Cleveland Cavs: What the Andre Drummond trade means for the future

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 20: The first round draft board is seen during the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

The Cavs likely to get a high pick

The Cavs have to stay in the top ten of the draft in order to keep their pick, otherwise, it goes to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Cavs and the Golden State Warriors are the two worst teams in the NBA right now, record-wise. Both are going to be near the top of the Draft in terms of selections and it’s highly likely the Warriors win more games than the Cavs because Stephan Curry wants to return to the court this year to play for the Warriors.

The team with the worst record gets an automatic top-five pick in the NBA Draft.

With Drummond, the Cavs have flexibility. If they were to get the top pick, that would mean they could draft James Wiseman and have him come off the bench. If they’re in the top five, that means point guards like Lamelo Ball, and Nico Mannion are available if the team makes a deal to ship either Darius Garland or Collin Sexton off for a veteran all-star. They could also just go with the most obvious choice and draft SG/SF Deni Avdija. He’d either expedite the trade of Sexton, or the team would just add a piece or two in free agency, and run the team back largely unaltered with Garland at the point, Sexton as a shooting guard, Cedi Osman back at the small forward spot, with Love and Drummond at the power forward and center positions respectively.

That would mean that Dylan Windler, Larry Nance Jr., Kevin Porter Jr, and Avdija would all be coming off the bench, with a potential free agent to balance things out. That’s a pretty solid team, but a move or two would need to be made to clear up the back-court confusion.

Regardless of what happens with whom the Cavs draft, the good news is that the Cavs are not likely to lose their pick. The even better news is that the Cavs could make a move to get back into the draft with a possible-Sexton trade and get Dayton PF Obi Toppin, a player man in the blog-o-sphere seem to want on the team.

This could easily be a roster built with winning next year in mind if Koby Altman makes just one or two smart moves.

Next. NBA Trade Deadline: Cavs fleece Detroit Pistons to acquire Andre Drummond. dark

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