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.