Cavs will pick 8th in June 21 NBA draft

According to a mock draft on CBSSports.com, the Cavs should pick freshman point guard Collin Sexton from Alabama.

The Cavaliers will pick eighth in the NBA draft on June 21, they learned on May 15 during the NBA draft lottery.

According to a mock draft on CBSSports.com, the Cavs should use the pick on freshman point guard Collin Sexton from Alabama.

The lottery, weighted to give the inferior teams a higher chance of getting earlier picks, is used to determine the first three picks in the draft. The Phoenix Suns will pick first, the Sacramento Kings second and the Atlanta Hawks third.

The Cavaliers acquired the first-round pick of the Brooklyn Nets when they traded guard Kyrie Irving to the Celtics in August. The Cavs also acquired guard Isaiah Thomas, forward Jae Crowder and center Ante Zizic plus Miami’s 2020 second round pick in the trade.

Thomas and Crowder

were dealt at the trading deadline, leaving the Nets’ pick as the centerpiece of the trade for the Cavs.

Brooklyn finished 28-54 in 2017-18 — an eight-game improvement from a year ago when the Nets finished with the third-worst record in the league. The Nets had the eighth-worst record this season.

Nick Gilbert, son of Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, represented the Cavs at the lottery on May 15. He represented the Cavs in 2011 when the Cavs won the first pick and used it on Irving. Nick Gilbert also represented the Cavs in 2014 when they again won the first lottery pick. But they whiffed when they selected Michael Bennett.

Gilbert’s luck did not hold out this year.

Landof10.com also has the Cavaliers choosing Sexton with the eighth pick.

“Regardless of whether LeBron James returns or not, the Cavaliers would likely be wise to just take the best available talent,” Gary Parrish wrote for CBS Sports. “And, in my opinion, that player, at this point in this mock draft, is Sexton — the one-and-done star who averaged 19.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 29.9 minutes while leading Alabama to the NCAA Tournament.

“The 6-3 point guard is super-fast, super-quick and forever aggressive — all of which are great qualities for anybody entering the NBA. He puts pressure on the defense basically every possession.”

If they do draft Sexton, it would mean the Cavs traded a known talented point guard in Irving for a point guard they hope develops into an All-Star in the future.

CHARLES REX ARBOGAST — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Josh Jackson, left, representing the Suns, Jami Gertz, center, representing the Hawks, and De’Aaron Fox, representing the Kings, wait for the announcement of the top three picks in the draft lottery, which was announced on May 15.