[MachettiParticipant]

Looking at the Cleveland Cavaliers I can only wonder if "this" was all worth it? I was looking back at the 2011 draft and they had the 1st and the 4th picks. They chose kyrie and Tristan further down in the draft there was Kemba Walker at 9, Klay Thompson at 11 and kawhi Leonard at 15! Shoot even Jonas Valenciunus was 5th. The more I look at it the Kevin Love trade looks not so good. So imagine if the cavs could have traded back selected Klay and Kawhi kept Andrew Wiggins and developed with this nucleus. If there was a Bill belicheck like coach in the nba he wouldn’t have brought lebron back would have valued the draft more and wouldn’t be influenced on the sentimental part of it. Of course you would like lebron but when he came back to the ‘land he was gonna hit 30 years old and let’s face start to slowly decline. I feel the Cavs even when they win they still loose this is a cursed franchise. To me they really devalued the draft. The Tony Bennett draft they could have done more homework on. Kyrie draft was meh. The only draft they did well was Andrew Wiggins and they didn’t even keep him. I think during that span they fired there GM somewhere along the line.

[BiggysmallsParticipant]

 Ah the hindsight roster building. As a Wolves fan, I’ve spent many moments pondering the what-ifs for my favorite team. 

It’s fun, but it’s a fool’s errand. 

 

[BiggysmallsParticipant]

 Ah the hindsight roster building. As a Wolves fan, I’ve spent many moments pondering the what-ifs for my favorite team. 

It’s fun, but it’s a fool’s errand. 

 

[Reptilian MonkParticipant]

 If only the Cavs picked the best 2 players in each draft class with their picks. Its really hard to do and easy to look back at question but at the time nobody saw Kawhi as an MVP candidate top 5 player in the league. Best example of drafting has been Thunder with Kd, westbrook , harden, Ibaka and even adams now

[Reptilian MonkParticipant]

 If only the Cavs picked the best 2 players in each draft class with their picks. Its really hard to do and easy to look back at question but at the time nobody saw Kawhi as an MVP candidate top 5 player in the league. Best example of drafting has been Thunder with Kd, westbrook , harden, Ibaka and even adams now

[SubZeroParticipant]

If they picked either Klay or Kawhi that high they would’ve been killed for it.

This team is definitely short sighted with its roster. I think it’s a shared thought that Lebron can play at an elite level even in his upper 30s, so it’s possible he would still be one of the best when Wiggins was hitting his prime. Having Wiggins and Kyrie as the young core for the future is better in my eyes than those 2 and a few years from Kevin Love. Not trying to be Captain Hindsight because I didn’t like the trade from the beginning, and I’m not even saying it was a failure because they’ve made the Finals twice in a row, but I think it’s clear their long term future would be more secure if they had kept Wiggins

[SubZeroParticipant]

If they picked either Klay or Kawhi that high they would’ve been killed for it.

This team is definitely short sighted with its roster. I think it’s a shared thought that Lebron can play at an elite level even in his upper 30s, so it’s possible he would still be one of the best when Wiggins was hitting his prime. Having Wiggins and Kyrie as the young core for the future is better in my eyes than those 2 and a few years from Kevin Love. Not trying to be Captain Hindsight because I didn’t like the trade from the beginning, and I’m not even saying it was a failure because they’ve made the Finals twice in a row, but I think it’s clear their long term future would be more secure if they had kept Wiggins

[Andv1 WaitingParticipant]

Just in my opinion the approach the Cavs should have taken:Long term over the short term.. 

The Kevin Love debate:It depends do you mean longterm or short term? Short term Cavs won because they got an allstar and a almost finished product(unless he improves that defense some more) as Wiggins was/is still quite raw skill wise..Long term it depends what Wiggins becomes is he your legit 2nd option on his team once they become contenders(I see towns being no1 option on that team) or is he an Andre Iguodala clone-good for a 3rd maybe 4th option on your team??.

