Cleveland Cavaliers

The draft is rapidly approaching and workouts are in full swing, with the Cavaliers holding a very large workout coming up tomorrow. With only about one week left before the draft, I figured that I should release what my big board looks like for this upcoming draft. I'll also be releasing a mock draft either on the Wednesday prior to the draft or on draft day. So without further ado, here it is. Quick notes: -I'll be rounding heights to the closest full inch. So if someone is 6'10.5", they just got lucky enough to become 6'11". -I'll be keeping each blurb to around 50 words, so if I don't mention something about a prospect, don't yell. 1. Nerlens Noel, 7'0" 218 lbs, Kentucky Noel is just simply the best player in this class. From an advanced statistic standpoint, from a scouting standpoint, any way you look at Noel he is the real deal. Had he not injured his knee, I think we'd be looking at an Anthony Davis-style lock at #1 overall. His offense will be a work in progress in the pros, but he should have an immediate impact on the weak-side blocking shots in the NBA. The knee is a concern, but I'd take my chances on him at #1. 2. Trey Burke, 6'1" 187 lbs, Michigan This ranking is a little bit higher than most people have him, but he's the best pick-and-roll guard in the draft by a considerable margin and an excellent shooter that already has NBA three-point range. He is my pick for Rookie of the Year next season, and he could have a Damian Lillard-type impact if he lands in the right situation. 3. Otto Porter, 6'9" 198 lbs, Georgetown He's been considered the "safe" pick of this draft, and I'd agree that he's going to be an excellent player. From his passing to his defense to his shot, there probably isn't a more complete player in the draft. Having said that, he only turned 20 two weeks ago, so there's definitely room for improvement with his game. 4. Victor Oladipo, 6'4" 213 lbs, Indiana The best perimeter defender in this draft, Oladipo is going to be at worst a solid rotation player. Having said that, he's shown tremendous growth in each of his three seasons at Indiana, and there is reason to believe that his 44% three-point shooting could be for real. Definitely my top SG in the class. 5. Alex Len, 7'1" 255 lbs, Maryland A huge upside pick, Len could be the best player in this class or a bust. I tend to fall somewhere in the middle and think he ends up as a solid starting offensive center, which is probably worth a high lottery pick in this draft. I've talked about him at length recently here. 6. Anthony Bennett, 6'7" 240 lbs, UNLV Bennett is probably the most polished scorer in this draft, possessing range out to around 20 feet and explosive athleticism that allows him to attack the rim with authority. I just don't think he's going to be able to defend anyone, and he's kind of position-less because of the height. But the scoring ability makes him a high lottery pick. 7. Ben McLemore, 6'5" 189 lbs, Kansas Apparently falling because of substandard workouts, I've never been McLemore's biggest fan. He's not much of a creator for himself, doesn't exert his incredible athleticism defensively, and he seems passive on the floor. Having said that, he might have the most All-Star potential in this class if he ever figures it out. I just doubt he ever totally does, 8. Michael Carter-Williams, 6'6" 184 lbs, Syracuse Another boom-or-bust guy with All-Star potential, Carter-Williams shows an innate ability to get into the lane and to the rim. He's also probably the best passer in this class. If he could shoot, he'd be the clear #1 point guard. However, because of that I worry that defenses will be able to play off of him and hinder his ability to get to the rim. 9. Cody Zeller, 7'0" 230 lbs, Indiana One of the most fluid seven-footers I've ever seen, Zeller has an excellent post game and a developing 15-18 foot jumper. I worry about his ability to extend and finish over longer defenders, but if a coach can find a w

