With hours to go before the 2022 NBA Draft, there are plenty of rumors about what will come of the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ 14th overall pick.
While many are focused on who they may take with the pick, a few have speculated on whether they may look to package the pick in a trade in order to acquire a higher pick.
Cleveland sorely needs production on both ends of the floor from the wing position, and they would ideally love a two-way wing that also has plenty of height and length.
If the Cavs successfully trade up in Thursday’s draft, here are two players they may target.
Jaden Ivey
Ivey is expected by many to be taken with perhaps the fourth or fifth pick, and while he may not have as much intrigue or potential as Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero or Jabari Smith, the consensus top-three picks, Ivey is someone who has upside himself.
He is a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who reportedly has a 6-foot-9 wingspan, and even if he can’t play the 3 at the NBA level, he could still help the Cavs moving forward.
Ivey is an impressive athlete who can create his own shot, attack the rim and finish strong, and when he drives to the basket, he seems to shift into a much higher gear and blow past people almost at will.
He is also dynamite in transition with his ability to change direction while on the dribble and hit tough, contested layups from angles that aren’t ideal.
Jaden Ivey is the best player in this draft class. I’m not sure if it’s that close, either. pic.twitter.com/CET8zM4zqw
— SportsTalkATL Jake (@cantguardjake) June 20, 2022
Ivey may not be the best outside shooter in the draft, but he greatly improved that aspect of his game this season as a sophomore, hitting 35.8 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.
One concern may be how well he can play off the ball as a shooting guard, since Darius Garland almost certainly needs to be the Cavs’ primary ballhandler and facilitator moving forward.
But if Ivey can adjust to playing alongside someone like Garland and improve his ability to hit catch-and-shoot attempts from the outside, the two of them could make a nice duo.
A.J. Griffin
There’s an outside chance Griffin may be available at No. 14 for the Cavs, but he’ll most likely go a bit earlier than that.
Griffin is a 6-foot-6 forward who weighs 220 pounds and has a wingspan that is reportedly between 6-foot-10 and 7 feet, which gives him the ideal height, size and length to play the wing position in the NBA.
The Duke University freshman’s biggest strength is his outside shooting – he made an outstanding 44.7 percent of his 3-pointers this season, as well as 49.3 percent of his shots overall.
He averaged just 10.4 points in 24.0 minutes this season, but the Blue Devils didn’t use him too much because of the other talent they possessed.
.@DukeMBB forward A.J. Griffin (@whoisAG21) talks about what he's hoping to show teams during his pre-draft workouts, how much he learned during his freshman season at Duke and growing up as the son of an NBA player and coach.#GoldOnTheClock pic.twitter.com/kKWrvNH4r4
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 13, 2022
He lacks some ability to create his own shot, and although he may ultimately have potential as a good defender, his fundamentals need revamping if he is to get there.
The big concern with Griffin is his health – he suffered a knee injury during his junior season of high school, and he missed his entire senior season with an ankle injury.
Still, he hasn’t even turned 19 yet, and for now, he could give the Cavs something they sorely need – outside shooting – while they wait on him to develop the other facets of his game, especially his defense.
Plus, he is the son of former NBA player and current assistant coach Adrian Griffin, so perhaps being a good pro player is in his genes.
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