 As much as lebron is very talented he is also going to want to win now essentially putting you in a Brooklyn Nets type of deal in a couple of years:Sign vets to over priced contracts and move most picks for players with no picks in sight in the near future…We  all saw how that has turned out for Brooklyn: rebuild mode with no assets in sight for at least another 3 years and pretty much the bottom of the table in the east(which is saying something) VS longterm sustainability like GSW,Spurs and OKC have done via the draft and the odd role player adding to help further your depth…

In regards to the drafts that the Cleveland Cavs had though they were put in a hard place by that owner of theirs…I think he wanted to hit a home run like OKC did with Westbrook at 4th (the pick most people didn’t see coming and predicted he would have gone 11th and back) and wanted to speed up the process rather than take safe picks…

How I would have drafted though Assuming players didn’t effect overall rankings in draft order to much:

2011 Nba Draft :

Actual:Kyrie(1st) and Tristan thompson(4th pick)

  No 1 pick I guess you would still have to take Kyrie as he is the best PG out of this class and had the most star potential at the time(to fill that post lebron void)… But with the 4th pick I would sort out my back court first rather than take a big I would have sorted out my back court first so with the 4th pick would take Klay thompson as he was the first Sg taken at 11..

2012 Nba draft:

Actual Dion waiters(4th)

With the 4th pick Dion made sense at the time as they needed a backcourt team mate for Kyrie and I guess they weren’t sold on Harrison Barnes either however with the 4th pick I would have taken Andre Drummond as he had that Dwight howard hype about him and has turned out to be a pretty solid piece for Detroit but that F/T shooting isn’t the best(hopefully he gets it sorted out) and this would have given them a starting Center…

 

2013 nba draft:

Anthony bennett(1st overall)

The hype about Bennett was he was meant to be the next Larry Johnson(who was pretty damn good back in the day) but unfortunately health issues screwed that up for them and him…So with that being said I would go for the best player available and that wasn’t that big of a reach:So at No 1 I would take Victor Oladipo(previously No:2) …I would have made him my 6th man to help strengthen my bench up

2014

That 3rd No 1 which really made me think the nba draft was rigged a little lol…

Andrew Wiggins(No 1)

Wiggins wanted that No1 and they wanted that biggest name available and they Hype behind Wiggins was the greatest hence the pick…I would still take Wiggins only due to less injurie history than Parker but I would have to think long and hard about Parker as he seem like a more effcient scorer and a better rebounder than Wiggins(he also may fit beside Drummond than wiggins)…

 

So the Cavs Look like this now

Starters

C)Andre D,PF)Insert floor spacing PF here that plays reasonable defense,Sf) Wiggins,Sg)Klay,Pg)Kyrie

Bench: 6th man)Victor O,

Then it all comes down to getting the right starting Pf, filling your bench out properly and the right coach which Blatt may have been if given a shot with the right personel and no lebron sudo coach lol …

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Andv1 WaitingParticipant]

Just in my opinion the approach the Cavs should have taken:Long term over the short term.. 

The Kevin Love debate:It depends do you mean longterm or short term? Short term Cavs won because they got an allstar and a almost finished product(unless he improves that defense some more) as Wiggins was/is still quite raw skill wise..Long term it depends what Wiggins becomes is he your legit 2nd option on his team once they become contenders(I see towns being no1 option on that team) or is he an Andre Iguodala clone-good for a 3rd maybe 4th option on your team??.

 As much as lebron is very talented he is also going to want to win now essentially putting you in a Brooklyn Nets type of deal in a couple of years:Sign vets to over priced contracts and move most picks for players with no picks in sight in the near future…We  all saw how that has turned out for Brooklyn: rebuild mode with no assets in sight for at least another 3 years and pretty much the bottom of the table in the east(which is saying something) VS longterm sustainability like GSW,Spurs and OKC have done via the draft and the odd role player adding to help further your depth…

In regards to the drafts that the Cleveland Cavs had though they were put in a hard place by that owner of theirs…I think he wanted to hit a home run like OKC did with Westbrook at 4th (the pick most people didn’t see coming and predicted he would have gone 11th and back) and wanted to speed up the process rather than take safe picks…

How I would have drafted though Assuming players didn’t effect overall rankings in draft order to much:

2011 Nba Draft :

Actual:Kyrie(1st) and Tristan thompson(4th pick)

  No 1 pick I guess you would still have to take Kyrie as he is the best PG out of this class and had the most star potential at the time(to fill that post lebron void)… But with the 4th pick I would sort out my back court first rather than take a big I would have sorted out my back court first so with the 4th pick would take Klay thompson as he was the first Sg taken at 11..