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The stuff dreams are made of... Giannis Adetokunbo's hands. As a sports fan, it’s often a challenge to remain reasonable. At this time of year, at draft time, it’s a real challenge not only to manage our expectations, but to not get swept away. It’s difficult not to fall in love with some player’s unique skill set or measurements. That’s because the draft is all about imagination — and, more often than not, players who can be termed “very good basketball players” do not excite the sports fan’s imagination. There’s something else there that makes us dream big about certain guys. Every year, very good basketball players tumble down the board on draft day and go on, in many cases, to have fulfilling pro careers and (one might imagine) lives. What really makes a sports fan see red at this time of year are the players who may not be the very best basketball players, but who have some wrinkle to their make-up that convinces us that Player X has it. This is why we go nuts over guys with wingspans never before measured or verticals never before reached or athleticism never before embodied. These are the things that whisper, “This guy is different. Okay, well, how different? How about future all-star different? How about future defensive anchor of a NBA championship defense different? How about solid rotation player different?” But, hey, that last guy was a pick toward the back of the second round. So … you know, that’s really good! Fans even know that, no matter how much a singularly exciting skill or statistic is, likely, their fascination is getting sold a bill of goods. We have numbers to help protect us from our sports imaginations, but even those numbers are being used to suggest a hypothetical projection of some future time; that’s using numbers to fuel imagination. And imagination, at the end of the day, is what makes this all so much (kinda) fun anyway. No, Rudy Gobert is not likely to be the type of shot obliterating big man in the pros that he was at the combine. We know that. But … maybe. No, the fact that Giannis Adetokunbo has looked (occasionally) amazing against pretty low level competition does not mean he’ll look even remotely like that going against NBA players. But, man, have you seen those hands?! Do you realize he grew three inches this past year and is now a hyper-athletic 6’9” small forward prospect? Maybe, maybe… Yeah, sure, Alex Len’s a good player. He’s got good size and decently developed skills for this point in his career. But, wow, Nerlens Noel just looks better doing it. Those hands. That hair. Maybe, maybe, maybe… (Side note: Yes, it’s official. This is the first year I have become irrationally attached to a player’s pro potential based, largely if not in full, on his hair style. It’s a piece of the package) Every year, there’s a player who should be a full-on imagination all-star, but who gets caught up in someone (or many people’s) insistence that we have moved beyond imagination, that we are reasonable people now. Kenneth Faried should have gotten everyone’s imaginations excited. He sure did mine. His rebounding was that bizarre wrinkle in his make-up that (along with his hair – See! It’s a real thing) should have had people dreaming up scenarios where Faried played … well, about as good as he has in his first couple of years. But he was too short. Conventional wisdom suggested that he might not be able to achieve in the pros what he did in college. It happens. And so GMs talked themselves down, away from the rebounding (and the hair!) and decided to let conventional wisdom rob them of a very exciting young player. It happens. So, who will it be this year? Who will be the player whose singular skill, combination of intangibles or collection of measurements will be looked past because we’re being smart? And who will teams reach for because, for an instant, they blinked and let imagination get the better of them? Here’s to this draftR

After all the hate that was spewed tonight all over my newsfeed, twitter, etc...I'd just like to say the following to an audience that will feel my pain:My cheering for the Spurs isn't about an irrational hate for LeBron and willingness to want to see him fail. He was my guy on the Cavs, win lose or draw, and he's still the #1 talent in the NBA, hands down. He had every right to leave Cleveland, and ever since Michael Redd and Joe Johnson declined teaming with LeBron many years ago (leaving us to our 3rd place Larry Hughes spoils), the writing has been on the walls that he was going to leave us. My only issue was and will always be he waited until every free agent under the sun had signed before he made his decision, leaving our immediate situation a disaster. Doing this to his hometown team was far worse than if he had just said "I'm done with this" after the Boston Series. But as that fan of a small market NBA team, if the Heat win another championship, against one of the best "teams" in the last decade (the Spurs being the epitome of relevance in a smaller market), it will prove that Free Agency Collusion and Buying Championships is in-fact, statistically, still the right strategy. It's bad enough that Boston, LA, Chicago, Houston, Miami and San Antonio have been a part of every finals (except '90 with the Bad Boys) since BEFORE I WAS BORN, it's simply worse to think that trend will do nothing but continue. That's right, one of 6 or 7 teams have represented their conference in the NBA finals every year for the last 30+ years. I root against the Heat because it's bad for the future of the NBA. If they win 2/3 straight finals, don't be surprised to see Cp3 and Howard team up, whether it be in Houston with Harden, or elsewhere to form another super team. And this will leave teams like Cleveland, Memphis, Toronto and others battling for the Table Scraps of the Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay or Andre Iguodala sweepstakes...irrationally outbidding one another for a chance to fill seats and stay financially relevant (while simultaneously handicapping future growth by being a .500 plus team). At the same time, a team like LA can "lose" for a year, and then trade a couple late round picks and Kwame Brown to get back Pau Gasol in his prime.#GoFigureAs a fan of the game, I know this has been the case since before I can remember, but it's even more of a reason to hope that the Spurs win on Thursday. That way a week from Thursday, the other 20 or so fan bases can approach the 2013 draft with some semblance of "that could be us" hope going into next season. After all the hate that was spewed tonight all over my newsfeed, twitter, etc...I'd just like to say the following to an audience that will feel my pain:My cheering for the Spurs isn't about an irrational hate for LeBron and willingness to want to see him fail. He was my guy on the Cavs, win lose or draw, and he's still the #1 talent in the NBA, hands down. He had every right to leave Cleveland, and ever since Michael Redd and Joe Johnson declined teaming with LeBron many years ago (leaving us to our 3rd place Larry Hughes spoils), the writing has been on the walls that he was going to leave us. My only issue was and will always be he waited until every free agent under the sun had signed before he made his decision, leaving our immediate situation a disaster. Doing this to his hometown team was far worse than if he had just said "I'm done with this" after the Boston Series. But as that fan of a small market NBA team, if the Heat win another championship, against one of the best "teams" in the last decade (the Spurs being the epitome of relevance in a smaller market), it will prove that Free Agency Collusion and Buying Championships is in-fact, statistically, still the right strategy. It's bad enough that Boston, LA, Chicago, Houston, Miami and San Antonio have been a part of every finals (except '90 with the Bad Boys) since BEFORE I WAS BORN, it's simply worse to think that trend will do n

