Jalen Green can be the Final Missing Piece for Cleveland

The Cavs are coming off a couple sorely-needed wins, after a painful losing streak. The Cavs faced elite competition throughout the drought, but one thing proved enitirely evident: this team is not a finished product. The early season success was fun, but this team is young and figuring itself out.

The young core has looked fantastic. Darius Garland has legitimately been one of the most improved players in the NBA after a rough rookie year. Collin Sexton is returning to his form that was getting him All-Star consideration just a few weeks ago. Jarrett Allen has shined, and that’s an understatement, since Drummond and the Cavs mutually agreed to move on.

The Cavs’ 3 rookies, Isaac Okoro, Dylan Windler, and Lamar Stevens, have been steadily improving as the year has gone on and playing crucial roles in the team’s most recent winning streak, but when all’s said and done, the Cavs will be adding another rookie in next year’s draft, barring an unforeseen blockbuster trade.

The most glaring hole in the team has been it’s lack of shot-creation and playmaking outside of Sexland. Sexton and Garland’s minutes have been heavily staggered in efforts to keep at least one of them on the floor at all times, while also keeping both available for the opening and closing minutes of each game, but what happens when one of them gets hurt?

Even when the Cavs are able to keep half of Sexland on the floor for most of the game, it’s much easier for the opposing defense to key in on them, due to them knowing that the rest of the team will struggle to create much. They’re better together. The Cavs are better with multiple creators.

They need a 3rd guy. A 3rd guy who can make stuff happen with the ball in their hands. The Cavs have a vast selection of plug and play guys who excel as complementary players, but they need players to complement to.

Kevin Porter Jr was supposed to be that guy. We all know how that went. Things took a turn for the worst, and now he’s killing it in the G-League for the Rockets.

I’ve proposed Josh Christopher as a guy in next year’s draft who could replace him in Cleveland, but the Cavaliers are currently sinking in the standings, which means their pick is rising up the draft. If the team hangs around in the early-mid lottery, they should have a solid chance of nabbing a top 5 player in this class.

Almost everyone can agree that the consensus top propsects in the 2021 class is Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Jonathan Kuminga, Jalen Suggs, and Jalen Green.

Cade Cunningham would obviously be a dream. Evan Mobley, despite not being an ideal fit with the Cavs, may be too talented to pass up. Jonathan Kuminga, the do-it-all wing makes sense as an eventual Kevin Love replacement. However, Jalen Green could make just as much sense for Cleveland as any of them do.

Like with KPJ, the fit isn’t too clean. Jalen Green probably isn’t a guy you want to put at SF, especially not next to a backcourt as small as Sexland. And what happens with Okoro if that were the case. Ideally you hope Green develops into a star if you select him, but he can’t become that if he just keeps on riding the bench.

The rotational fit isn’t clear cut, but it’s a minimal concern in the grand scheme of things. From a basketball fit, it’s phenomenal. Green would join a high-powered 3 man backcourt rotation, that in it’s prime could hang with the very best in the league. With Afro anchoring down the middles, and the team’s selection of young wings filling in the gap between, you can start to see a clear picture forming.

Jalen Green shares a lot of similarities with Porter as a player. From the unique hair to the other-worldly athleticism, they both share the foundations that superstars are built of.

Green’s elite burst and first-step are among the best in this draft class. When he skies up for a jam, it looks like he’s levitating. Like he’s climbing a ladder in mid-air. He’s shown the effory to play defense, the will to make the right passes, and the want to make winning plays. But he’s the kind of guy who can get his own shot whenever he wants.

He needs to work on gaining some weight along with tightening his handle, but what he’s already able to do as a 3-level scorer with a developing all-around game gives a lot of comfort in regards to his projectable future as an NBA player.

The teenager, he just turned 19, has proved to be a problem for his opponents to contain, as he’s dropping 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists, on 47 FG% and 37 3P%. Mind you, the competition level in the G-League Bubble is notably higher than in college.

The Cavs have a bright future ahead of them, but it’s still to be determined if they currently have “THE GUY” on their team. You don’t win an NBA title unless you have one of those guys. KPJ had the potential to reach that level. He still might if he realizes it.

Guys with that combination of physical tools, skill level, and passion are so incredibly rare. Jalen Green may be another one of that ilk. If he’s available where the Cavs end up selecting, or if the oppurtunity to trade up for him arrises. Koby Altman might just have to call his name.