11:14 AM
In one of the most groan-inducing moments in recent NBA history, the Cleveland Cavaliersscored the No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft on Tuesday, marking the second straight year and the third time in four years they will select first.
Beyond the grave disappointment of the highly coveted top selection going to a team that had its 2013-14 season implode, fortunes changed for a number of franchises at the lottery drawing.
Let’s take a quick look at the 2014 NBA draft lottery’s winners and losers.
Winners: Cleveland Cavaliers
Unlike in years past, the Cavaliers were not represented at the lottery by owner Dan Gilbert’s son/lucky charm Nick. Nevertheless, freshly minted GM David Griffin emerged with the right ping pong ball combination despite a 1.7 percent chance of taking home the No. 1 pick. Cleveland jumped up from the No. 9 spot in the lottery order, and now the whole NBA world turns its eyes toward the Cavaliers again, wondering how they will mess this up take advantage of such remarkably good fortune.
Cleveland’s recent draft record surely played a role in former GM Chris Grant’s midseason departure. Taking All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving with the No. 1 pick in 2011 was a no-brainer, but someone had to pay for taking Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters, Tyler Zeller, Anthony Bennett and Sergey Karasev with first-round picks in the past three drafts. Even those who remain high on Thompson, Waiters and Bennett would surely acknowledge that the Cavaliers’ inability to climb into the playoffs following the departure of LeBron James has a lot to do with how they’ve handled their draft work, and particularly their high picks.
It’s cruel and repetitive to do this, but Cleveland could have had Victor Oladipo, Trey Burke, Michael Carter-Williams (or anyone else) in 2013 instead of Bennett, whose PER ranked second-to-last among qualified rookies last season. The previous year, Andre Drummond and Damian Lillard were available when they selected Waiters, who has reportedly clashed with Irving. In 2011, they selected Thompson instead of Jonas Valanciunas, Kawhi Leonard and Nikola Vucevic, among others.
So here they go again, this time with a class so strong at the top they presumably can’t mess this one up. The Cavaliers will likely select from Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid and Jabari Parker, and their task is made easier because the small forward and center positions are areas of need, particularly if free-agent-to-be Luol Deng decides not to re-sign. The defining questions for Cleveland: Which player will work best in tandem with Irving and how many of their current players will need to be jettisoned to make room?
Losers: The rest of the NBA world
The draft lottery is supposed to be a celebration of potential and power-shifting developments and life-changing moments. Instead, this was as dreary as it gets. When an excited Griffin eagerly shook hands with Julius Erving, who was representing the Sixers, the basketball world outside of Cleveland identified with Dr. J’s disappointment.
These guys, again? Really? The universe is really going to gift them the No. 1 pick after they:
— Shocked the world for no good reason with the Anthony Bennett pick
— Signed, suspended and dumped Andrew Bynum
— Fired Grant and coach Mike Brown
— Traded assets for Deng without a postseason appearance to show for it
— Created an environment where Irving, one of the biggest can’t-miss stars of recent years, flat-lined rather than blossomed
— Failed, spectacularly, to live up to their own super-high, self-imposed expectations as reports of locker room turmoil surfaced.
Why?
I’m not going to shed too many tears for the Bucks or Sixers, who suffered through miserable seasons but at least retained the No. 2 and No. 3 picks. They’re walking home with solid consolation prizes, and if the Cavaliers do something wacky again, they might very well wind up like the SuperSonics in 2007 with the best player in the draft falling into their laps.
The real disappointment, then, comes from the tantalizing possibilities that could have unfolded had one of the other lower-lottery teams made the jump up to the No. 1 pick. Imagine the Pelicans building their organization around an Anthony Davis/Andrew Wiggins duo. Imagine Stan Van Gundy jumping into life as the Pistons’ executive/coach with a combination of Drummond and Jabari Parker. Imagine the Suns — the league’s darlings — adding Wiggins to a mix that includes Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and so many other up-and-comers. Imagine Michael Jordan’s Hornets getting a crack at Parker, the Dukie. Imagine the Timberwolves getting the blessing they need to keep Kevin Love, snagging a two-way center in Embiid who could develop into an excellent frontcourt partner. Imagine the Kings getting either Wiggins or Parker, thereby saving themselves from any more years of paying big money for Rudy Gay. Notice that I haven’t even mentioned the Lakers or Celtics yet, two rebuilding teams that could use a jolt of franchise-altering star power more than anybody.
By now, hopefully the point is clear: Just about any scenario aside from the one that unfolded would have been preferable. There’s no use in crying any more over the spilled milk. Instead, let’s turn our attention to hoping that this doesn’t happen again in 2015.
