Cleveland Cavaliers
Record: 13-40
Current odds: 14%
Remaining SOS: 20th (.494)
Years Tanking: 2
If they don’t win the top pick, the Cavs can take solace in winning the “Oddest Trade Deadline Acquisition” award. Yes, their trade for Andre Drummond (discussed further in the Pistons slide a few pages over) was a head-scratcher, but also, yes, it makes them better.
But do the Cavs want to be better?
They’re near the start of their second rebuild without LeBron, and have a few nice young pieces like Collin Sexton and Darius Garland to build around. Putting Drummond next to the lone carry-overs from their four straight Finals runs (Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson) clogs the frontcourt and could stunt the development of their younger players.
The Cavs own the league’s largest losing streak currently with six consecutive L’s but Cleveland is definitely better with Drummond. And with one of the easiest remaining schedules on this list, they easily could end up dropping out of the group of teams with the three lowest records. Still, the Cavaliers have always been lucky at the Lottery, so maybe that continues this year even if they do end up with lesser odds.
State of the tank: When is LeBron a free agent?