Cleveland Cavaliers Draft Suggestions
It is no secret that what the Cleveland Cavaliers need more than anything else is a point guard. Whether they can get one at number 25 remains to be seen. It is true that San Antonio picked Tony Parker with the last pick in the first round in 2001. It is also true that Dallas got Josh Howard last year. But for every guy like that, there are about 100 that never did anything meaningful on an NBA court. And when it comes to the Cavs, I can name more than a few that were drafted much higher than 25 who never produced much of anything either. Trajan Langdon, Dajuan Wagner, Desegana Diop*, Luke Jackson and even the current GM of the Cavaliers, Danny Ferry were never worth the number they were picked in the draft.
So now that the Cavs finally ended their playoff drought, they have a pick down at number 25. That isn’t really a very exciting number. So what is the best possible scenario for the Cavs on Wednesday June 28?
The bottom line is that the Cavs need to make progress immediately. You can’t waste years with a guy like LeBron James on your roster. Also, if you want any hopes of keeping him around in a smaller market like Cleveland, then you really need to show all possible commitments to getting better. So, how can the Cavs heed this advice on draft night?
Here are my suggestions:
Number One
Try to address team needs at point guard, but also have an eye out for the best player available. If a guy who is 6′10″ happens to drop into the Cavs sights and he is better than any of the point guards available, then I expect to see the Cavs take talent over need. Plus with Drew Gooden’s status unknown, the Cavs might have a need before you know it. The point is that depth is depth regardless of where you have strengths. Within reason, you can always scheme to keep your best players on the floor even if there is some crossover in the positions they play. Obviously you can’t play 3 centers, but if you have guys who can float between the 3 and 4 spots then you could have a very dangerous rotation of weapons.
Just make sure you don’t draft some guy who will never contribute because he happens to play point. The Cavs did this twice at center when they were unsure of Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ health, by drafting Desegana Diop and Chris Mihm who never performed up to the standard of their draft day slot.
Number Two
See if any good role playing point guards are available for trade. If the Cavs can trade for a known quantity at point guard, I would expect them to do it. Knowing the kind of production that you can expect from a player is better than hoping that a guy will come in and produce. Rumor has it that Portland has offered Juan Dixon for Luke Jackson. While Juan Dixon doesn’t have gaudy stats, he played on an awful team in Portland. Oh, and what have the Cavs seen from Luke Jackson since he was drafted? Zero games started, and less than three points per game in two injury-riddled seasons.
Number Three
Make sure it is a “smart” pick. In the past it seems that on draft night everyone tries to outsmart everyone else. Don’t think you know something that everyone else doesn’t already know. If the guy that everyone likes is from the Big East, don’t think taking some obscure player from Latvia is the way to go because the guy had a good workout. It is acceptable to think you might have slotted players better than everyone else, but don’t think that you are so special a talent evaluator that you can grab someone that nobody has been talking about and have it work out. Sure, you could end up picking up a highly touted guy and then have it not work out, but at least then you can point to some research and say it was bad luck. If you go on your own, you risk making a bad pick and looking idiotic in the process. If you want to gamble, do it in the second round.
Conclusion
If the Cavs can keep these suggestions in mind, they should be able to do something to improve the prospects of their team for next season. For once, the Cavs are in a position where they are expected to make the playoffs from day one, so it really should take some of the pressure off. At the same time, the difference between drafting Dwayne Wade and Darko are enormous and can forever shape a franchise. So reduce the risk of failure.
The Cavs’ ability to keep LeBron James happy might depend on it.
* Even though Diop has developed into a role player for the Mavericks, his lack of production and ability in a Cavs uniform cannot be denied, especially considering Troy Murphy, Joe Johnson, Richard Jefferson and others were chosen below him.
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