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Re-drafting the Cleveland Cavaliers last four drafts with different players

By Chad Porto

Feb 22, 2020; Miami, Florida, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton (2) and guard Darius Garland (10) talk during the first quarter against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 22, 2020; Miami, Florida, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton (2) and guard Darius Garland (10) talk during the first quarter against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 30, 2021; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges (25) defends Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton (2) during the game at Footprint Center. The Suns beat the Cavaliers 101-92. Mandatory Credit: Chris Coduto-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2021; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges (25) defends Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton (2) during the game at Footprint Center. The Suns beat the Cavaliers 101-92. Mandatory Credit: Chris Coduto-USA TODAY Sports /

2018

Re-Draft: Mikal Bridges

Original Pick: Collin Sexton

The Cavs selected Collin Sexton originally eight overall, and while there are other players from this class that I’d like to have in a perfect world (Michael Porter Jr., Donte DiVincenzo), there isn’t one I’d rather have over Sexton. At least that was available at No. 8. Obviously, I’d throw Sexton for Luka Doncic every day of the week and thrice on Sunday. That’s not how we’re playing this, however. We can only pick from the guys still available.

Some would go with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as “the guy” from the draft, but honestly, I think he’s vastly overrated.

He’s a playmaking point guard who can’t shoot threes. This means for him to get to his 24-plus points per game, he’s going to chuck up 18-20 shots per outing. Since most of these are inside the paint, he does pretty well keeping his shooting average up. This can slow down an offense if it’s getting outpaced by a three-point shooting team. If they’re scoring three’s and you’re only responding with two’s, the lead will quickly get away from you.

Gilgeous-Alexander is a good player, don’t get me wrong but his lack of shooting skills is a bad sign. His injuries are also an issue. He’s also not shown to be able to carry the Thunder to a winning record.

He’s a good number two, but he’ll want number one money eventually. I don’t think you can win paying Gilgeous-Alexander $30+ million. So instead, I’m going with Mikal Bridges. He’s not a number one either, but everyone knows that. What Bridges does amazingly is play defense, just like Isaac Okoro. The difference here is that Okoro can’t shoot, while Bridges can.

His splits are deceptively impressive, .509/.374/.831, and have a career true-shooting percentage of .621, while Gilgeous-Alexander has a .571. Not terrible, but many NBA experts consider anything about a .600+ to be elite.

So not only is Bridges an All-NBA defensive player, he’s also a highly scored shooter as well.

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