Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Mock Draft 2012: Grading the Experts' Picks 3.0

It's been about six weeks since the last Cavaliers mock draft, with things certainly seeing a shake-up all throughout the draft board.

For one, the draft lottery has come and gone, landing the Cavs the fourth overall selection.  The previous mock drafts were based on the Cavs landing the third pick, so it'll be interesting to see how the mocks have changed.

It's also possible that the Cavaliers could end up trading picks, as they've been rumored to have contacted both the Charlotte Bobcats and Portland Trail Blazers about swapping selections.

If the Cavs do stand pat, however, here is a complete graded list of the experts mock drafts from around the web.

Cavs Mock No. 1: NBA Draft.net

1st Round Pick: Harrison Barnes, SF, North Carolina

NBA-ready wing who looks the bill of prototypical small forward. Good shooter who plays his best with good point guard.

1st Round (Lakers) Pick: Royce White, SF/PF, Iowa State, Sophomore

Versatile forward whose position at the NBA level is tough to predict. He is highly skilled, but has some off-court issues that led to his removal from Minnesota before transferring.

2nd Round (Hornets) Pick: Draymond Green, SF/PF, Michigan State, Senior

One of the best college players in 2011-12, Green projects as an above-average role player in the NBA by contributing on many levels but dominating in none.

2nd Round Pick:  Festus Ezeli, C, Vanderbilt, Senior

Power-dunker and shot-blocker who could contribute immediately but doesn't feature a very high ceiling.

Grade: A

This would be a great draft for Cleveland. Barnes would be an immediate stater, with White, Green and Ezeli providing excellent front-court insurance off the bench. 

White is such a tough player to predict a future for in the NBA. I'd rather have Doron Lamb or John Jenkins for help at shooting guard instead. Green and Ezeli would be dream second round picks.

Cavs Mock No. 2: Draft Express.com

1st Round Pick: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SG/SF, Kentucky

The second-best defender in the entire draft can play either wing position and has a motor that won't quit. With an improved jump shot, Kidd-Gilchrist would have little to no weaknesses in his game.

1st Round (Lakers) Pick: Andrew Nicholson, PF, St. Bonaventure 

Long power forward who can score, rebound and block shots. Good pick and pop player who shot 43 percent on three's.

2nd Round (Hornets) Pick: Will Barton, SF, Memphis

Athletic wing who can score and rebound, needs to work on his shot to be a starter in NBA.

2nd Round Pick: Miles Plumlee, C, Duke

7-foot, 250 pound big man who's shown improved athleticism in pre-draft workouts. Could be a solid backup center.

Grade: B

Kidd-Gilchrist is an "A" worthy pick but the rest of the draft is questionable.  Nicholson doesn't fill a position of need, something the Cavs need a first round pick to do.

Plumlee was a disappointment at Duke and DraftExpress lists Barton's "best case scenario" as Manny Harris. No, thank you.

Cavs Mock No. 3: NBA-Draft.com

1st Round Pick: Harrison Barnes, SF, North Carolina

NBA-ready wing who looks the bill of prototypical small forward. Good shooter who plays his best with good point guard.

1st Round (Lakers) Pick: Tony Wroten, PG/SG, Washington

Great passer and slasher who struggles mightily with his outside shot.

2nd Round (Hornets) Pick: John Jenkins, SG, Vanderbilt, Junior

Averaged nearly 20 points per game while shooting 44 percent on threes.

2nd Round Pick: Kostas Papanikolaou, SF, Olympiacos, Greece

Decent athlete with limited range and scoring ability.

Grade: B-

Barnes and Jenkins and great picks, but the rest is questionable.

Wroten would be a shooting guard for the Cavs which is an area of need, except he's not a good shooter. Nothing is being done to address the center position, a huge area of concern for the Cavs.

Cavs Mock No. 4: Walter Football.com

1st Round Pick: Bradley Beal, SG, Florida, Freshman

Great shooter with high basketball IQ, solid defender but sometimes struggles to create for himself.

