Will the Cleveland Cavaliers take a turn for the better next season
I wouldn't expect the Cavaliers to immediately go over .500, even if this was their draft scenario. Young teams don't generally win a lot of games, but they could definitely compete for a 7 or 8 seed if things fall in their favor. This draft scenario could see the Cavaliers "back", but I think they'd need another year. I'd predict somewhere around 35-38 wins for them, if this was what happened. That would be an increase of about 10 wins from where they would have been last year had there been an 82 game season (.318 win percentage = approximately 26 wins).
With a great shooting point guard the Cavs could afford to take MKG at 4 if he is the best player available. Harrison Barnes would be a nice fit too. They really aren't in a bad spot since even Andre Drummond could slip a bit.
T Rob replicates what TT is supposed to give them but if they really like Thomas Robinson they should take him and use a 3 big man rotation of TT, T Rob, and Varejao with some smaller lineups of Robinson and Thompson up front.
The Cavs are basically set at point guard so whatever they do at 4 won't duplicate that. They could take T Rob at 3 with the theory that you can't have too many athletic bigs. Also, if other teams go small they can go small too.
The Cavs are in a pretty good spot at 4 since there will be a good selection of talent still available.
They need frontcourt players who can actually function in an offense as Antawn Jamison will probably be leaving. That would leave a rather considerable void called "talent" seen by some when a guy puts the ball in the basket beyond 2-feet, and it won't be plugged by Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao.
Drafting those 2 players would go a long way in helping them in the future..
I think Barnes is going to be an All-Star and having a great PG would really help his transition to the NBA. I think he can play the 2 or the 3 with ease.. He would struggle to play the 4 but he wouldnt be asked to do that..
People dont understand that it takes over a year to be 100% from an ACL injury.. You can play at 8 months but you arent yourself again for 12-14 months.. Miller has top 5 talent but underacieved big time.. It would be huge for the Cavs to get him that late.. I think he is natural 3 but he could play the 4 in spurts and be a Rashard Lewis type 4. Again, having Irving could ease his transition.. They coud have a potiental lineup of:
PG: Irving
SG: Barnes
SF: Miller
PF: Thompson
C: Verajo
Cleveland
Harrison Barnes
Position: SF
Height: 6-foot-8
Weight: 210 pounds
Age: 19
School: North Carolina
Analysis: Thomas Robinson may be the best player left on the board but he's not a great fit with Tristan Thompson. The Cavs loved Barnes last year and I think they'll roll the dice on him again this year.
Cavs (via Lakers)
Quincy Miller
Position: SF
Height: 6-foot-9
Weight: 210 pounds
Age: 19
School: Baylor
Analysis: Miller is an enigma. He began the season as a top-10 prospect, but struggled to overcome the effects of an ACL injury and never quite found his rhythm. If he finds his stride, this could be the steal of the draft for Cleveland.
With Chad Ford's projection of Barnes & Miller I think it will be just enough to get them over .500 along with the play of Kyrie & TT if they can bring in more key pieces this offseason that wouldn't mind buying in on what Dan Gilbert is trying to build off of with his core.