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The Cavaliers are the NBA’s ultimate good luck-bad luck team. They suffered with years of bad luck and punishment by the hands of Michael Jordan (and others) and were never able to bring any positive news to Cleveland pro basketball for decades. Then, in 2003, they won the Draft Lottery for the first time and brought home the ultimate jackpot: (near) hometown boy LeBron James. LeBron brought fame and success to this franchise for the better part of seven years before leaving them jilted in 2010 and again without a future. But a year later, the Cavs luck turned for the better again when they once more won the lottery and got in Kyrie Irving, who turned out to be the 2012 Rookie of the Year.
And now, as the franchise continues its rebuilding process post the LeBron James era, they have been gifted with the favour of Lady Luck once again. For the second time in three years, the Cavaliers won the number one pick in the 2013 draft at the Draft Lottery in New York on May 21st. The Cavs had finished with the NBA’s third-worst record last season. The team with the worst record – Orlando Magic – won the second pick. The biggest jump was for the Washington Wizards, who moved from eighth place to win the third pick in the draft.
The 2013 NBA Draft will be held on June 27th.
Now that they have the freedom to choose first, who will the Cavs pick? I have written on numerous occasions that a team in the draft should always pick talent first and worry about their roster requirements (through trades, etc.) later. Unfortunately, there is no standout talent in the draft this year that is set to be a bonafide, can’t-miss superstar. So the Cavaliers wouldn’t be blamed for picking and choosing a player that fits in a positional need.
The consensus top-man this year might be Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel. A freshman Center, Noel is a great defensive player who can be the middle-man that many young teams hope to anchor their future upon. The Cavaliers already have Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thomas in the post, and Kyrie Irving and Dion Waters in the backcourt. Their biggest position of need is then at Small Forward, but they are most likely to draft Noel anyways and adjust their lineup accordingly. The question mark around the youngster is of course that he tore his ACL (which is unfortunately happening to a lot of folks these days) in February and won’t be healthy by the start of the new season. Noel only played 24 games in college, but in a weak draft year, that is still good enough to keep him number 1. And remember the last injury-riddled college player Cleveland drafted at first place? That player was Kyrie Irving, who is already blossoming into a superstar. The Cavs will feel that Noel may be well worth the risk and become a great addition to their rebuilding squad.
The other biggest prospect in the draft is Kansas’ Ben McLemore, a big shooting guard who could one day grow into the Dwyane Wade frame. The Magic – who have had bad luck with high-picked big men before (See O’Neal, Shaquille and Howard, Dwight) – may be satisfied to hand the keys of their offense to a young game-changer in the backcourt. The Wizards, who were one of the best teams in the East in the second half of the season, must be thrilled with their lottery luck. Behind John Wall, they were already gearing up to become a team shooting for a playoff position next season; and now with another high draft pick, they may add a big player like UNLV’s Anthony Bennett to their roster and continue their upwards charge.
Other prospects to watch will include National Player of the Year Trey Burke (Michigan), Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller (Indiana), and Shabazz Muhammad (UCLA). Muhammad is an especially interesting candidate. A year ago, the explosively talented shooting guard would’ve been a consensus top three pick, but his draft status has dropped after a so-so freshman year. Still, I won’t be surprised if his stock rises between now and draft night.
Here are the full 2013 Draft Lottery results:
1. Cleveland Cavaliers2. Orlando Magic3. Washington Wizards4. Charlotte Bobcats5. Phoenix Suns.6. New Orleans Pelicans7. Sacramento Kings8. Detroit Pistons9. Minnesota Timberwolves10. Portland Trailblazers11. Philadelphia 76ers12. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Toronto Raptors)13. Dallas Mavericks14. Utah Jazz
Of course, in one way, all the winners in this draft are losers, because the real time to tank for the worst spot / highest pick is next year. The 2014 class is set to be star studded and feature some of the most enticing NBA prospects in recent years. Entering their first year in college this year, Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker could go 1-2 in the draft this season. The Harrison twins (Andrew and Aaron) have a lot of talent too. And then there is Julius Randle, another potential future superstar.
But anyway, let’s not distract ourselves by looking too far ahead. Congrats to the Cavaliers again, and to their lucky charm Nick Gilbert who again represented the team at the draft and again brought them a high pick. They will be the team calling first on Draft Night.
(Unless, of course, the rumours of them looking to trade the top pick hold any authenticity. In that case, ignore half of this article!)
Like every year, stay tuned for my Mock Draft predicting all the lottery picks close to Draft Night!
