Report: Cavs conducting pre-draft workouts with numerous players projected as late picks or free agents

By Jason Simpson
Updated: June 18, 2021

According to a recent report, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been running pre-draft workouts with several prospects who project to be late second-round picks or undrafted free agents.

“The Cleveland Cavaliers have spent parts of the last week conducting pre-draft workouts with a dozen players projected as either late second-round picks or undrafted free agents — Jordan Hall, Aaron Wiggins, A.J. Lawson, McKinley Wright, Tyson Etienne, Derek Culver, JaQuori McLaughlin, Zaccheus Darko-Kelly and Ansu Sesay, among others,” wrote Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “Perhaps the team rounds out its roster with one, becoming the next Brodric Thomas, Dean Wade or Lamar Stevens.”

The report doesn’t come as a major surprise, as the Cavaliers have just one selection in the 2021 NBA Draft. That selection, of course, is a lottery pick, so the team will likely have to fill out the rest of its rookie class by trying out some undrafted prospects.

The Cavaliers are tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the fourth-best odds at landing the top pick in the upcoming draft. Both teams have an 11.5 percent chance of winning the lottery.

The consensus among most executives is that Cade Cunningham of Oklahoma State University will be the first player off the board in the draft. Cunningham is a 6-foot-8 guard who averaged 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in his lone college season.

Cavaliers fans would be ecstatic if the team could land an elite prospect like Cunningham.