Cleveland Cavaliers hit the Jackpot in 2011 Draft Lottery
By: Jason Perrigan
The Cleveland Cavaliers hit the jackpot in the NBA draft lottery. The Cavaliers own the 1st overall pick and the 4th overall pick in June’s 2011 NBA Draft. Cleveland fans should be ecstatic because having two top four players in the country will build a solid foundation for the Cavaliers for years to come.
I imagine with the 1st overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Cavaliers will select Duke PG Kyrie Irving. The question is; what will Cleveland do and pick 4. There are several scenarios that could play out. The Timberwolves have already declared they are shopping the 2nd overall pick. More than likely, a team will deal with the Wolves so they can draft Arizona PF Derrick Williams. The Utah Jazz will more than likely select Brandon Knight from Kentucky to be their PG for the future. With the 4th pick, the Cavaliers would then have their choice of Euro Bigs as in Jan Vesely, PF from Serbia or C/PF Enes Kanter from Kentucky University/Turkey. In this scenario I would prefer Kanter.
Let’s dream a little bit shall we. Potentially, the Cavaliers could end up with Kyrie Irving AND Derrick Williams one of two ways. 1. The Wolves can hold onto the 2nd pick and select C/PF Enes Kanter and the Jazz may pass on Williams for their PG of the future. Or the Cavaliers can do everything in their power to pry the 2nd overall pick form Minnesota, giving the Cavaliers the 1st and 2nd Overall pick. Cleveland still has a huge trade exception they received the in the Lebron James fiasco last year.
There have been speculation of the Cavaliers trading part of that exception to the Detroit Pistons for Rip Hamilton and Detroit’s 1st round pick (8th overall.) Imagine if the Cavaliers could trade for the 2nd overall pick without giving up any picks this year and the Cavs pull off a trade with Detroit for their 8th overall selection. The Cavaliers could potentially have 4 picks in the top ten. While this is seems like a pipe dream now, this could become reality. If somehow Cavaliers GM Chris Grant pulled off this miracle scenario, this is how the Cavaliers 1st round could go in this year’s draft.
1. Kyrie Irving
2. Derrick Williams (from Minnesota)
4. Enes Kanter
8. Jimmer Ferdette (from Detroit)
Realistically, the Cavaliers have an excellent opportunity to draft their future PG in Kyrie Irving and add another solid piece at the number 4 spot. While this by no means spells championship for the Cavaliers in the near future, it is a giant leap in the right direction.