NBA Draft 2018: 5 best fits for Deandre Ayton

5. Cleveland Cavaliers

If Cleveland fans have any hope of keeping LeBron James in Northeast Ohio for the foreseeable future they’ll need to surround him with a lot more talent. Clearly, adding Ayton to the squad would give the team a massive upgrade in that regard.

The massive big man also happens to be a pretty good fit with the Cavaliers. Tristan Thompson had a very mediocre regular season before somewhat redeeming himself in the playoffs. Even at his best, Thompson isn’t a guy you can throw the ball to in the post if you want to create offense.

Ayton could take the offensive load off of LeBron. He has a sophisticated enough post game to score on quality NBA defenders from day one. The fact that he can also work well as a jump shooter out of the pick and roll means he could also make life easier for LeBron to create his own offense.

The Cavs’ need for Ayton will only increase if James does leave this summer. He’s the sort of offensive centerpiece that Tyronn Lue could build the next great Cleveland team around.

The real problem is that Cleveland will face an almost impossible task moving up the draft board far enough to take Ayton. Even if he slips past the Suns at one, the Cavaliers would struggle to move up enough to stop his fall. Ayton is more of a beautiful pipe dream for Cleveland bans barring an unforeseen development.