NBA Mock Draft 2.0: Narrowing down the picks after lottery, combine

NBA Mock Draft Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NBA Mock Draft Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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NBA Mock Draft
NBA Mock Draft Daniel Gafford (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

With a first-round pick acquired from the Houston Rockets, the Cavaliers can add to their frontcourt mix with Arkansas sophomore Daniel Gafford.

He’s a very mobile big at 6-foot-10 and 240 pounds and has a 7-foot-2 wingspan and he has a nice knack for getting to the offensive glass, averaging nearly three per game for the Razorbacks last season.

But he is a prototype NBA big man with no shooting range to speak of. In two seasons at Arkansas, he never attempted a 3-pointer and shot just 56.2 percent from the foul line, He converted 66 percent of his shot attempts as a sophomore, most from the restricted area.

Gafford will work hard on the glass and can protect the rim, averaging 2.0 blocks per game, and has improved as a low-post scorer while in college.

His shot will need to be reinvented. At this point it is almost all arm and almost no wrist and he will also need to reduce his tendency to play straight up and down defensively, which can lead to him being displaced by offensive players with a lower base.

Gafford can still get stronger and needs to understand that he’ll have to bang more in the NBA.