2019 NBA Draft grades for every team: Pelicans get an A+, Rockets an F

2019 NBA Draft grades for every team: Pelicans get an A+, Rockets get an F

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: Zion Williamson poses with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted with the first overall pick by the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

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LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 11: Vanderbilt guard Darius Garland (10) looks on with the official during a college basketball game between the Vanderbilt Commodores and the USC Trojans on November 11, 2018, at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Cleveland Cavaliers – B

5th Overall – Darius Garland, Guard (Vanderbilt)

26th Overall – Dylan Windler, Forward (Belmont)

30th Overall – Kevin Porter Jr., Guard (USC)

The Cleveland Cavaliers went outside of the box when they hired former Michigan Wolverines head coach, John Beilein, to be their next coach. Beilein’s success in Ann Arbor came thanks to his propensity to take three-star recruits and develop them into potential NBA players by the time they left Michigan. Beilein also ran a motion-heavy ball movement system that isn’t unlike what many NBA teams run today.

With a lot of holes to fill in their roster, the Cavaliers opted to go all-in on the first round. Already armed with the fifth and 26th overall selections in the 2019 NBA Draft, Cleveland acquired the 30th pick in exchange for four second rounders (2020 from Utah, 2021 from Portland, 2023 from Portland, and 2024 from Minnesota) and $5 million. They would take Darius Garland, Dylan Windler, and Kevin Porter Jr. with their three selections on Thursday night.

Garland might have only played five games in college before a meniscus injury forced him to miss the rest of his freshman season but by the draft, he was being talked about as the fourth best player in the draft. While Beilein liked having multiple ball handlers on the floor, having two guards 6-foot-2 or shorter on the court together isn’t often a recipe for success (though NBA champions pulled that off with Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet in the NBA Finals). Pairing Collin Sexton and Garland is for sure an awkward fit right now and it’s more likely that one eventually is traded.

At the bottom of the first round, the Cavaliers were able to come away with Windler—a sweet shooting lefty with a good basketball IQ—and Porter Jr. —one of the most talented players in the draft and a gifted isolation scorer. Cleveland made it a point of emphasis to not only get the most talented players they could but to also get players that could create their own offense as well. I’m not sure how all the pieces will fit together by tip-off of the 2019-20 but Cleveland is in a position right now to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.

This will definitely be the team at Las Vegas Summer League I am personally most interested in watching and given the fact that Beilein himself is likely to coach him we’ll see if any of the three are able to truly impress the first-year coach this summer.

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