NBA Draft 2011: Should Cleveland Cavaliers Pick Derrick Williams or Kyrie Irving
This year, the No. 1 overall pick has fallen to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Their choice is affected by the fact that they also landed the No. 4 overall pick.
Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams are both the obvious choices to go No. 1 and No. 2, but which one is going to join Cleveland as the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NBA draft?
Cleveland gets a good pick either way, but let's take a look at both players.
Kyrie Irving is a true point guard. He finds his way to the rim, excels at finding open teammates, and shoots the long ball with ease. He is an uncanny scorer with natural passing abilities.
Derrick Williams is a strong, yet agile, forward. He's more of a tweener, having the size and slashing ability to play the small forward position as a pro, but also having the strength and excellent post play to play as a power forward.
There are two scenarios to this whole situation.
If the Utah Jazz are targeting Brandon Knight as their third overall selection, the Cavs should take Kyrie Irving.
Derrick Williams is the more NBA-ready one and more likely to succeed early on, but I don't see him ever becoming a true superstar like Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade or Kobe Bryant. Kyrie has the potential and skill to become a top guard in the NBA, and he can become an All-NBA point guard in a couple years.
One thing the Cavaliers should keep in mind is if Utah is targeting Brandon Knight.
If the Jazz show no interest in Knight, then the Cavaliers should go with Derrick Williams.
Knight, in my opinion, has more potential than even Kyrie. What's keeping Knight from being the first overall pick was his "lackluster" year in college, as many analysts would call it (though I totally disagree), where he lead his team in scoring with over 17 points per game.
In the right situation with a good head coach, which the Cavaliers have with Byron Scott, Brandon Knight could become the next big thing in the NBA. He could become a top 10 player for sure, just as Kyrie would, but I see Knight having the potential to even become a top five player.
If the Cavs decide to go with Kyrie Irving, their fourth overall pick would be likely used to draft either Enes Kanter or Jonas Valuncianas (sorry for the complete butchering of his name), even though he may have some contract issues with his team in Europe. Either one could provide a solid big man, and they would have both the point guard position, and the center position solved—the two positions that are hardest to find good talent at.
Another option could be picking Jan Vesely, though he is an incomplete player, but he has tremendous upside as well. Cleveland can even look to as early as next year to draft a small forward/ power forward due to the sheer amount of talent at the two forward positions in next year's draft. Big names like Harrison Barnes, James McAdoo, Anthony Davis, Perry Jones, Quincy Miller and Jared Sullinger will all be highlights of next year's draft.
It would be smarter to use the fourth pick on a big man if they decide to go with Kyrie, due to the amount of small forwards in next year's draft, which Cleveland will most likely have a lottery pick in.
If Cleveland decides that it's worth risking it, they can take Williams and hope that Utah does not set their eyes on Brandon Knight. Derrick Williams and Brandon Knight can become a dangerous inside-out combo for the team and would provide maximum success if Brandon Knight lives up to his full potential.
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