NBA Mock Draft 2019: The Pelicans are in the driver’s seat
player. 156. . F. Virginia. De'Andre Hunter. 5
We haven’t talked much about John Beilein in this space since the Cavaliers hired the former Michigan coach earlier this month, but because everyone seems to be hyping up the impact his offensive system will have on Cleveland’s team-building plans, let’s discuss the man.
Anyone who’s watched the NCAA tournament the past several years will have quite a few memories of Belein’s egalitarian offense. In fact, the draft itself has been thrown open by late risers coming from Belein’s Wolverine teams. From Trey Burke to Nik Stauskas to Tim Hardaway Jr., there have been a handful of high-profile reaches on Michigan guys over the years, with perhaps Caris LeVert the only noteworthy hit from the school.
This is not to say Cleveland made a mistake in hiring Beilein, only that it may be foolish to judge positively the impact his offense has on players. Rather, let’s wait and see how Beilein adapts to the NBA and what it means for the future of 2018 No. 8 pick Collin Sexton. And if we’re putting ourselves in the Cavs’ shoes, let’s not jump the gun on pairing Sexton with another ball-handler simply because that’s what worked for Belein at a high level in college basketball.
Vecenie writes in his intel-laden mock draft that he believes Cleveland executives may have traveled to California to watch Darius Garland simply to throw teams off the scent or gather intel for their own records.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, on the other hand, reports Hunter only worked out for Atlanta. It’s still tough to guess how Cleveland approaches this thing, but they need a big shot of defense and toughness on this young squad under Beilein, regardless of what the offense looks like.