Getty Ja Morant #12 of the Murray State Racers attempts a shot against Christ Koumadje #21 of the Florida State Seminoles in the first half during the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
The Cleveland Cavaliers got a new coach Monday. They failed to get the No. 1 pick the day after. The franchise and former Michigan basketball czar John Beilein had a 14 percent chance during tonight’s lottery at receiving the No. 1 selection in this summer’s NBA Draft.
Instead, they have the No. 5 selection and no chance at Zion Williamson.
The Blue Devils superstar averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks in his one season in Durham. At 6-foot-9, 270 pounds, he would have provided a hyper-athletic and imposing presence to the Cavaliers’ frontcourt alongside Kevin Love.
What will Beilein and company do with their other picks to shore up the rest of the roster?
1st Round, No. 5 pick: Ja Morant, Murray State Racers
Will Morant drop this far? There’s the possible hesitation that he accumulated most of his stats against lesser Ohio Valley Conference competition. If that’s the case, Beilein would be thrilled to add him into the fold.
To make a Michigan comparison, Morant would be Beilein’s Trey Burke, who won the Naismith during 2013’s NCAA Final run. He fits the bill as an excellent passer with decent 3-point range.
He led the nation in assists with 10 a game. He stretched defenses from behind the arc (36.3 percent). On the downside, he coughed up over five turnovers a contest, while Beilein teams rarely ranked outside the top-10 in fewest giveaways.
There’s a question on what Beilein is going to do with Collin Sexton, who is unlike most of the point guards he’s mentored during his long tenure at Michigan. Most of them are excellent distributors who excel in a ball-screen offense, all while being able to stretch defenses behind the 3-point line.
While Sexton can shoot, he looks to score first and has just barely above a 1-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He connects on over 40 percent of his triples, but Morant is more of a fit for the traditional Beilein offense.
1st Round, No. 26 pick: Grant Williams, Tennessee Volunteers
Williams led the Volunteers in scoring this past season, averaging 18.8 points along with 7.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists. As a 6-foot-7 forward, he has decent 3-point range, as well, shooting 33 percent on the season.
While some see him as simply a good college player, that actually may fit with a collegiate-style a la Beilein. Here’s what Jeremy Woo of SI.com had to say about Williams in March.
Williams is clearly an exceptional college player, but there are questions about how the elements of his game translate at the next level. While he’d certainly be drafted, and his stock may never get higher, there’s some debate from scout to scout about whether he’s actually worthy of a first-round selection. His strength, smarts and scoring touch are all real positives, but Williams is going to have to make big strides as a jump shooter to stick around.
Think of him as a poor man’s Zion Williamson that can translate to what Beilein liked to do in Ann Arbor.
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