Cleveland’s selection of Arkansas guard Meleek Thomas creates a backcourt logjam that Cavs GM Koby Altman will have to sort out in the weeks ahead.
There was no shortage of guards on the Cleveland Cavaliers entering this week's NBA Draft. Now they have another one.
The wine and gold used pick No. 34 in the second round of the NBA Draft to select University of Arkansas guard Meleek Thomas on Wednesday night. Thomas comes with plenty of upside, particularly as a shooter, but also further complicates Cleveland's guard dilemma.
Including Thomas, the Cavs roster now features nine guards in total. That list includes obvious stars like Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, but also notable role players like Dennis Schroeder, Keon Ellis, Craig Porter Jr., 2024 first-round pick Jaylon Tyson, 2025 second-round pick Tyrese Proctor.
Moments after drafting Thomas, Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman admitted that at the stage of the draft they made the pick "fit" essentially goes out the window.
"When you get to this part of the draft, you're drafting for talent, and at that point I think you're drafting for who's best available," said Altman. "Who you think actually has a niche that can carve out an NBA career at that point. And his skill set and what he can do is so translatable to our game, it's almost like you can't pass that."
As irresistible as Thomas' profile was for Altman to pass up, it's impossible to ignore that surplus of guards Cleveland has accumulated over the years. Something is going to have to give.
Roster changes are inevitable. It's hard to imagine Ellis, set to be a free agent on July 1, will be back with the franchise next season. Thomas will almost certainly push Porter Jr. further out of the rotation as well, meaning he could be a trade chip. Schroeder still has one year left on his current deal, but could be a trade candidate himself.
Whatever is coming, Altman is confident the wine and gold will get it resolved.
"We'll figure it out," he asserted. "I think you're right in terms of the depth, but you know, when you're picking at 34, you don't have the luxury to say, oh, let's pick for fit. We pick for a player that had the skill set that we see every day in the NBA. And those skill, that skill set is very transferable."
What that looks like is yet to be determined. But the coming days and weeks will reveal Altman's grand offseason plans for the guard stockpile and the roster as a whole.
Either way, the Thomas pick almost certainly guarantees that changes are coming.
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