President of basketball operations Koby Altman waited eight days to fire J.B. Bickerstaff as head coach because Altman was busy at the scouting combine preparing for the NBA draft in the immediate days after the Cavaliers were eliminated by the Celtics in the playoffs.
Now, 34 days after Bickerstaff was canned and before Kenny Atkinson has been officially announced as Bickerstaff’s replacement, Altman will put that scouting preparation to work June 26 in the first round of the draft. The Cavs have the 20th pick.
The Cavs can go in multiple directions with their only pick in 2024, but Altman has the comfort of knowing he isn’t looking for a starter. If there is a priority, it might be looking for a backup center to replace Tristan Thompson. Thompson, Damian Jones and Marcus Morris Sr. are all unrestricted free agents.
In case you were wondering, the Cavaliers cannot trade their pick before they make a selection because they already included their 2025 first-round pick to the Jazz in September 2022 as partial payment in the trade to acquire Donovan Mitchell. NBA rules prohibit a team from trading consecutive first-round picks. The way around that rule is to make prearranged deal with a team that wants Player X, draft Player X and then trade Player X’s rights to the team that wants him. Such a trade by the Cavaliers would likely involve packaging Darius Garland or Jarrett Allen.
• Kyle Filipowski of Duke is a 7-foot center/forward likely on Altman’s radar. He is 20 years old. He started a total of 72 games over two seasons for the Blue Devils, so he is young but not raw, which checks two important boxes for Altman.
The NBA.com scouting report on Filipowski describes him as “one of the safest picks in the 2024 NBA draft.”… “He has an excellent assist rate, has proven to be a solid shooter with a range that stretches beyond the three-point line and owns a decent offensive game near the rim, where his efficiency plays at his best,” the scouting report continues. “There are question marks as to how he’d handle the league’s physicality, but he seems to have a strong enough frame since he’s a 248-pound seven-footer.”
• Kel’el Ware is a 20-year-old 7-foot, 230-pound center from Indiana. He started 30 games as a sophom*ore in 2023-24 and averaged 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.5 assists in a little more than 32 minutes a game.
“Ware possesses a highly-coveted skill set,” the NBA.com scouting report says. “He can stretch the floor on offense while protecting the rim on defense. The big man has an array of post moves at his disposal and can find open teammates when facing a double team.
“In the pick-and-roll, Ware can pop out to three, be a capable passer in the short roll or finish lobs. Defensively, Ware is able to utilize his length and 7-foot frame to stay vertical and erase shots at the rim.”
Altman might decide to use the 20th pick on a forward to contribute off the bench. Jaylon Tyson, 6-foot-6, 218 pounds, turns 22 in December. He played college basketball at Cal.
“At 6-foot-6, Tyson has the size to get to the rim and match up with opposing wings on the defensive end,” the NBA.com scouting report says. “The 21-year-old’s biggest strength is his ability to create his own shot, but he has also proven to be a reliable spot-up shooter. Tyson is a willing passer and can find teammates as a playmaker in the pick-and-roll.”
A team picking 20th can find some gems, but there are more misses than hits that late in the first round.
The Pacers selected Caris LeVert 20th overall in 2016. His rights were traded to the Nets in July 2016. LeVert has been a reliable player for the Cavs since he was acquired from the Pacers in February 2022.
Cam Whitmore averaged 12.3 points a game in 47 games as a rookie with the Rockets last season. Jalen Johnson was selected 20th overall by the Atlanta Hawks in 2021. He averaged just 2.4 points as a rookie and 5.6 points in 2022-23, but he blossomed in 2023-24 when he averaged 16 points in 56 games with 52 starts.
The second (and final) round of the draft begins at 4 p.m. June 27. The Cavs do not have a second-round pick.
NBA Draft
When: 8 p.m., June 26
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.
TV: WEWS, ESPN
