The Cleveland Cavaliers recently won the 2013 NBA Draft Lottery. This is the third time the Cavs won the lottery in the past ten years. The first two players that were selected were Kyrie Irving and LeBron James. With those previous drafts it was a no-brainier, of who the best player was. In this years draft things are up in the air. Players such as Trey Burke and Ben Mclemore would be ideal picks at that slot, but with the Cavs already having Kyrie Irving and Dion Waters it wouldn’t make much sense.
Most mock drafts are saying that Nerlens Noel would be the first player selected in this years draft. If I am Cleveland I would stay far away from Noel. Noel is recovering from a torn ACL, that could keep him sidelined close to the All-Star Break.
While playing for Kentucky Noel was not a dominant force like Anthony Davis was. Noel has a lot of potential, but potential is something that gets a lot of coaches and general managers unemployed.
When looking at Noel I see him being Hasheem Thabeet at the worse case scenario, and possibly Emeka Okafor as the best case scenario. With all of that said Noel is not worth the top selection.
This version of the NBA is a perimeter driven league, and traditional big men are an afterthought. Drafting an injured project player would make no sense whatsoever.
This is a weak NBA Draft, and the Cavs should select the player that best fits their needs. In my opinion that player is Otto Porter out of Georgetown. Porter can slide in immediately and start at the small forward position.
I would recommend trading the pick down a few spots to nab Porter. The pressure of being a number one pick can be a lot for a 19-year-old kid. By the Cavs trading down some other team can make the mistake of drafting Nerlens Noel.
Dan Gilbert & Co has had pretty good drafts as of late. The Cavs need to do whatever they can do to prevent Kyrie Irving from doing The Decision Part 2. So far they are on a good track in building a good nucleus. Cavs fans just have to pray they don’t draft Noel.
I’ll explain like I have been doing since the cavs received the top pick. Everyone is saying the Cavs should trade the pick, but the real question is with who, and for what? The fact that people want to trade out of the #1 pick shows how bad this draft class is, so I don’t think the phones will be ringing off the hook for a team to move up. If I’m the GM I leave no stone unturned when it comes to all scenarios with this pick. At the end of the day it comes to value. Assuming there’s no trade will filling the need with Porter at 1, have the same value as drafting Noel at 1? I personally think after watching the Cavs last year the front line is the bigger issue, so if you can’t trade the pick I take Noel at 1 get more depth on that front line. It’s really a damn if you do, damn if you don’t type of situation which ironically is nothing new in Cleveland smh haha
I wouldn’t draft Noel with my enemies 1st pick let alone my own. You can’t draft a cat first who has a Tyson Chandler type upside. Porter should be the Cavs aim or if they want to shake it up Anthony Bennett but all in all this is the worse year to have the 1st pick, unless you need a PG. which the Cavs don’t. Cavs just gonna be the Cavs lol