Instant Reaction: Cavs Select Jaylon Tyson

Good morning CtB!

Last night the Cavs selected 21 year old California Golden Bear Jaylon Tyson with the 20th pick of the 2024 NBA Draft. By selecting Tyson, the Cavs have created more competition at the shooting guard/small forward spot with Max Strus, Sam Merrill, Caris LeVert, and potentially also Isaac Okoro. As one who was concerned POBO Koby Altman wouldn’t draft a shooter, my instant reaction is that this is a B+/A- pick, to my pleasant surprise. Tyson was a name yours truly mentioned at least twice on the podcast, and was hoping he’d be selected over types such as Johnny Furphy, Tristan Da Silva, Kyshawn George, or Ryan Dunn.

Looking at Tyson’s statistical profile, it’s clear he’ll rebound, defend, pass a little and shoot a little with a scoring efficiency that projects to be at least average. He’s not an elite athlete by any measure, but he does have legitimate NBA athleticism. Looking at his tape, the two things that stand out are his ball-handling is very clean with the ability to create his own looks, as well as his very pure jumper off the dribble or catch and shoot.

What could the Cavs have done differently? The biggest thing would’ve been taking a shot at falling guard Isaiah Collier of USC. He was the number one recruit in the nation coming out of high school, and had a productive time at USC in spite of a weak roster. But, he doesn’t necessarily solve the size and shooting equation. The other options were Tyler Smith of G-League Ignite and Kyle Filipowski of Duke. Both players fill a need, but aren’t as skilled offensively as Tyson is. This tweet sums it up best:

Some stats to ponder with Jaylon Tyson, from when he was in an off ball role at Texas Tech.

•97th percentile: cutting efficiency
•90th percentile: C&S efficiency 
•94th percentile: transition
•88th percentile: at the rim

— Fear the 'Fro: A Cleveland Cavs Podcast (@FeartheFroPod) June 27, 2024

What say you, Commentariat? Love it? Hate it? Sound off below! And there are rumors the Cavs will trying to get back into the second, could they solve their 3/4 dilemma then? Stay tuned….