Draft night is upon us. We have been waiting months for this. Some Cavalier fans are nervous as to who the team selects whereas others think it doesn't matter who the team drafts, the team will still stink. With less than half an hour until the first pick is announced here is my mock draft. Due to all the trading that happens in the draft, I am just going to project where I think each prospect will land. Along side each pick, I will give my opinion as to whether I feel the selection was a reach, steal, or just right.
1) Kyrie Irving: Steal
2) Derrick Williams: Reach
3) Enes Kanter: Steal
4) Jonas Valanciunas: Reach
5) Brandon Knight: Just Right
6) Jan Vesley: Steal
7) Kawhi Leonard: Reach
8) Tristan Thompson: Just Right
9) Kemba Walker: Reach
10) Klay Thompson: Steal
11) Jimmer Freddette: Reach
12) Alec Burks: Steal
13)Markieff Morris: Reach
14) Nikola Vucevic: Reach
15) Marshon Brooks: Just Right
16) Chris Singleton: Steal
17) Kenneth Faried: Just Right
18) Marcus Morris: Just Right
19) Jordan Hamilton: Steal
20) Iman Shumpert: Just Right
21) Bismack Biyombo: Steal
22) Tobias Harris: Just Right
23) Donatas Motiejunas: Just Right
24) Tyler Honeycutt: Just Right
25) Jimmy Butler: Steal
26) Nikola Mirotic: Just Right
27) Justin Harper: Steal
28) Nolan Smith: Just Right
29) Norris Cole: Reach
30: JaJuan Johnson: Steal
2nd Round
31) Josh Selby: Steal
32) Reggie Jackson: Steal
33) Davis Bertans: Just Right
34) Chandler Parsons: Just Right
35) Kyle Singler: Just Right
36) Malcom Lee: Just Right
37) Darius Morris: Just Right
38) Jeremy Tyler: Just Right
39) Jordan Williams: Just Right
40) Bojan Bogdanovic: Reach
41) Shelvin Mack: Reach
42) Charles Jenkins: Reach
43) Jon Leuer: Just Right
44) Trey Thompkins: Steal
45) Travis Leslie: Steal
46) Giorgi Shermadini: Reach
47) Greg Smith: Just Right
My time is up. Enjoy the NBA Draft.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
NBA DRAFT
The Cleveland Cavaliers are currently the only professional team in Cleveland giving the city something to cheer about. Last night the Indians lost to the Toronto Blue-Jays, but it was more than just that. Not only did they lose 11 to one, but they stopped Jo-Jo Reyes' winless streak. The man won his first game last night out of his last 27 starts. The Cleveland Browns are moving in the right direction, but I don't hear many Browns fans jumping for joy over Phil Taylor, their first round draft pick. Plus, I don't have to remind you, we are still in a lockout.
With the NBA draft being less than one month away, the Cavaliers, who won the first overall pick are trying to pop the bubble of excitement all of us Cavs fans had exactly two weeks ago when we won the lottery. Don't worry readers, we aren't trying to get rid of the number one overall pick. Instead, we are trying to trade our fourth overall pick and 14.6 million dollars to receive the second pick. This would put Cleveland in the driver seat to draft point guard Kyrie Irving and small/power forward Derrick Williams. The money comes from the trade exception the Cavaliers received last year due to LeBron James. (I'm sorry to all the readers for mentioning his name.) It seems as if every time the Cavaliers are brought up his name gets mentioned.
This draft is going to change that for Cleveland. I have anticipated Kyrie Irving going number one for about two months now, and with the Cavs owning the pick, my mind doesn't change. I don't want it to either. The Cavaliers are in need of a point guard. Baron Davis is a good player, but not the future. Ramon Sessions, who many fans witnessed become a better basketball player this year, is not the answer. Here is a young guard who reminds me of a poor mans Rajon Rondo. Take away the fact that Sessions isn't as good of a defender, but makes up for it by the slimmest of margins offensively. Sessions is the perfect six man for this team or quality trade bait for more draft picks. Either way you look at it, he is not starting point guard material for the Cleveland Cavaliers, nor the NBA. Next on the roster is Daniel "Boobie" Gibson. He is liked around the city and a good fit for the team. He is a guard who is lethal from beyond the arc, but yet again not starting point guard material. With a roster that already has three point guards, I understand adding another one doesn't make much sense, but outside of Davis, no one else is starting point guard made. So either Davis or Sessions has to go. Cleveland will be able to get a lot more in return if they deal Sessions because he is seven years younger and makes about ten million dollars less.