1st Round (Lakers) Pick: Fab Melo, C, Syracuse, Sophomore

True center who is already a good rebounder and shot blocker. Still raw offensively and faced academic problems while at Syracuse which should raise some flags to his level of commitment to the team.

2nd Round (Hornets) Pick: Tyshawn Taylor, PG, Kansas, Senior

Great college player who could turn into a solid backup point guard to Kyrie Irving.

2nd Round Pick: Festus Ezeli, C, Vanderbilt, Senior

Power-dunker and shot-blocker who could contribute immediately but doesn't feature a very high ceiling.

Grade: B

Beal and Ezeli are the highlight picks here, with Taylor capable of proving to be a worthy second rounder. 

Melo has shown his problems outside of the court, something the Cavs should steer clear of. I would have preferred a wing in Jeffery Taylor or John Jenkins instead of Melo, especially if they end up getting a center like Ezeli in the draft.

Cavs Mock No. 5: My NBA Draft.com

1st Round Pick: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SG/SF, Kentucky, Freshman

The second-best defender in the entire draft can play either wing position and has a motor that won't quit. With an improved jump shot, Kidd-Gilchrist would have little to no weaknesses in his game.

1st Round (Lakers) Pick: Fab Melo, C, Syracuse, Sophomore

True center who is already a good rebounder and shot blocker. Still raw offensively and faced academic problems while at Syracuse which should raise some flags to his level of commitment to the team.

2nd Round (Hornets) Pick: Kyle O'Quinn, C, Norfolk State

Shot-blocking big man with a 7'5" wingspan, averaged a double-double during junior and senior seasons.

2nd Round Pick: Jared Cunningham, SG, Oregon State

Athletic shooting guard who looks and plays like a poor man's Austin Rivers.

Grade: B-

Kidd-Gilchrist and O'Quinn are nice picks, as the Norfolk State center would be a great low risk second round pick.

Again, not a Melo fan and Cunningham shoots a lower percentage than you'd like from a shooting guard.

SI, ESPN and RealGm First Round Mocks

SI's Sam Amick: Harrison Barnes, SF, UNC and Arnett Moultrie, PF, Mississippi State

Moultrie is too thin to play center in the NBA right now so position-wise, he's not a good fit, but Barnes is a solid pick.

Grade: B+

ESPN's Chad Ford: Harrison Barnes, SF, UNC and Quincy Miller, SF, Baylor

Miller has star upside if he continues to recover from ACL injury suffered in High School.  Cavs would be smart to grab him, but not if they take another SF like Barnes first.

Grade: B+

RealGM's Christopher Reina: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF, Kentucky and Evan Fournier, SG, France

Fournier is very intriguing as he plays a smooth game reminiscent of Manu Ginobili, but may has to stay overseas for a season or two. I'd love to take him with a second round pick, but spending the second first rounder seems a little too risky.

Grade: A-

Recap

Moving from the projected third overall pick to the fourth, the first pick did see a change of the guard.

-In the first two Cavalier's mock drafts, Bradley Beal was the most likely to be selected by Cleveland. This time around, only one out of the eight mocks had Beal even falling to the Cavs.

-The most popular choice for Cleveland is now Harrison Barnes, narrowly edging Michael Kidd-Gilchrist by a score of four to three.

-Jared Cunningham, Kyle O'Quinn, Miles Plumlee, Kostas Papanikolaou, Tony Wroten and Will Barton all made their first appearance on a Cavs mock. Of the group, I like O'Quinn with a second round pick.  He would be a nice improvement over Ryan Hollins, Semih Erden and probably Samardo Samuels as well.

-The first mock draft was definitely the best for Cleveland. Grabbing Green and Ezeli in the second round would be absolute steals.

With less than a week to go before the actual draft, I expect Cleveland to be plenty active in trade talks, and could very well not end up with the same four draft picks they currently hold.