Cleveland has two second-round picks in this year’s draft.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are either going to be a second-apron team this season or will at least be bumping against it in the coming years. That means they must continue to find useful contributors like Sam Merrill, Dean Wade, and Craig Porter Jr. late in the draft if they want to continue having the depth they enjoyed last season for years to come. All three were either undrafted or late second-round picks that made an impact in Cleveland’s rotation this past season.
The Cavaliers don’t have a first-round pick in the NBA Draft this year, but they do have two late seconds with the 49th and 58th overall picks.
There’s no guarantee that the Cavs will use both of those picks. They could be added in as sweeteners in a trade, or they could be packaged together in an attempt to move up.
Additionally, former second-round picks Luke Travers and Emoni Bates currently occupy two-way spots along with Nae’Qwan Tomlin. All three are eligible to be two-way players again next season.
How the front office chooses to handle those three players will likely go a long way in determining who they target with these two draft picks. Looking for a draft-and-stash player that didn’t need an immediate roster spot could be the best option to handle one or possibly both of these picks.
Let’s take a look at who some of the mock drafts have the Cavs taking.
Yahoo Sports – Jamir Watkins and Izan Almansa
49th pick – Jamir Watkins is a 23-year-old, 6’7” guard from Florida State. He can do a little bit of everything on offense, but the jump shot remains a consistent question mark as he converted just 32.1% from three and 74.7% from the free-throw line last season.
Here’s what Kevin O’Connor had to say about the possible selection:
Watkins is a versatile player who can run the show, slash to the paint and switch across positions on defense. But the development of his jumper is stuck in quicksand, which raises questions about his ability to excel in a less prominent on-ball role.
Watkins averaged 18.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists on .427/.321/.747 shooting splits with the Seminoles.
58th pick – Izan Almansa is a 19-year-old, 6’10” forward who spent the 2023-24 season with the G League Ignite and played last season with the Perth Wildcats in Australia’s NBL.
The Cavs have a history with Perth. Travers played four seasons there before moving over to Melbourne United and then coming over to Cleveland last summer.
Almansa has the size to be a good big, but hasn’t capitalized on his potential quite yet.
Almansa is an accomplished international big who projects as a versatile offensive hub and prolific rebounder, though sooner than later his production will need to start matching his flashes of upside.
Almansa averaged 7.2 points and four rebounds on .520/304/.586 shooting splits in 36 games played with Perth last season.
Bleacher Report – Javon Small and Ryan Nembhard
49th pick – Javon Small is a 22-year-old, 6’3” point guard from West Virginia. He’s known as being a good creator for himself and his teammates in college. Last season, Small averaged 18.6 points and 5.6 assists per game on .418/.353/.880 shooting splits.
Here’s what Jonathon Wasserman had to say about Small:
Scouts sound interested in Jevon Small, whose production has drawn more attention to his shotmaking and playmaking. Tough shots off the dribble can hurt his efficiency, but an NBA team could see his creation, downhill game, confidence around the perimeter working for a bench spark role.
58th pick – Ryan Nembhard is another point guard the Cavaliers could target.
Nembhard is a 6’0”, 22-year-old who was known as the team’s floor general at Gonzaga. He doesn’t have good size, but he’s someone who can run an offense and is a good pick-and-roll ball handler. Both are things you need from a reserve guard.
Here’s what Wasserman said about Nembhard:
After leading the nation in assists, Ryan Nembhard dished out 14 in two NBA combine scrimmages (three turnovers). Athletic and scoring limitations are evident, but he’ll get looks from teams who value his ability to run offense and set the table.
Nembhard finished last season averaging 10.5 points and 9.8 assists on .446/.404/.770 shooting splits.
ESPN – Michael Ruzic and Mackenzie Mgbako
49th pick – Michael Ruzic is an 18-year-old, 6’10” Coatián forward who spent last season playing in Spain. His game is raw — as he still needs to mature physically — but he projects to be a good shooter that has upside as a defender.
Here’s a snippet of what Jonathan Givony wrote about Ruzic in January 2024 after watching one of his games.
He’s not NBA draft-eligible until 2025, but it’s uncommon to see a player this age contribute in a high-level game with important playoff implications on the line.
Coming from an impressive familial background — the son of ex-EuroLeague center Tomislav Ruzic, and one of the world’s former top women’s volleyball players, Barbara Jelic-Ruzic — it’s easy to see where Ruzic’s outstanding demeanor and feel for the game comes from. He’s not blessed with elite explosiveness, but looks early in his development with his youthful appearance, only recently hitting a growth spurt that vaulted him into consideration as one of the best 2006-born international prospects.
Last season, Ruzic averaged 2.4 points and 1.5 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per game with .471/.200/.308 shooting splits in 16 games for Joventut.
58th pick – Mackenzie Mgbako is a 20-year-old, 6’8” forward who played at Indiana last season. He averaged 12.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists with the Hoosiers on .437/.329/.810 shooting splits.
Mgbako has good size with a 6’10 wingspan, but still needs to polish out his offensive game. The jump shot hasn’t been great, his ball handling needs some work, and he could use more touch around the rim.
That said, he does have good athleticism and has shown to be a versatile defender. It’s easy to see why you’d want to roll the dice on a player with his tools with the 58th selection.