The problem arises with the rumors of the Cavaliers willing to trade and own the first two picks of this years draft. As many Cavalier fans would be excited and anxious when they hear the news that the Cavs are in serious talks of drafting the two best players in this years draft class. However, I am here writing to inform Cavalier fans that if we make this move, I will have lost all excitement I had two weeks ago when we won the draft lottery. Derrick Williams is obviously a stud, ask the Duke Blue-Devils, but do you honestly think he fills the need of the Cavaliers? Williams is going to play forward, but will it be a big small forward or a undersized power forward? Personally, I wouldn't want an undersized power forward on a rebuilding team. Not to mention, we already have a starting power forward in J.J. Hickson. Hickson finished the year strong, he had six consecutive double-doubles and in the month of April averaged 19.5 points with 12.3 rebounds. Take away the fact that he played beastly, Cavalier fans know he was the piece they wouldn't trade in order to bring in another "superstar" type player to play along James. So trading him now to let Williams start, might anger many fans. Another reason drafting Williams to play power forward, is not a good idea because the second overall pick is not one that should be used on a bench player. Why not just draft Williams and have him be the teams starting small forward? It's not that easy because Williams does not have the skills of an NBA small forward. Especially, the one Cleveland had on its team for seven years in a row. I hate to bring it up, but we all know the comparisons with occur. Williams wants to play at the three spot, but NBA executives know he will have to be used at the four. That just doesn't bode well for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
So instead of putting the team in a mess, stay put and save your money. Keep the forth overall pick and select Enes Kanter. At six foot 11, he can play the four and the five for the Cavaliers. He could even potentially start and let Anderson Varejao do what he does best and come off the bench. Varejao has never averaged double digit points in a season. With a team like the Cavs, who need guys who can score, let alone starters, Kanter is a solid pick. He's more of a dominant scorer and physical rebounder than the man who called Cleveland his home for eleven years, Zydrunas Ilgauskas. As for the money, how about the team actually spends it on a player that will wear the Cleveland Cavaliers jersey and help bring the wine and gold back to their winning ways.
With the NBA draft being less than one month away, the Cavaliers, who won the first overall pick are trying to pop the bubble of excitement all of us Cavs fans had exactly two weeks ago when we won the lottery. Don't worry readers, we aren't trying to get rid of the number one overall pick. Instead, we are trying to trade our fourth overall pick and 14.6 million dollars to receive the second pick. This would put Cleveland in the driver seat to draft point guard Kyrie Irving and small/power forward Derrick Williams. The money comes from the trade exception the Cavaliers received last year due to LeBron James. (I'm sorry to all the readers for mentioning his name.) It seems as if every time the Cavaliers are brought up his name gets mentioned.
This draft is going to change that for Cleveland. I have anticipated Kyrie Irving going number one for about two months now, and with the Cavs owning the pick, my mind doesn't change. I don't want it to either. The Cavaliers are in need of a point guard. Baron Davis is a good player, but not the future. Ramon Sessions, who many fans witnessed become a better basketball player this year, is not the answer. Here is a young guard who reminds me of a poor mans Rajon Rondo. Take away the fact that Sessions isn't as good of a defender, but makes up for it by the slimmest of margins offensively. Sessions is the perfect six man for this team or quality trade bait for more draft picks. Either way you look at it, he is not starting point guard material for the Cleveland Cavaliers, nor the NBA. Next on the roster is Daniel "Boobie" Gibson. He is liked around the city and a good fit for the team. He is a guard who is lethal from beyond the arc, but yet again not starting point guard material. With a roster that already has three point guards, I understand adding another one doesn't make much sense, but outside of Davis, no one else is starting point guard made. So either Davis or Sessions has to go. Cleveland will be able to get a lot more in return if they deal Sessions because he is seven years younger and makes about ten million dollars less.
