CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cavs have plenty of talent. What they lack is fire.
This sentiment burned through the latest Wine and Gold Talk podcast as host Ethan Sands made an impassioned case for the Cavaliers to prioritize intangibles like toughness and competitive spirit in the second-round of the NBA Draft.
“The Cavs, as we know, need to grow in toughness. You can name physical, you can name mental. They need to grow in that department,” Sands declared.
This assessment comes after a playoff run that exposed not just tactical weaknesses but temperamental ones — a team that seemed to lack the necessary edge when facing adversity.
The discussion reached its most heated point when debating prospects like Kentucky’s Amari Williams [versus Viktor Lakhin](https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2025/06/who-should-the-cavs-take-at-no-49-three-prospects-that-could-surpass-the-odds.html). While both offer size and physicality, Sands argued that Williams’ more reserved demeanor doesn’t address what truly ails the Cavaliers.
“When it came to watching Amari and watching \[Vladislav Goldin\] play, there was a sense of timidness, there was a sense of second guessing,” Sands explained. “I think the Cavs have too many players that are okay with just going about your business and that’s cool and it will pay the bills ... except in the playoffs when you need a little bit of fire.”
By contrast, Sands’ enthusiasm for Lakhin stemmed primarily from the intangibles he brings: “Every time he had a dunk, every time he had a block, every time he had some kind of play, he was letting you and everybody in the arena know about it. He was a showman. He was getting his team fired up, calling for the arena to get louder.”
While cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor acknowledged the importance of these qualities, he offered a more measured take, highlighting Florida’s Alijah Martin as someone who embodies the mental toughness the team needs.
“You can’t cut a guy open and see what’s in there. You can’t cut a guy open and see how he ticks,” Fedor explained. “But, you can go based on the evidence that you have in front of you, based on what they did throughout their college career and what they showed throughout their college career.”
This philosophical difference — between Sands’ desire for visible, demonstrative fire and Fedor’s appreciation for proven fortitude — represents a fascinating evaluation dilemma that NBA teams face.
Is it better to draft the player who wears his competitive spirit on his sleeve, or the one who has demonstrated resilience through his accomplishments?
For the Cavaliers, the answer may lie somewhere in between.
As Sands noted, Tristan Thompson can only provide so much emotional leadership from the bench. The team needs on-court enforcers who can both protect star players like Evan Mobley and inject energy into the arena.
“I think the Cavs need somebody that’s going to be on the floor barking again to help them get to where they want to go,” Sands insisted, painting a picture of what’s missing from the current roster construction.
The passionate debate highlights a crucial aspect of team-building that often gets overshadowed by statistics and measurables.
As the Cavaliers prepare to make their selections with the 49th and 58th picks on Thursday, they’ll need to weigh not just what prospects can do, but who they are.
To hear the full, fiery discussion about what intangibles the Cavaliers should prioritize in the draft, check out the complete Wine and Gold Talk podcast episode.
Here’s the podcast for this week:
_Note: Artificial intelligence was used to help generate this story from the Cleveland Wine and Gold Talk Podcast by cleveland.com. Visitors to cleveland.com have asked for more text stories based on website podcast discussions._