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.
No. 5: Isaac Okoro
Isaac Okoro may be the least talked about player among the Cavaliers young core, and for good reason: people often look past the hard-working, blue-collar players in favor of athletic, flashy scorers of the league.
While Okoro’s game is hardly flashy, and his rookie season numbers (9.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.9 steals) aren’t too attention-worthy, what he brings to the table for the Cavs go way beyond the stat sheets.
The fifth overall pick in last year’s NBA draft is willing to do the dirty work as a primarily defensive-minded player. Despite being a slightly undersized wing at 6-foot-5, he relishes the opportunity to guard the opposing team’s best (and often larger) players such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
For that reason alone, Okoro is regarded as one of Cleveland’s most important young pieces, and despite his still developing offensive game, he brings a bit of everything on both ends of the court. One of the players he gets compared to, Miami Heat guard Jimmy Butler also sang his praises.
Per Rookie Wire:
"“I was talking to U.D. (Udonis Haslem) at the end of the game and we agreed the kid is going to be really good,” Butler said of Okoro. “His potential is out of this world. Hopefully, he is 10 times better than I am. If he keeps working, the sky is the limit.”"
He has since bulked up his already brawny frame even more and has proven to be able to step up offensively when called upon. He even led the team in scoring in his two appearances at the Las Vegas Summer League a month ago.
As one of the hardest-working players in the young roster, Isaac Okoro’s career may very well go on a similar trajectory as his All-Star role model if he keeps at it.
No. 4: Jarrett Allen
Next up is the team’s long-term center Jarrett Allen, who only arrived last January via a multi-team swap and was immediately re-signed to a massive 100 million extension as soon as free agency opened this offseason.
Some may argue that the Cavs overpaid the 23-year-old big man as they wanted to risk nothing in an effort to retain the then restricted free agent, but just charge that to the “playing in Cleveland tax”.
Everyone knows it is a norm for small market teams like ours to over-remunerate just to entice or keep players that will otherwise likely go elsewhere.
The former Brooklyn Net averaged 13.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 51 games with the Cavs, enough to command the attention of several potential suitors such as the Toronto Raptors. He is also only one of two from the Cavaliers young core who landed in both aforementioned media rankings.
Despite not being a back-to-the-basket post player, Allen is still considered a traditional center in today’s exceedingly positionless NBA landscape: a rim-protecting big that relies mostly on lobs pick-and-rolls on the offensive end. But that’s not entirely a bad thing.
Even with his limitations, Jarrett Allen is an excellent defensive anchor and partner for rookie Evan Mobley as they form Cleveland’s new Tower City frontcourt, and could be in the position to take another leap forward. That is if he continues to improve on his shooting and remains as motivated even after securing a new long-term deal.
No. 3: Lauri Markkanen
One of the latest additions to ‘Tower City’ is former Bulls lottery pick Lauri Markkanen, who arrived with a fresh four-year, $67 million contract in a bittersweet sign-and-trade deal wherein the Cavs sent away homegrown son and fan-favorite Larry Nance Jr.
Despite being a downgrade from Nance defensively, the 24-year-old Finnish forward brings a lot to the table on the offensive end, last averaging 13.6 points per game while shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc, providing a much-needed boost for a team wallowing at the very bottom of the NBA in three-point shots made last season.
After losing significant minutes alongside his starting role in Chicago last season, Markkanen can rehabilitate his game with a fresh start in Cleveland, and he has been vocal about his excitement to begin the new chapter of his career.
The former lottery pick still has the potential to become a high ceiling player, even in a backup role to presumptive starters Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. After a pretty lackluster year with the Bulls, is a pleasant surprise that he still ranked 82nd in ESPN’s recent NBArank for the top 100 players.
With a fresh start (and perhaps if veteran Cavs forward Kevin Love ever becomes engaged enough to mentor him), Lauri Markkanen could very well find himself redirected back on the path to realize his true potential.
No. 2: Collin Sexton
In only his third season in the league, Collin Sexton quickly emerged as the new face of the franchise for the rebuilding Cleveland Cavaliers and has established himself as the team’s de facto star in the post-LeBron James era.
Yet he often finds himself in trade chatter in the past couple of months. Odd isn’t it? But not really.
As good a player the 22-year-old has become, he still comes with a lot of limitations, especially on the defensive end of the floor. He is also entering the final year of his rookie contract and will become a restricted free agent next year, making him an ideal trade asset while also a potential dilemma for the Cavs front office.
The 6-foot-1 Sexton is considered an undersized shooting guard and forces his teammates to cover for his deficiencies on defense. He did show some steady improvements and it is not for the lack of effort, either. However, the former Alabama Crimson Tide star has to heighten his off-ball awareness as well.
Critics will also point out his tendency to dominate the ball on offense, and he does indeed display tunnel vision at times, but it is worth noting that his assist numbers have seen a sizable improvement from three up to 4.4 dimes a game last season–signifying his effort to get more teammates involved.
In his third season, ‘Young Bull’ has seen a steady uptick with his scoring, averaging a career-best 24.3 per game which is nearly eight points higher than his rookie year numbers. Earlier this year, he turned many heads after erupting for a career-high 42 points in an unlikely double OT win over the heavily favored Brooklyn Nets.
ESPN’s NBArank placed him 59th out of 100 players this year, while Bleacher Report had him 25th among players under the age of 25.
Some observers believe Collin Sexton is nearing his proverbial ceiling if he hasn’t already reached it. But we have few reasons to doubt he will keep enhancing his game for the fourth-straight season as he continues to mature.
No. 1: Darius Garland
Even though Collin Sexton was undoubtedly the star of the show for Cleveland last season, most folks who followed the team closely raved about the improvement of Darius Garland after a pretty underwhelming rookie season.
Sure, Garland’s numbers last season weren’t as eye-popping as the other half of SexLand, but made improvements across the board nonetheless. He made huge leaps forward to finish with averages of 17.4 points, 6.1 assists, 1.2 steals, while shooting just a sliver under 40 percent from deep. And it looks like he grew a couple of inches, too.
Most casual NBA fans wouldn’t notice him much, but the former Vanderbilt University Commodore is finally commanding attention outside of Northeast Ohio. He even earned the approval and high praise from a three-time NBA Champion and two-time league MVP.
Per Jackie MacMullan on the Bill Simmons podcast:
"“I talked to Stephen Curry a couple of weeks ago, and I was asking him about young players that he may have reached out to, you know, and guess who he said? Darius Garland. He loves Darius Garland a lot. A lot, a lot, a lot. He thinks that kid is going to be a flat-out star.”"
Curry’s Golden State Warriors teammate Draymond Green also once placed the 21-year-old point guard among those “hardest to guard” in the NBA.
Garland, who landed in the 84th spot in ESPN’s NBArank, would greatly benefit from any mentorship from Curry, as well as from another prolific floor general in Cavs newcomer Ricky Rubio. Many believe he has the highest ceiling among the team’s guards.
Between his continuous growth and getting taken under the wing of some of the league’s great floor generals, expect Darius Garland’s stock to keep rising as he becomes one of the bonafide stars and the leader for the young Cavaliers.