NBA Draft 2019: 5 targets for the Cleveland Cavaliers

4. Coby White, Guard, UNC

The Step Back Big Board Ranking: 4

Coby White is the best point guard prospect on our board, which may seem redundant with Sexton around. But White is the best compliment to Sexton among the guards in this class, which makes him an intriguing player for the Cavs to target. The 6-foot-4 White is bigger than Morant or Darius Garland, and has a skill set that better fits alongside Sexton’s strengths and weaknesses.

The primary utility of adding White will be giving the Cavs a true primary initiator type, a strong open court playmaker who showed some real spark bringing up the ball for UNC this year and has some upside in that regard as he didn’t play the position much in high school. He is the best functional pull-up shooter in the class, which helps him create gravity, and he should help the Cavs run more sets that put Sexton into a play-finishing role, where he is attacking against a bent defense off of initial actions rather than setting up those looks himself for a majority of possessions.

White also actually has defensive utility, which should help him buoy Sexton as an off-ball defender. White will probably be able to defend both guard spots with reasonable utility and looks to be a functional pick-and-roll defender if he gets stronger. There’s also the prospect of White matching Sexton’s ability to get out and run in transition off turnovers and defensive rebounds, as White may be even quicker than Sexton and is one of the best prospects in the class at transferring momentum into runners and finishes in the open floor.

It’s not a perfect marriage, but White fits the Cavs’ roster better than Morant or Garland does, and is a perfectly reasonable option if the Cavs aren’t married to the idea of Sexton as a point guard and want to take a bet on another initiator.