The New York Knicks have consistently made their interest in LaMelo Ball well-known in recent weeks. On top of having the team having a Ball as the top point guard on their big board, they’ve already held discussions about trading up for him if they don’t move up in the draft lottery as well.
But the Knicks aren’t the only team that has been heavily linked to Ball recently. The Cavaliers reportedly scouted Ball extensively during his time in the National Basketball League (NBL). During a radio interview with 92.3 The Fan, Cleveland Plain Dealer writer Chris Fedor noted that the team won’t rule out drafting Ball despite having selected guards in Collin Sexton and Darius Garland in recent years.
Fedor, though, would go on in the interview and add more fuel to the fire by stating that, if the Cavaliers landed the No. 1 overall pick and were to make the decision today, Ball would likely be their selection.
“I think if they have the first overall pick, this is just me trying to read between the lines based on everything that I’ve heard, I think they would take LaMelo Ball because I think that they feel he’s the best player in the draft.”
The Cavaliers would find themselves in an interesting position should they land the top pick. Given their current roster makeup, each of the top three prospects that have separated themselves at the top of the 2020 NBA Draft – James Wiseman, Anthony Edwards and Ball – would clash in some way with players already on the roster.
In the frontcourt, the Cavaliers are already restoring two traditional big men in Andre Drummond and Tristan Thompson and the possibility remains that one of them could return next season, blocking Wiseman in the process. In the backcourt, the team already has the likes of Sexton, Garland and Kevin Porter, Jr., all three young players drafted within the last three years, blocking both Edwards and Ball.
In essence, it would likely force the Cavaliers into taking the best player available regardless of their normal strategy. Even if that isn’t their strategy, though, Ball has enough flexibility offensively to play either guard position that he could play with either young guard on the roster.
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