Cade2CLE

     The Cavs need something big to get this rebuild going. They've acquired assets and have some good pieces, but still are stuck at the bottom of the conference, yet again. They need a kickstart to get things going. The answer? Cade Cunningham. The consensus first overall pick would be a great fit in Cleveland. He matches the exact mold of what they need, a big playmaker who brings real star power.

    With the new lottery odds, the Cavaliers only have a 11.5% chance to get the top pick, but I think it's our time to get it. We've picked at 8th, 5th, and 5th since starting this rebuild, and I think we're due to get the first selection. 

    Cade Cunningham is a 6'7" 220 lb point guard out of Oklahoma State. He's a good shooter and defender, but his size and playmaking are what intrigues people. I don't want to just throw out comparisons like they're nothing, so I was hesitant to include this, but he plays kind of in the mold of Luka Doncic.

    As far as looking at how he'll be integrated into the team, I've got the rotation all figured out. However, it'll require some more roster moves. The only acquisition we'd have to make is signing Frank Ntilikina. He's a restricted free agent and shouldn't be too hard to get. This year with the Knicks, he averaged only 2.7ppg in 9.8mpg. His role is just not a thing in New York. The rest of the roster moves are just offloading contracts. Specifically, Kevin Love, Cedi Osman, and Taurean Prince. They're all good enough to be rotation players, it's just that I don't want them in my rotation.

    Let's take a look at how Cade would fit on this team:

Minutes by position

PG: Garland 33, Sexton 15

SG: Sexton 17, Okoro 18, Ntilikina 13

SF: Okoro 15, Cade 23, Windler 10

PF: Cade 10, Nance 13, Wade 25

C: Allen 33, Nance 15

Minutes by player

Garland 33

Sexton 33

Cade 33

Okoro 33

Allen 33

Nance 28

Wade 25

Ntilikina 13

Windler 10

Lineup presets:

Lineup 1, with minutes (Starting 5)

PG: Garland 10

SG: Sexton 10

SF: Okoro 10

PF: Cade 10

C: Allen 10

Lineup 2, with minutes (Sexton/Cade)

PG: Sexton 15

SG: Ntilikina 7, Okoro 8

SF: Cade 7, Windler 8

PF: Wade 15

C: Nance 15

Lineup 3, with minutes (Garland/Cade)

PG: Garland 16

SG: Okoro 10, Ntilikina 6

SF: Cade 16

PF: Nance 6, Wade 10

C: Allen 16

Lineup 4, with minutes (Sexland)

PG: Garland 7

SG: Sexton 7

SF: Okoro 5, Windler 2

PF: Nance 7

C: Allen 7

    The starting lineup is all 5 of the young core, and optimally is the starting 5 for the next decade. Cade slides in seamlessly at the 4, with the ability to be good both on the ball and off. There's not a whole lot to be said about it, the results will speak for themselves assuming there's good coaching guiding these young guys.

    The second lineup is a small-ball style lineup, centered around Sexton for all 15 minutes and Cade for about half of that. The main actions in this will be pick and rolls/pops and isos for both Sexton and Cade. Defensively, do whatever you can to hide Sexton on defense, and the rest of the guys on the floor should be enough. Between Okoro/Ntilikina, Nance, Cade/Windler, and Wade, there's not a bad defender out there aside from Sexton. I don't see why that can't work defensively.

    Lineup number 3 is a more traditional lineup, centered around the trio of Garland, Cade, and Allen, with defense and shooting to round out the lineup from Okoro, Ntilikina, Nance, and Wade. Pick and roll dosage will be heavy with this lineup, which shouldn't be a problem. Okoro and Nance being effective spot up shooters will be important to the success of this lineup.

    The last lineup is the lineup we've seen a lot this year, with Garland and Sexton sharing the backcourt with Okoro, Nance, and Allen taking the other spots. This lineup acts a lot like the lineup before, heavy pick and roll and reliance on the spot up shooting of Okoro and Nance. Defensively, Okoro, Nance, and Allen should be more than enough to make up for Sexland.

    Some other notes I want to mention; I still believe Windler can be a rotation player. He fits the mold too well. It's just a matter of him staying healthy. Adjusting to travel also hampered his rookie year, his splits at home were significantly better than on the road, as is the case with most rookies. Ntilikina is also a guy I think can be a rotation player.

frank ntilikina finished the year shooting 48% from 3 (23/48, 7.5att/100pos)

averaged 2.7ppg in 9.8mpg. going into RFA. you have to assume it won't take much to sign him, and he's 22 years old. anyone not giving him a contract to be a pure 3nD guy is actively trying to lose

— Frank Kaminsky’s Skittles #FireJB (@kaminskyskittle) May 29, 2021

    Ntilikina certainly isn't what he was expected to be when he was selected with the 7th overall pick, but making him a pure 3nD guy could really turn his career around. Coaching is also extremely important, I don't see this team succeeding under JB Bickerstaff, but that's not a topic I really want to go into today. Also if the Cavs actually win the lottery in 3 weeks and have the opportunity to draft Cade, I'll do a full color coated Microsoft Excel spreadsheet of the entire rotation with exact substitution timelines and everything. That being said, drafting Cade and bringing in a new coaching staff could change the trajectory and raise the ceiling of this whole era of Cavs basketball.