Cleveland Cavaliers Win Draft Lottery

The Cleveland Cavaliers took a big step in the post Lebron James era as they won the NBA draft lottery tonight. Not only do they have the number one overall pick (from a trade with the Clippers), but they have the fourth overall as well. Maybe David Stern rigged the bouncing balls to correct the carnage left in Lebron’s absence, or maybe it’s just the Clippers doing what they do best.

While there is no clear cut top choice like in previous years (Wall, Griffin, Rose, etc), two solid draft selections can be a great foundation for the team’s future. It would have been interesting to draft another hometown hero, Jared Sullinger out of Ohio State, but he is returning to school, and I’d be wary of drafting an OSU big man #1 anyway. There will be a lot of speculation on who the Cavs should draft (Arizona’s Derrick Williams, Duke’s Kyrie Irving, European no names), but maybe they should trade down since they need a lot of help. They would be drafting for potential, not immediate need since they had the worst record in the conference, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Williams and say Kemba Walker in Cleveland uniforms next year.

Cleveland Cavs hit rock bottom without LeBron

After last night’s 108-100 loss to the Suns, the Cavaliers have officially hit rock bottom. At 8-29, Cleveland now has the worst record in the NBA. They have lost 10 straight and 20 of 21 overall. That is only one win since November 28th! Now one of their best players, Anderson Varejao, tore a tendon and is out for the year. Even their team statistics are awful. Out of 30 teams, they are 26th in offense scoring, 23rd in defense, 29th in shooting percentage, 27th in defensive %, 24th in three point %, and 30th in defensive 3pt %. Meanwhile the attendance numbers are second highest in the league, reflecting all the disappointed fans who already bought tickets during the offseason. The team was going to predictably struggle after Lebron left, but no one imagined it would be this bad so soon. Owner Dan Gilbert might as well start trading away what’s left, since this season is done.

My second favorite team, Wizards, are not faring much better either. At 9-26, they are the second worst team in the Eastern Conference and are 0-18 on the road. Luckily Washington has their superstar already in John Wall, who unfortunately has missed 12 games due to injury contributing to their poor start.

Maybe the Cavs can draft Ohio State’s superstar freshman Jared Sullinger in next year’s draft, since taking the home town hero worked out so well last time.