2012 Nba draft:

Actual Dion waiters(4th)

With the 4th pick Dion made sense at the time as they needed a backcourt team mate for Kyrie and I guess they weren’t sold on Harrison Barnes either however with the 4th pick I would have taken Andre Drummond as he had that Dwight howard hype about him and has turned out to be a pretty solid piece for Detroit but that F/T shooting isn’t the best(hopefully he gets it sorted out) and this would have given them a starting Center…

 

2013 nba draft:

Anthony bennett(1st overall)

The hype about Bennett was he was meant to be the next Larry Johnson(who was pretty damn good back in the day) but unfortunately health issues screwed that up for them and him…So with that being said I would go for the best player available and that wasn’t that big of a reach:So at No 1 I would take Victor Oladipo(previously No:2) …I would have made him my 6th man to help strengthen my bench up

2014

That 3rd No 1 which really made me think the nba draft was rigged a little lol…

Andrew Wiggins(No 1)

Wiggins wanted that No1 and they wanted that biggest name available and they Hype behind Wiggins was the greatest hence the pick…I would still take Wiggins only due to less injurie history than Parker but I would have to think long and hard about Parker as he seem like a more effcient scorer and a better rebounder than Wiggins(he also may fit beside Drummond than wiggins)…

 

So the Cavs Look like this now

Starters

C)Andre D,PF)Insert floor spacing PF here that plays reasonable defense,Sf) Wiggins,Sg)Klay,Pg)Kyrie

Bench: 6th man)Victor O,

Then it all comes down to getting the right starting Pf, filling your bench out properly and the right coach which Blatt may have been if given a shot with the right personel and no lebron sudo coach lol …

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[trelos6Participant]

LBJ after an efficient shooting season for Miami? 

[trelos6Participant]

LBJ after an efficient shooting season for Miami? 

[trelos6Participant]

 In 2011, it was a 2 horse race for the #1 pick. So let’s say Cavs picked Derrick Williams instead. 

Now we all know Thompson was a reach (even on draft day), so let’s give them Valanciunas. 

2012, Waiters was also a reach, so let’s go ahead and grab Harrison Barnes, who many felt would go top 4. 

2013, they don’t implode and grab Bennett, they take Oladipo.

Finally 2014, after years of sucking, Wiggins falls into their laps. 

So we have Oladipo, Wiggins, Barnes, Williams, Valanciunas as opposed to Irving, Waiters, Wiggins, Thompson, Bennett. 

Let’s keep Kyrie because we need a PG that doesn’t pass.  Kyrie, Oladipo, Wiggins, Barnes, Valanciunas.

What have we learnt?  Cavs have drafted pretty terribly with 3 big reaches.  The alternative would’ve been a solid team, and then bringing in LBJ on top of that would be interesting. 

[trelos6Participant]

 In 2011, it was a 2 horse race for the #1 pick. So let’s say Cavs picked Derrick Williams instead. 

Now we all know Thompson was a reach (even on draft day), so let’s give them Valanciunas. 

2012, Waiters was also a reach, so let’s go ahead and grab Harrison Barnes, who many felt would go top 4. 

2013, they don’t implode and grab Bennett, they take Oladipo.

Finally 2014, after years of sucking, Wiggins falls into their laps. 

So we have Oladipo, Wiggins, Barnes, Williams, Valanciunas as opposed to Irving, Waiters, Wiggins, Thompson, Bennett. 

Let’s keep Kyrie because we need a PG that doesn’t pass.  Kyrie, Oladipo, Wiggins, Barnes, Valanciunas.

What have we learnt?  Cavs have drafted pretty terribly with 3 big reaches.  The alternative would’ve been a solid team, and then bringing in LBJ on top of that would be interesting. 

[Author]

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