NBA Draft 2011: Cleveland Cavaliers Need to Add Impact Players

KYRIE IRVING SKIPPED ALL DRILLS AT THE COMBINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DON'T DRAFT HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No doubt there were some Cavs fans who had this thought when they heard that Irving would indeed be skipping out on the drills and workouts at the NBA Combine in Chicago this week.

I'm here to tell you not to worry. This probably didn't affect his status on the Cavs' draft board.

Was it a head-scratching decision? Yes. He is really the first top prospect ever to skip all the combine activities.

I don't know why he chose not to participate. It may have to hide his lack of athleticism a little. There is no doubt that he is not as athletic as the other top two point guards, Kemba Walker and Brandon Knight.

He may have worried that being seen in the same drills as those guys would hurt his stock some (he did do the physical measurements and had 10.2 percent body fat, which is pretty bad. It was among the five worst of all players at the combine).

Most GM's and coaches, though, said that they don't place a whole lot of stock in what goes on at the combine. They care more about what how they did in college, the interviews and private workouts.

So don't read too much into Irving's decision not to drill at the combine. He's certainly not falling out of the top of the draft.

I wanted to make sure I covered that before moving on to an evaluation of what the Cavs will do with their No. 1 and No. 4 picks.

I think that above all else, the Cavs need to maximize these two picks to best of their ability. I think there are a couple courses of action available.

Draft Kyrie Irving No. 1

Irving is the consensus best player available in the draft. Chris Grant said at the combine that "We'll take the two best players available once we get our draft board in order."

Taking Irving first is the easy choice. The tough decision then comes with what to do with the fourth pick.

If Enes Kanter is there, then I think it's a no-brainer. Kanter gained some bonus points by taking part in all of the activities at the combine when many of the other top players only did some of them.

Kanter was impressive at the combine. He showed very adept skill and excellent athleticism and agility for a guy just a shade under 7'.

He raised some eyebrows by passing on a couple team interviews showing that he really cares about what team he goes to and cares about being in the best situation for him. Don't panic...he did interview with the Cavs.

However, I don't think that Kanter will still be on the board at No. 4. I would be very surprised if Utah passed on him for a guy like Knight or Walker. So what do the Cavs do if Kanter is gone?

Since David Kahn isn't running the Cavs, they obviously won't take another PG (always fun to pick on Kahn...he just makes me laugh when he talks).

Here is where you may see one of the international players get taken. The top guys are Jonas Valanciunas (PF from Lithuania), Bismack Biyombo (PF from Congo), and Jan Vesely (SF/PF from Czech Republic).

All three are interesting prospects and each has very different skills.

Valanciunas is long and thrives round the basket. He's an excellent rebounder and has good touch around the hoop. But he lacks really any outside game and has some contractual concerns with his current team.

Biyombo is somewhat of a mystery man. There is not a whole lot of public information on him at this point. He is a big leaper who is all about defense and rebounding.

From what we know he has almost no offensive game at all and is still very raw in his overall basketball ability.

Vesely is more of a perimeter player than the other two. He is a great athlete with good shooting range and could have an immediate impact on an NBA team as a rookie.

It's said that if he had played college in the States then he would be one of the most talked about players in this draft.

I don't want Biyombo. We already have a one of the best defensive, rebounding big men who lacks offensive output in the league in Anderson Varejao.

Out of the two others, I like more of what I'm hearing about Vesely. He is a more versatile player and could fill that need at SF. He has great length and athleticism that would allow him to play at the 3.

If the Cavs decide not to take one of the international guys, then trading the pick may be the only other option. We still have the $14 million trade exception from the LeBron situation, and this would be an ideal time to use it.

There are several veteran players who could be had for that pick. The key is finding a guy who is would fit well on the Cavs and would be a good use of that pick. I think you have to get more of an impact player if you're going to trade that pick.

The guy who's name has swirled around the media is Rudy Gay from Memphis. I wrote about this in my last column so I won't spend too much time on that here. Word is that this is just media speculation instead of anything substantive.

I'm sure that as the draft approaches, we'll hear more and more about potential trades for that No. 4 pick.

If Chris Grant and Byron Scott decide that Kyrie Irving isn't the guy, then the only other real option is...

Draft Derrick Williams No. 1

I have made no mystery about this being my preferred choice. I think it gives the Cavs more flexibility with that other pick. There are two other very good PG's besides Irving but no other players close to the package that Williams can offer.

Here are all the options that are opened up by taking Williams...

1. Take Kanter if still available.
2. Take either Walker or Knight to fill that PG need.
3. Take one of the international players, as none of their skill sets are anything like what Williams does. Any of the three could play alongside Williams with no problem.
4. Trade the pick

What I love most about Williams is also the one main criticisms, because there are two ways to look at it. Either he is very versatile (able to play both the 3 and the 4) or he lacks an actual position. I prefer to take to the former outlook.

He is a freak athlete with a high IQ who can rebound and block shots as well as shoot from range (56.8 percent from 3, 59.5 percent overall). The one downside is that may struggle to guard man-to-man at either of the forward positions.

Williams is a tireless worker who busts his butt on both ends of the floor. If he struggles defensively, it won't be for a lack of trying.

The transformation of Williams' game in the two-year span from high school until now is incredible. You want that in your top pick. You know he is going to put in the effort to be the best possible player he can be.

Another thing I like about him is that he actually wants to play in Cleveland. Read that sentence again. Now read it one more time and let that sink in. Why would I not want a guy who wants to play here?

Typically the line of comment for the top guys is something like, "Well you know I'll just do what I do and see what happens. If they decide to take me, then I'll be happy to go there. If not, that's fine, I'm just looking forward to playing at the highest level" (or something like that).

That's not the stance that Williams took when approached with that question after the lottery.

"I think I'm the No. 1 pick because I have more star quality I would think," the small forward said. "I'm just a bigger person. Just trying to fill in for a big star like LeBron like they're missing. That missing piece. I think that's me."

Bravado! I love it! He actually wants to be the guy who replaces LeBron in Cleveland. We need a guy like that. The city is a unique place right now. And the Cavaliers need a player to be the face of the franchise.

Kyrie Irving just doesn't strike me as guy who would relish that spotlight.

Derrick Williams is already pointing that light on himself.

That's a guy who I could get behind.

And he wore No. 23 in college... so that would make things interesting, too.

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