Couch: Cavs should find a way to draft Denzel Valentine

The difference between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors might be more than one rookie from Michigan State. But for Cleveland — which is one more NBA Finals loss from being certain it doesn’t measure up — it’s a good place to start.

As it stands, the Cavs don’t have a pick in this month’s NBA draft. They should trade for one. No later than the middle of the first round. Or wait until Denzel Valentine is selected and trade for him. However they do it, they should make sure Valentine is theirs. It might help Cavs owner Dan Gilbert shed the regret of not drafting fellow Spartan Draymond Green four years ago, when Cleveland had four draft picks, including two right before Green was chosen by the Warriors early in the second around.

Valentine may or may not be “the guard version” of Draymond Green, as Green has dubbed him. They are different players, different personalities, play different positions. But they are also similar. Neither is pegged to just one position. Both are turning that into a virtue. The mere presence of either on the court creates a culture of ball movement and team basketball. Of winning-first basketball.

It’s become clear that Cleveland needs more capable and multidimensional role players around stars LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, and to alter its offensive dynamic. Valentine, better than any college prospect reasonably available, fills all of these needs.

“Wherever he goes, they’re going to realize that, if they don’t already,” one NBA scout told me last month of Valentine’s impact on an offense.

“I think people (mistakenly) think they can just find a Draymond now,” the scout said later. “Denzel has the heart, that’s where the correlation comes in, the obsession with working and the obsession with winning in a team aspect.”

Valentine might not ever be the NBA All-Star Green has become, even if he became a better college player at the end of his time at MSU. This is not a prediction of stardom for Valentine, even if his unprecedented trajectory at MSU should lead to the conclusion that he is not yet a finish product.

Cleveland just needs him — or someone like him; there aren't many out there — on the floor.

Never has that been more clear than during the second half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals, as the Warriors took a 3-1 series lead with a 108-97 win.

Golden State’s fast breaks and offensive possessions were poetic. The open man dictated where the ball went. On one critical fast break, Andre Iquodala pushed the ball up the court, dished to Klay Thompson, who, in one motion, swung it to Steph Curry open on the left side beyond the arc. Swish. 72-69.

Later, Green threw a one-handed bounce pass to a cutting Iguodala for a dunk and a 79-73 lead. And, later yet, as hope for the Cavs waned, Curry executed perfectly a give-and-go out of a double-team. After getting the ball back, he faked a pass to Thompson before laying the ball in the hoop. James fell for the fake because that pass is so often made.

Cleveland’s fast break and half-court offense look different. Less interesting. More obvious. James and Irving — two wonderful talents — attack and shoot, or shoot instead of attacking. If there’s a pass, there’s only one. It’s a hard offense, made possible and sometimes effective only by their incredible physical gifts. It’s no way to keep pace with the Warriors.

When basketball analysts discuss the Cavs, they speak in terms of wanting James or Irving to take the shots. No one speaks about the Warriors in those terms, even though their stars are just as obvious.

The Cavs’ break is predictable, with James or Irving charging full throttle at the rim, the defense needing only to get back to contest, instead of having to guard the entire floor.

On one possession in the fourth quarter, trailing 90-84, Irving drove to the rim against several Warriors. He couldn’t get the shot to fall or the foul call. Every defender knew what was coming and that Irving wasn’t passing. It was safe to leave their man to help.

“They need a multiple-pass possession, where the ball is moving a little bit,” television commentator and former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy advised a minute later during the ABC broadcast, the deficit having grown to 93-84.

Valentine would give them that. He makes offense considerably less arduous for everyone else. That’s how an otherwise ordinary MSU roster spent part of last season considered the top team in the country.

Valentine would not necessarily be the Cavs’ point guard or shooting guard or small forward. He could be any of those, based on matchups and situations. He could start or not.

He would allow Cleveland to move Irving off the ball and move J.R. Smith to the bench when he wasn’t producing. He would be both a capable outside shooter and a willing passer — a passer first. Someone who could make life easier for Irving and James and accentuate their abilities, especially as James’ game evolves in the later stages of his career.

“If he’s not the point guard, I think the ball will be in his hands to facilitate plays,” MSU assistant coach Mike Garland said of Valentine in March.

“Think about it, if you’re Kyrie Irving and you have ’Zel on your team, now Kyrie is able to just play. Now he can run down the court and get in the open court, one-on-one, two-on-one and stuff like that. It’ll open his game up.”

Cleveland needs a player of Valentine’s versatility and priorities, his vision and understanding. The Cavs might need more than that to beat the Warriors. Maybe not. They should let themselves find out.

Contact Graham Couch gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.

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