NBA Eastern Conference: Most important need for each Central Division team heading into the NBA Draft
With the 2018/19 NBA season officially in the books, the focus of the teams will turn to impending free agency and the 2019 NBA Draft where a ton of talent will be up for grabs.
For the first time since 2015, a team from the Central Division failed to make the NBA Finals. With the departure of LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers entered free-fall, finishing the season with a miserable 19-63 record.
However, the Division was still well represented, with the Milwaukee Bucks surging to the Eastern Conference Finals but coming up short against eventual champions Toronto Raptors.
While the Bucks will look to assert their dominance once again next season, other teams like the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons will look towards the NBA Draft as a chance to revamp their rosters and develop a squad capable of competing in the future.
On that note, here's a look at the most important need for each Central Division team heading into the NBA Draft:
Cleveland Cavaliers (Picks 5, 26)
Needs: Guards, Wings
The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering a new era with a new head coach and a soon-to-be-revamped roster.
It is unclear how exactly John Beilein will want to set his side up moving forwards, but the focus is likely to be on youth.
The Cavaliers have a number of damaging contracts on their books this season which limits their role in free agency.
They will, as a result, have to look to the draft and hope to strike gold. The Cavaliers were among the worst teams in the NBA last season and need upgrades in almost every position.
They need scorers, rebounders, shot blockers and basically everything in between. The Cavs possess the 5th and 26th picks in the draft and will in all likelihood look to select a guard to share the burden with rising star Collin Sexton.
If they do go that route, their eyes will be on Vanderbilt's Darius Garland. Garland is considered one of the best shooters in this draft class and averaged 16.2 points per game on 63.9% effective field goal shooting for Vanderbilt last season.
However, Garland is expected to be a top-4 pick and this would force the Cavs to turn to Jarrett Culver, who is a pretty prolific scorer himself.
With the 26th pick, they would look to target a wing player - Matisse Thybulle, Luka Samanic and Eric Paschall fit the bill perfectly.