NBA Draft Lottery 2011: Cavs On Top

The 2011 NBA Draft Lottery has concluded and the Cleveland Cavaliers are back on top… of the draft board that is.
NBA Lottery Set-Up
The Cavs have had a remarkable year. They went from the best record in the NBA at the end of the 2009-10 season, then The DECISION – which saw LeBron James take his talents to South Beach, then they finished with the 2nd worst record in the NBA and re-enter the NBA lottery. Along the way, they traded Mo Williams and Jamario Moon to the Los Angeles Clippers for point guard Baron Davis and their 2011 first-round draft pick. That pick turns out to be the number 1 overall pick in the draft.

The Cavs now have the #1 and #4 overall picks in the 2011 NBA Draft, but unfortunately for them – this draft class is relatively weak. There are no LeBron James type players that will instantly turn around a franchise. The assumed #1 pick in the draft is Duke’s Kyrie Irving, but I think he is overhyped and will not live up to monster expectations.

Yes, he is talented. He is quick and knows how to get to the basket, but he is 19 years old and is basically coming out of high school. He only played 11 games for Duke this season, missing a majority of the season with a foot injury. There is tremendous risk associated with selecting him with the first overall pick.

The Cavs are in a predicament since they need a point guard, but if I were the Cavs, I’d pass on Irving and take Arizona’s Derrick Williams at number one and then follow up with Kentucky’s Brandon Knight or Connecticut’s Kemba Walker at number four.

The Cavs need a lot of work and having two top five picks is a great way to begin the rebuild process, but it won’t be an over night turn around.

Rounding out the top five picks were the Timberwolves with #2, the Jazz with #3 and the Raptors with #5.

[Photo Credit: Basketball.org]

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