The Cleveland Cavaliers’ decision to select Darius Garland, a smallish point guard who only played five games at Vanderbilt, with the fifth overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft was a head-scratching move at the time.
Not because Garland didn’t appear to be worth the pick. In fact, Garland shot up teams’ boards right before Draft Night and his ability to shoot from beyond the arc was being compared to the best point guards in the game.
There were questions about his ability to facilitate and also his ability to defend but, like other players, those seemed like weaknesses that could be masked on the right team.