Glenn Kaplan
The Cleveland Cavaliers will have the 29th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Cleveland needs to find a player who will help the team now. The Cavaliers are win-now mode after they reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2026. They lost to the New York Knicks and Cleveland needs some more tweaks to the roster.
There will be some very good players on the board when the Cavaliers are on the clock. One of the players that could potentially be available for Cleveland was on the clock is Arkansas Razorbacks guard Meleek Thomas. Thomas played with Darius Acuff Jr. last season, and he is projected to be a top five selection in the 2026 NBA Draft. Thomas on the other hand is projected to be selected near the end of the first-round.
Latest NBA Mock Draft by the Athletic has Cleveland Cavaliers selecting Meelek Thomas
Zach Harper of the Athletic created his latest 2026 NBA mock draft. He has the Cavaliers selecting Thomas from Arkansas with the 29th overall pick. Harper said, “Assuming the Cavs are going to lose Keon Ellis and maybe some other depth to get under the second apron, and maybe even under the first apron at some point, Thomas could be an excellent, cost-effective option. He probably needs to be reined in quite a bit with decision-making, but he can really shoot and score.”
Thomas would be a much better option for the Cavaliers roster than Keon Ellis. Ellis did not provide much for Cleveland in the rotation. Thomas is only 19 years old and would be an upgrade for the roster. He would have a lot of room to grow his game. Cleveland needs a winger and Thomas would be a good option for them on the wing.
During the 2025-2026 college basketball season with Arkansas, he averaged 15.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.5 APG, 0.2 BPG, and 1.5 SPG. One of the things that also stands out with him is that he shot 41.6% from three-point land. This would be another good shooter for Cleveland to have on its roster. Max Strus and Sam Merrill are other players on the Cavaliers who can also knock down three’s.
Scouting Report
Sam Vecenie of the Athletic gave his scouting report about Thomas. There are some strengths and weaknesses with him game. Vecenie said, “First and foremost, Thomas is a poor team defender who ball-watches so much that I don’t think coaches can have him on the floor in the NBA early on. Second, his shot selection and lack of vision are completely out of whack. That could be fixable, but I’m not convinced the inconsistent vision will improve.
Finally, I worry about Thomas not decelerating after he gets moving. He goes from fast to slow. He’s excellent at going from slow to fast with his first step. But he needs to slow down to play more under control.
I could believe Thomas becoming a useful sixth man by the time he’s 25. He has talent. But I’m not convinced that the first team that has Thomas will get the most out of him.”
With him only being 19 years old, he has plenty of time to grow into the NBA game. If Thomas can be a solid scorer at the NBA level and improve his defense, then he will be a solid role player whether it is with the Cavaliers or someone else.
