Harrison Barnes: Why Cleveland Cavaliers Must Draft UNC Star with Fourth Pick

The Cleveland Cavaliers definitely aren't what you would call a quality basketball team, but they are certainly in better shape than many teams that have had the No. 4 pick in the past.

Before you Cavaliers fans get too excited for the rest of this article, let me say that Byron Scott doesn't have much to work with aside from Kyrie Irving. The Rookie of the Year was one of the only bright spots during a forgettable season before he missed considerable time due to a concussion.

Aside from Irving's injury, here are some of the problems that the Cavaliers encountered last season: Firstly, Anderson Varejao played just 25 games. He's one of the more undervalued 4/5 combo guys in the league because his rebounding and defense are frequently overlooked.

Secondly, no team has ever won anything with Antawn Jamison jacking up 16 shots per game. Most of all, they don't have anybody who can actually shoot the ball consistently other than Irving.

That's why the Cavaliers need to add Harrison Barnes to their roster at No. 4.

He can score from anywhere on the court. At 6'8, he almost has a seven-foot wingspan, which will allow him to shoot over taller defenders. He's a dead-eye from the 15-20 foot range. That's going to provide a perfect pick-and-pop offense between him and Irving.

Cavaliers small forwards averaged just 20.1 points combined last season. I'm not saying Barnes will be able to score like that in his rookie campaign, but he'll be hovering around that total within a couple of years.

Barnes played so well with Kendall Marshall at North Carolina. Irving is a bit different than Marshall in terms of his style of play. Marshall is a pass-first point guard, but his propensity to pass first is more because he isn't a formidable scoring option. 

Irving is more of a combo guard. He may have looked like shoot-first point guard at times this season, but that was because he hardly had any secondary scorers to look to.

It would be interesting to see what kind of damage the Barnes-Irving combination could do to opponents. Both have inordinately high basketball IQs, which would make for some interesting chemistry between the two.

As for Barnes' weaknesses, most of them would be masked by Irving's strengths.

Barnes is considered to be a one-dimensional player who gets by on his shooting skills. He has a hard time beating defenders off the dribble to the hoop because he's not particularly explosive, but he would spend most of his time around the perimeter waiting for a drive-and-kick from Irving.

For those making the case for Michael Kidd-Gilchrist over Barnes because of his defensive tenacity, know that Barnes has the potential to become a lockdown defender. He's not as strong as MKG, but his measurements weren't too much worse than the Kentucky standout's.

Barnes' wingspan measured just under seven feet with a reach of 8'6". Kidd-Gilchrist's wingspan measured at exactly seven feet and his reach was two-and-a-half inches longer.

The choice at No. 4 or No. 5 will likely be between Barnes and Kidd-Gilchrist. MKG brings more to the table defensively, but Barnes' offensive advantage is much greater than Kidd-Gilchrist's defensive advantage.

Cleveland needs a pure scorer more than a guy with a great work ethic and motor. They have that scorer staring them in the face at No. 4, and they can't afford to pass him up.