Despite the Cleveland Cavaliers' 2018 NBA Summer League roster possessing the No. 8 overall pick, a second-year forward looking to make a jump after a promising rookie season and one of the pieces of the Kyrie Irving trade, perhaps the team's most intriguing prospect comes in the form of an undrafted free agent.
Billy Preston, however, hardly fits the profile of a standard undrafted rookie. In fact, as recently as last November, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projected the former 5-star prospect to be a first-round pick as he entered his freshman season at Kansas.
"Billy Preston won't be Kansas' top player, but NBA teams could be intrigued by his size, athleticism and offense," Wasserman wrote. "He plays above the rim and can shake free and score in the post. Preston also has some shooting touch, which could improve his stock, though it will be interesting to see how bright of a green light he'll have to take jumpers alongside a guard-heavy rotation."
Only Wasserman and other scouts wouldn't get the opportunity to truly evaluate how the 6-foot-10 forward might translate to the next level. One week after Wasserman's mock draft, Preston crashed his car, raising questions regarding his eligibility due to the vehicle he was driving. Two months later, the former McDonald's All-American signed with a professional team in Bosnia, bringing his college career to an end before he ever played in an official game.
Despite only appearing in three games overseas, Preston remained an intriguing enough prospect to garner an invite to the NBA's scouting combine and multiple pre-draft workouts.
"I kinda figure why they say 'mystery.' No one has really seen me play," Preston told The Washington Post in June. "So I'm just trying to get the opportunity to come in front of all these teams and show what type of player I am, person I am and the kind of man I can be."
Whatever it was that Preston showed in the pre-draft process, it wasn't enough to get him picked. His loss, however, was the Cavs' gain, as the 20th-ranked prospect in the 2018 class agreed to join Cleveland's Summer League team shortly after the draft.
Had Preston -- who was never technically ruled ineligible by the NCAA -- played for Kansas this past season, who knows how his draft prospects would have been different?
Perhaps he would have only fueled doubts about his motor and overall lack of polish, leading him to the same place he wound up. Or maybe his combination and size and athleticism would have won out, allowing him to fulfill his potential as a first-round-worthy talent.
"We've had more than one team tell us that," Jayhawks head coach Bill Self told KUSports.com's Matt Tait of Preston's first-round potential. "But they haven't seen him. [That] hurt him. There's no question about that, as far as the draft goes. But what happens in 2018 isn't going to define whether you're a pro in 2026 and the objective is to have a career not a paycheck."
Nevertheless, that first paycheck is on its way and it's coming from the Cavs.
Whether or not it will turn into anything more -- for Cleveland or elsewhere -- could be determined in the weeks to come.
