NBA Draft 2011: Why the Cleveland Cavaliers Need Kyrie Irving
Duke freshman guard Kyrie Irving surprised few when announcing he would be entering the 2011 NBA Draft.
This news came much to the delight of the Raptors, Wolves, Kings, Pistons and other lottery teams that are looking for a franchise point guard.
As much as those teams would want Irivng, there's only one team who truly needs him.
That team is none other than the Cleveland Cavaliers.
What makes the Cavs unique? Why would Irving be drafted by a team already filled with capable point guards? Why would anyone want to play in Cleveland period?
Let's take a look.
It's a Point Guard Dominated League
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Quick, what do the Kings, Wolves, Cavaliers, Pistons, Clippers, Rockets and Raptors all have in common?
If you said, "All are watching the playoffs from home," you'd be correct.
You could also point out that none of these teams have a franchise point guard leading them.
Ramon Sessions, Kyle Lowry, Mo Williams and others are nice, but none are going to throw a team on their back and march them into June like Derrick Rose is doing with the Chicago Bulls right now.
This could be the best group of floor generals in the NBA at one time since, well, maybe ever.
The Cavaliers need "that guy" to lead them back to the playoffs.
Why the Cavaliers?
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A lot of teams would want Irving, what makes the Cavaliers special?
Honestly, the Cavs offer Kyrie a place to be special.
Find me a coach in the NBA better at developing young guards than Byron Scott.
His work with Jason Kidd, Chris Paul and even Ramon Sessions this year has been nothing short of remarkable.
In Cleveland, Irving would find a fan base eager to embrace and support their young star.
Clevelanders appreciate a hard working player, someone who always gives 100 percent and puts the team first. Being a winner doesn't hurt, either.
Irving has stated publicly that his favorite player and the man he models his game after is Chris Paul.
Who better to play for then the man who made Paul the player he is today?
Keeping the House Full
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Cleveland, despite sporting the league's second-worst record, was third in the NBA in attendance this season, drawing 20,089 fans per home game.
This number is no doubt impressive, but also partially deceiving.
Many season ticket holders from last year renewed their tickets for this year before Zydrunas Ilgauskas decided to sign with the Miami Heat.
With Z no longer drawing the masses, the Cavs need a new leader to come and in and help continue the Quicken Loans Arena sellouts.
Enes Kanter, Jonas Valanciunas and Jan Vasely could all turn into fine NBA players, but none are going to come in and take over the team like Irving could.
Why Kyrie over Kemba?
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With Kemba Walker taking over college basketball and averaging nearly six points more per game than Irving, why not take the UConn star instead?
A couple reasons.
Number one, Walker is a fantastic player and should continue to be an effective scorer if not more in the NBA.
He's also a junior, and will be 21 when the NBA season starts. Irving is a 19-year-old freshman.
To compare the two right now isn't really a fair argument, so let's take a look at both of their freshmen seasons.
Walker: 25.2 minutes, 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
Irving: 27.5 minutes, 17.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.
Not only are Irving's numbers better than Walker's, he also had a higher scoring average than players like John Wall and Derrick Rose in college as well.
Numbers don't tell the whole story of course, and Irving may never be as good as those players, but he could also turn out to be better.
Only time will tell, but Irving's off to a great start.
He Might Actually Stay
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"It's special, a special place to play. Everybody dreams of playing in this place, the bright lights, everybody watching. It's just a special place. Carmelo Anthony has been my favorite player so wherever he goes, I go."
These were actual quotes from Kemba Walker, talking about New York, Madison Square Garden and the Knicks in general.
"We want him to go to the Knicks, that’s our team."
This piece came from the brother of Jimmer Fredette.
Why take these guys if they're only going to bolt for the Knicks the first chance they get? Why spend years developing them only to see them desert the team upon entering stardom?
If I'm a lottery team thinking about taking Walker or Fredette, this would definitely send out some red flags.
Doesn't anyone want to carve out their own legacy and not jump on an already loaded team anymore?
I'd like to think Irving would. He could have easily packed in his freshman season for Duke after suffering his toe injury. He could have taken it easy and just prepared for the draft.
Instead, Kyrie opted for intense rehab and hard work so he could make it back to help his team when they needed him the most in the NCAA tournament.
That's the type of player I'd want leading the Cavs.
History Has Taught Us....
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It's 2008. The Chicago Bulls are on the clock and stuck between Memphis point guard Derrick Rose or Kansas State forward Michael Beasley for the first overall pick in the draft.
Both are coming off of spectacular freshmen seasons with their respective clubs.
Beasley put up 26.5 points and 12.4 rebounds a game for the Wildcats and was widely considered the best player in college basketball.
Rose's stats were slightly less impressive, putting up 14.9 points and 4.7 assists. His numbers may not have been as impressive, but his skill set was unbelievable and he was from Chicago originally.
The Bulls had a tough choice. They already had Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, Chris Duhon, Thabo Sefolosha and Shannon Brown at guard, taking Rose wouldn't make much sense right?
Of course, the Bulls ended up selecting Rose and the Miami Heat took Beasley a pick later.
Flash forward to 2011.
Rose is leading the Bulls to a No. 1 seed in the conference over the likes of Boston, Miami and Orlando.
Beasley? He lasted two lackluster seasons with the Heat before being shipped to the T'Wolves for a second-round pick, in a move designed merely to create cap space.
The lesson? Forget about need. Take the best available talent and make the rest of the position available.
They're the reason you're picking at the top of the draft anyways.
Well-Spoken Leader
7 of 8Any professional athlete is going to be bombarded by the press 24/7, especially the team leaders and superstars of the league.
You need someone who can not only lead your team on the court, but represent the organization off of it as well.
As you can tell, Kyrie seems like a very intelligent, well-spoken young man.
If I'm an owner I love the way he's handled interviews so far and how he conducts himself away from the game would definitely impact whether I drafted him or not.
Kyrie seems to be a true professional, someone perfect for representing the Cavaliers.
Kyrie's Ok, but Isn't Derrick Williams the Better Fit?
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If the Cavaliers plan on making no changes to the roster they currently have, then yes, Williams would seemingly be the better fit.
As mentioned before, Michael Beasley would have been the better fit with the Bulls too.
Williams is a tremendous athlete, scorer, and seems like a pretty decent guy too. If Irving is taken before the Cavaliers pick I would love to see Derrick in Wine and Gold.
That being said, had you heard of Derrick Williams while he was still in high school? Was there a lot of chatter about him during his freshman season at Arizona?
Be honest, most people knew nothing about him until his strong play in the 2011 NCAA tournament.
With Williams, it's unclear what you're going to get. Most people are unsure even what position he's going to play in the NBA.
Imagine also, if Irving had played the entire season. He scored 31 points in a win over Michigan State just seven games into his college career.
Then, after missing nearly three and a half months, Kyrie comes back and drops 28 against Arizona in a pressure-packed NCAA tournament game.
How many players could take that much time off and be that effective immediately?
Some may mention his inexperience in college, but those two games alone tell me more than most players entire careers.
Kyrie Irving needs to be a Cleveland Cavalier.
