free agent after next season. And like starting pitchers in baseball, you can never have enough big men in basketball, so that’s why it might not be crazy to discount Griffn from taking a big man.

If the Cavs take a big man, whom would you like to see them select in mid-to-late 20s range? 

Next: Nuggets Covet D'Angelo Russell: Trade In The Works?

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