The problem arises with the rumors of the Cavaliers willing to trade and own the first two picks of this years draft. As many Cavalier fans would be excited and anxious when they hear the news that the Cavs are in serious talks of drafting the two best players in this years draft class. However, I am here writing to inform Cavalier fans that if we make this move, I will have lost all excitement I had two weeks ago when we won the draft lottery. Derrick Williams is obviously a stud, ask the Duke Blue-Devils, but do you honestly think he fills the need of the Cavaliers? Williams is going to play forward, but will it be a big small forward or a undersized power forward? Personally, I wouldn't want an undersized power forward on a rebuilding team. Not to mention, we already have a starting power forward in J.J. Hickson. Hickson finished the year strong, he had six consecutive double-doubles and in the month of April averaged 19.5 points with 12.3 rebounds. Take away the fact that he played beastly, Cavalier fans know he was the piece they wouldn't trade in order to bring in another "superstar" type player to play along James. So trading him now to let Williams start, might anger many fans. Another reason drafting Williams to play power forward, is not a good idea because the second overall pick is not one that should be used on a bench player. Why not just draft Williams and have him be the teams starting small forward? It's not that easy because Williams does not have the skills of an NBA small forward. Especially, the one Cleveland had on its team for seven years in a row. I hate to bring it up, but we all know the comparisons with occur. Williams wants to play at the three spot, but NBA executives know he will have to be used at the four. That just doesn't bode well for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
So instead of putting the team in a mess, stay put and save your money. Keep the forth overall pick and select Enes Kanter. At six foot 11, he can play the four and the five for the Cavaliers. He could even potentially start and let Anderson Varejao do what he does best and come off the bench. Varejao has never averaged double digit points in a season. With a team like the Cavs, who need guys who can score, let alone starters, Kanter is a solid pick. He's more of a dominant scorer and physical rebounder than the man who called Cleveland his home for eleven years, Zydrunas Ilgauskas. As for the money, how about the team actually spends it on a player that will wear the Cleveland Cavaliers jersey and help bring the wine and gold back to their winning ways.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Lottery Is Tonight
For 12 teams tonight could be the beginning of an era. Draft picks one through 14 will be determined tonight, with the Cavaliers and Jazz owning multiple picks. The Cavaliers were given the Clippers draft pick in the Mo Williams and Baron Davis trade. Utah received the Nets first round pick when they sent Derron Williams to NJ for Devin Harris. Obviously, there were other players in the two trades but those were the highlighted players. Good news for Cavalier fans, the last time the team with the worst record won the NBA Lottery was in 2004, when Orlando selected Dwight Howard. There currently are four teams trying to start their own history, as the Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz, Charlotte Bobcats, and Phoenix Suns have never won the lottery. Whoever wins the rights for the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft will have a tough decision to make.
There is no clear number one draft prospect this year. In recent years, there were plenty of "can't miss" rookies, such as; Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin and last year with John Wall. With that not being the case, this year's class does have two top prospects with everyone else filling in behind. Kyrie Irving, the point guard from Duke and Derrick Williams, the forward from Arizona are projected as the two best players in the 2011 draft class. With the recent success from point guards in the previous years, it certainly would be hard to pass up on Irving. Williams, however, had one fantastic and memorable NCAA tourney run putting up beastly numbers while knocking off Irving and the Dukies.
Wondering who goes third overall? Well, it depends obviously on the draft order, but there are a few candidates that would fit some teams perfectly. Enes Kanter, a 6-10 forward/center from Turkey would be someone the Raptors would love to have. He initially signed to play at University of Washington, but withdrew his scholarship and committed to University of Kentucky. He ended up being ineligible to play due to signing a contract with a professional Turkey team at age 16. He hasn't played a game in two years, but when he was playing he was MVP of the U18 European Championship, even as he played against prospects a year older than him. In the semi-final game, he posted 32 points, 25 rebounds and two blocks in 39 minutes
against the tournament champion Serbia team. The bronze medal game was even better. In 36 minutes,
Kanter scored 35 points on 16/22 shooting. He also grabbed 19 rebounds, stole three balls and blocked
four shots against the Lithuanian team and big man prospect named Jonas Valanciunas. His overall tournament statistics were 18.6 points, 16.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.8 blocks.
Rounding out the top five could potentially be point guard Brandon Knight of Kentucky and Kawhi Leonard of San Diego State. Stay tuned for more to come after tonight's Lottery.
There is no clear number one draft prospect this year. In recent years, there were plenty of "can't miss" rookies, such as; Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin and last year with John Wall. With that not being the case, this year's class does have two top prospects with everyone else filling in behind. Kyrie Irving, the point guard from Duke and Derrick Williams, the forward from Arizona are projected as the two best players in the 2011 draft class. With the recent success from point guards in the previous years, it certainly would be hard to pass up on Irving. Williams, however, had one fantastic and memorable NCAA tourney run putting up beastly numbers while knocking off Irving and the Dukies.
Wondering who goes third overall? Well, it depends obviously on the draft order, but there are a few candidates that would fit some teams perfectly. Enes Kanter, a 6-10 forward/center from Turkey would be someone the Raptors would love to have. He initially signed to play at University of Washington, but withdrew his scholarship and committed to University of Kentucky. He ended up being ineligible to play due to signing a contract with a professional Turkey team at age 16. He hasn't played a game in two years, but when he was playing he was MVP of the U18 European Championship, even as he played against prospects a year older than him. In the semi-final game, he posted 32 points, 25 rebounds and two blocks in 39 minutes
against the tournament champion Serbia team. The bronze medal game was even better. In 36 minutes,
Kanter scored 35 points on 16/22 shooting. He also grabbed 19 rebounds, stole three balls and blocked
four shots against the Lithuanian team and big man prospect named Jonas Valanciunas. His overall tournament statistics were 18.6 points, 16.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.8 blocks.
Rounding out the top five could potentially be point guard Brandon Knight of Kentucky and Kawhi Leonard of San Diego State. Stay tuned for more to come after tonight's Lottery.
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