Cleveland Cavaliers Free Agent Targets Based on Potential NBA Draft Picks

The Cavs have once again been rewarded by the lottery gods and have moved up to the third pick in this year’s upcoming draft.

With the third pick, there are hopefully two options that Cleveland will choose between, Evan Mobley and Jalen Green. Besides taking Jalen Suggs, anything else would be quite a surprise.

Time to Make a Splash?

Even if the Cavs front office can figure it out for one whole draft, I still don’t think they’ll be ready to make the playoffs, so they’ll have to go out and make a splash in free agency or via trade.

Rumors have been swirling around the league stating that the Cavs are looking to shop Collin Sexton. I’m not sure if they should trade Sexton, but for the rest of this article, I’m going to assume that they don’t.

So if the splash we need isn’t coming from a trade, it should come from free agency. Here are a few guys I think we should sign, depending on who we pick in this upcoming draft.

Evan Mobley

I’ve started to think that Mobley is the best player in this draft. If he was only 6-foot-8, he’d easily be the first player off the board because he might have some of the best on-ball skills in this class. He can stretch the floor and knock down shots, while also having the ability to create traffic on defense.

Mobley needs to be paired with some wings who can score the ball, and I think the perfect match is Victor Oladipo.

Oladipo had a down two years, battling through injuries and trades. However, he still thinks he’s a max-money player, but no team in their right mind should pay him that. What the Cavs could do is overpay slightly, and get a player with the potential to become a star once again.

Sticking in Miami, the Cavs could also try to work a deal with Kendrick Nunn. He’s struggled to find a consistent role on these Miami teams and he could be a perfect 6th man for our team. He can stretch the floor and knock down threes at nearly 40 percent, while also not costing us an arm and a leg.

Jalen Green

I think Jalen Green will be the second-best Jalen in this draft, but I’m not sure I could be a Cavs fan if we draft another point guard in the lottery. With that being said, Green still is a freak athlete.

Many scouts are considering him the next Zach Lavine and with how quickly his three-pointer is coming along, he might just be. So, if the Rockets pounce on Evan Mobley, Green won’t just feel like a consolation prize, he might just be the gem of this draft.

If we end up with Green, the need for another scoring wing will be much lower. A veteran like Serge Ibaka would be the perfect fit for this team. If Ibaka is done trying to ring chase, and would rather cash one more big paycheck, Cleveland would be the perfect destination.

If it doesn’t work out for Ibaka here in Cleveland, he most likely becomes the most sought-after trade deadline target. Flipping Ibaka at the deadline could help us gain so much-needed draft capital.

My next target would be Lauri Markkanen. He’s a high-risk, high-reward guy who has something to prove. He didn’t live up to the high hopes Chicago fans placed on him after a tremendous rookie year, but he still has some great facets to his game.

The Cavs were the worst three-point shooting team in the league last season and are in desperate need of anyone who can put the ball in the hoop. With Kevin Love still on the roster, he might be able to help mentor Markkanen and build his confidence as a scorer. He is a restricted free agent, so the Cavs would have to cough up some money to get him, but I think signing a 40 percent three-point shooter makes this roster a whole lot better.

Cleveland needs to make moves because our fans' patience has run dry. Koby Altman has to prove that the Cavs aren’t a complete dumpster fire without LeBron, and making the playoffs this year with an improved roster might just be the way to soothe tension within Cleveland.