Cavs: Team not among 10 best young cores in game according to Bleacher Report

The Cavs are not among the 10 best young cores according to Bleacher Report.

While it’s fair to criticize the Cavs for their lack of cohesive decision-making over the last five years, it’s not entirely fair to disrespect them so handily. They’re already a laughing stock among NBA execs, who are attempting to fleece the Cavaliers in trade offers, and now apparently the media is getting in on the insult bandwagon.

Bleacher Report (via NBACentral) listed their top ten teams in the NBA with the best young core. To qualify, only players 25 years and younger were to be considered with the author of the original article weighting the teams by the collection of quality young talent and an ample quantity of young players.

Cue the biggest swing and a miss we’ve seen in some time on a sport’s take. Why? the Cavaliers aren’t in the Top 10, but the Rockets and Knicks are.

Here are the 10 teams who made the list.

1. Hawks
2. Celtics
3. Pelicans
4. Grizzlies
5. Suns
6. Nuggets
7. Mavericks
8. Hornets
9. Knicks
10. Rockets

The Cavs are easily ahead of the Rockets and Knicks

The Rockets and Knicks don’t have one player among their young core that is as good and reliable as Collin Sexton. He’s better than Kevin Porter Jr. and R.J. Barrett and that’s not up for debate. Look at Sexton’s splits, they’re just better.

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Then look at the other players, the Cavs have Sexton, Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Evan Mobley, Dylan Windler, Dean Wade, and Lamar Stevens among their young crop of players.

The Rockets have Porter, K.J. Martin, and four rookies. Sure, one is Jalen Green, but he’s no lock to turn into anything. Then you have the Knicks, who without even a hint of irony, the author actually put Obi Toppin as the team’s “core young players”. The same guy who couldn’t get on the court as a rookie.

Not only is the quality much better at the top for the Cavs, as Sexton, Allen and Mobley are better than the top three from Houston and New York, but the upsides of Garland and Okoro alone have them worth a Top 10 spot at least.

Heck, further on down the page, he lists the Mavericks at #7 only because of Luka Doncic, but in his explainer paragraphs, the writer explicitly says “Having one star youngster who lacks support won’t cut it (sorry, Bam Adebayo)” and everyone knows the biggest issue in Dallas is the fact Doncic has no help.

So I’m left here like that Lisa Simpson meme, staring at the floor, wondering how this dude could be so wrong about his own list. It’d be one thing if he said “one great player is better than five very good players” then fine. We don’t agree but at least your in-universe logic tracks.

When you blatantly break from your own criteria? Come on, man. Do better.

The Cavs are a top 10 core in the NBA, no doubt. Even if it’s all just based on hype, expectations, and potential.