The Cleveland Cavaliers have the fifth overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, so yes, the May 14 draft lottery didn’t go as hoped for them.
General manager Koby Altman and new head coach John Beilein did not seem to be too disappointed, though, and as we previously noted, both had the right attitude after the lottery outcome for now, given that Cleveland is likely going to have to build for the long-term over a number of years, anyway, and it’ll take time to develop talent.
When you factor in how the Cavaliers’ head coaching search went in regards to them reportedly interviewing a bunch of candidates that were mostly younger assistant coaches that would fit an analytics-driven approach, and then ultimately going with a seemingly surprise candidate in Michigan’s former head coach in Beilein (who is 66 but has embraced analytics) to fill that role in the organization, though, one would think that them going with a bold move in the 2019 NBA Draft wouldn’t be a huge shock.