Valley of the Suns
Fansided

The two most likely lottery spots the Suns could trade into

By Adam Maynes

ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 09: Collin Sexton #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates in the 81-63 win over the Auburn Tigers during the quarterfinals round of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 9, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 09: Collin Sexton #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates in the 81-63 win over the Auburn Tigers during the quarterfinals round of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 9, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OH – APRIL 15: the Cleveland Cavaliers logo is seen at center court prior to to Game One of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 15, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – APRIL 15: the Cleveland Cavaliers logo is seen at center court prior to to Game One of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 15, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Cleveland Cavaliers at 8

Unless there is someone available to the Cavaliers at 8 that they feel they must  have, then it just seems entirely unlikely that they will be keeping the 8th overall pick.

The talent available isn’t likely to be a game changer, and they might prefer to add veteran talent to the roster to either supplement or make up for the loss of LeBron James.

What the Cavaliers might want to do here is entirely dependent on how they want to deal with the impending LeBron James decision: if they believe that LeBron will stay, they likely won’t want to add a rookie who could flop or be several years away from being ready, instead looking to continue to add the intelligent, veteran depth that James spoke of during the NBA Finals. If this is the case, then the Suns could offer a player or two (and presumably still the 16th pick) giving LeBron additional help right away.

But if LeBron leaves, Cleveland still might want to do something similar.

If LeBron takes his talents elsewhere, the Cavaliers are likely to want to start a complete rebuild. The 8th overall pick in 2018 is nice (again, especially if there is someone there who they believe might jump start the rebuild process right away), but so are additional picks in future years.

The Cavaliers owe the Atlanta Hawks their first round pick next year if it is outside of the top ten. Without much talent still on the roster after LeBron leaves (and especially if they trade Kevin Love), Cleveland could very well be safely in the top ten, and thus retain their pick.

However, that is a risk, and next season could essentially be entirely for naught if they end up having to give it up. The Suns could help them at least retain some opportunity for a draft pick by swapping them 8 for 16 and 31 this season, the Milwaukee pick next season, and maybe a player as well (or at least some combination of the four pieces since three picks and a player to move up eight spots is an awful lot to give up).

As a result, the Suns get a higher pick in this draft, presumably netting them someone they targeted all along, while Cleveland retains a draft pick this year, and then some insurance for next season as well.

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