It’s too early to have the jury out on the selections of Hunter (to the Hawks) and the former Vanderbilt Commodores point guard Darius Garland (to the Cleveland Cavaliers) after where they were picked in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft. Garland hasn’t lived up to the hype early in his tenure in Cleveland.
But what we do know is that the No. 13 overall pick of the Miami Heat, and former Kentucky Wildcats guard, Tyler Herro is off a rampant pace production-wise for his rookie season. The Cavaliers look like they would do no wrong by swapping Herro for Garland. It would also be a more natural fit in the backcourt with former Alabama Crimson Tide point guard and 2018 first round draft pick Collin Sexton.
While Garland is averaging 10.1 points per game, 1.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists, he’s doing while shooting barely over 35 percent from the field. He’s also got turnover problems, as he’s averaging around 2.5 turnovers per game. That assist-to-turnover ratio is not ideal for who the Cavaliers are planning to keep as one of their primary ball handlers for the significant future.
Putting two guards together that have as many tools in their offensive arsenal as Herro and Sexton could be dangerous for the Cavaliers. Both are solid shot creators and distributors. Sexton would average more assists per game and likely have the higher usage rate, but Herro could complement that with solid shooting and one more playmaker on offense.