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Cavs: Ranking Cleveland’s young core by potential

By Justin Taguibao

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 02: Darius Garland #10 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts with Collin Sexton #2 late in the second half against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on January 2, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. 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 Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 02: Darius Garland #10 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts with Collin Sexton #2 late in the second half against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on January 2, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. 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 Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /
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The Cavs young core has been hard at work

With under a month to go before the Cleveland Cavaliers season opener and merely days until training camp, it is very encouraging to see that the young Cavs have already been getting their reps in at the team’s practice facility.

The Cavs’ presumptive starters for their upcoming 2021-22 campaign, as well as the new faces, have already been either participating in 5-on-5 scrimmages or practicing individually with team staff at the Cleveland Clinic Courts for more than a week.

Last season’s ‘core four’ of Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, Isaac Okoro, and Jarrett Allen also linked up with rookie Evan Mobley last month in Las Vegas, sneaking in a few more workouts in between the Summer League squad’s practices.

Another good sight to see are the newcomers, former Chicago Bull Lauri Markkanen and veteran overseas guard Kevin Pangos, already working out with the crew. Heck, even embattled forward (and last remaining Cavalier from the 2016 Championship squad) Kevin Love is finally back in the building.

Speaking of the young Cavs, a few of their names have been popping up in discussions, including on Bleacher Report’s top 25 under 25 players and among the best 100 players rankings on ESPN–and it comes as no surprise that our guys find themselves on the lower end of those lists.

After all, Cleveland once again wound up near the bottom after only managing to salvage 22 wins, all the while appearing in zero nationally televised games last season. Since we followed all 72 games, why don’t we do our own rankings for the young Cavaliers?

For the purpose of this list, we’ll rank them by potential, excluding any and all rookies while focusing only on the starters and regular rotation players.

Let us begin with last year’s lottery pick.

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