NBADraft reveals their picks for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2022 NBA Draft

Malaki Branham is an undersized two-guard who has good shooting skills. That said, he isn’t the perfect fit for the Cavaliers. The team is pretty heavy on guards who play just like him, and if the Cavaliers do in fact bring back both Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio this season (and presumably for a few seasons after), then you end up limiting Branham’s ability to get on the floor.

The 14th pick in the draft is rarely a starter and almost never a star. In the last ten years, there’s10 guys after the 10th pick that turned into an All-Star. There are an additional 23 guys since 2012 that turned into starters for a majority of their careers. So far. So after the 10th pick, you’re looking at six players, between picks 10 and 30 that will turn out to be either a starter or an All-Star per draft.

That may seem like a lot, but keep in mind, that’s just a 16% chance of getting one of those guys. There are years where there’s more and there are years where there is way less. So even if the Cavs had a need for Branham, there’s no guarantee he turns into anything.

The Cavs should keep that in mind and draft the biggest position of need, which is a three and D wing. On a different team, Branham may be interesting, but he’s just not going to beat out Rubio, Sexton, Darius Garland, Caris LeVert, or even Isaac Okoro for minutes.

He’s too small to play the wing effectively and his defense is considered anywhere from poor to average depending on who’s evaluating him.