All through the college basketball season, many fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers had a favorite prospect that seemed to be a perfect fit for the young roster being built around Kyrie Irving. That prospect was Otto Porter. Porter was one of the best players in college basketball for a good team in a good conference. He played a position, small forward, that the Cavaliers needed a deperate fix for. In game threads near the end of the season, each Alonzo Gee blown fast break would usually be followed by a post or two about how good Porter would be Cleveland. Posters on this site, as well as other Cavaliers blogs, went with the screen name Otto Porter. An early tournament exit wasn't enough to dampen the Porter fever; he seemed like an excellent fit for the Cavs, likely picking somewhere between three and five in the NBA draft. And then the Cavaliers won the lottery. Everything changed. Did it? All through the season, the whispers and rumors were that the Cavs Big Board was Nerlens Noel, Otto Porter, and Alex Len, in that order. While there have been scattered reports and rumors about Victor Oladipo, Ben McLemore, and Anthony Bennett, it actually seems like we are probably pretty close to where we have always been. Is Nerlens Noel's knee alright? Cleveland will take a look on the 20th. Does the team love Porter? Probably, but they might think the top pick is too high, especially when the need for a young center with starting potential is so obvious. Are there members of the organization that think Alex Len has tantalizing potential? It sure looks like it. Is Chris Grant one of them? We don't know. Otto Porter: Safe, fits a need, and has a lot of upside I am on the record as saying the Cavaliers don't need a star at small forward to make the playoffs, or be a really good team. You are all sick of hearing me say it, actually. But that doesn't mean I think the idea of a star at the position is a bad one. Porter could be a star, while doing exactly what Cleveland needs him to do to fit with Irving and Dion Waiters. Let's take a look at the measureables first. Porter turned 20 two weeks ago, making him young for a sophomore. He is 6'8.5 with a wingspan at 7'2. Kevin Hetrick has done work over at Cavs: the Blog indicating that height and length is hugely important for small forwards when predicting future success. Porter, at a really young age, already knows how to use his body effectively. He is an excellent passer out of the high post, and elsewhere, using his height to help his excellent court vision. He uses his length defensively to disrupt shots and block passing lanes. His lack of elite quickness is made up for in part because he can afford to give up space to the man he guards- his arms' reach means the buffer he provides isn't used for clean looks. It also helps him defend without fouling. If there is a measureable that worries me, it is his 198 pound frame. Due to a teammates' injury, Porter spent much of his sophomore season at Georgetown playing power forward, and he carries the promise of being able to play some stretch 4 at the NBA level, similar to what Harrison Barnes did this season. With his passing, he carries even more potential than Barnes. I want to say that in a different way; Harrison Barnes is almost always talked about in terms of potential, while Porter is usually talked about as a safe player. At least in terms of stealing minutes as a power forward, Porter's potential in my view is higher than Barnes. To do this, though, he will have to put on weight. He just turned 20 years old, and will be able to get into an NBA training regimen. It won't happen overnight (see: Zeller, Tyler) but if Porter can play at 210-215 pounds, he won't get muscled by strong small forwards, and will be able to hold his own against more than a few power forwards the league has to offer. A few things I like While Porter showed the ability a few times this season to take over basketball games and put the team on his shoulders (

LeBron James led a title-saving charge, and now his crown will be on the line one more time in Game 7.

ESPN reports that the Cavaliers will hold a big workout today for Kansas guard Ben McLemore, Georgetown forward Otto Porter Jr., Indiana guard Victor Oladipo and San Diego State guard Jamaal Franklin, but the Cavs declined to confirm the report.