NBA Draft 2011: Kyrie Irving Be a Mistake at No. 1 for Cleveland Cavaliers?

"Stick to conscience and hold on to principle."
- Sam in "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Let's start with a quick quiz...

Question No. 1: Who are the top 10 point guards in the NBA right now?

Answer:
1. Chris Paul
2. Derrick Rose
3. Deron Williams
4. Russell Westbrook
5. Rajon Rondo
6. Steve Nash
7. Chauncey Billups
8. Jason Kidd
9. Jameer Nelson
10. Mike Conley Jr.

Question No. 2: How many total championships do those 10 players have?

Answer: Two. Rondo and Billups each have one (I'll accept five if you decided to include Tony Parker in that list. But judging by how he got destroyed by Conley in the first round of the playoffs this year, I'm not sure how anybody could come to that conclusion).

Question No. 3: How many PGs have won championships while being the best player on their team or leading scorer?

Answer: Two. Magic Johnson and Isaiah Thomas

Okay, class, what have we learned today?

The answer is that this current notion that you have to start building your franchise with a point guard is just plain stupid. In fact, history proves otherwise.

Watching this series between the Heat and Bulls has brought this to a light once again. Derrick Rose won the MVP this year because he did everything on his team. However, it's not going to win them a trip to the Finals, let alone a championship. Point guards aren't meant to jack up 25 to 30 shots a night. It's not a recipe for success. The PG is meant to be a facilitator and orchestrator for the offense, not a primary scorer.

The only two exceptions to this rule are Magic and Isaiah, who just might be the two best PGs of all time. It should be pointed out that while they each were their team's leading scorer, it wasn't by a crazy margin. They both had very good teams around them...I think most of you may be familiar with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?

What about the current top PGs? Rondo was the fourth best player on their championship team. Parker was the third best player. One could make the case that Billups was the best player on the Pistons, but they also had Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace and Tayshaun Prince. And the Detroit team won with defense, team cohesiveness and the implosion of the Lakers.

In the first round of this year's playoffs, Paul dominated Derek Fisher. But despite being the obvious best player in the series, the Hornets still lost to the Lakers because LA had Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

And even if you dispute my list and think that guys like Brandon Jennings, John Wall or Tyreke Evans should be on the list... one of them have championships either, so it's a moot point.

So obviously having a good PG isn't that big of deal.

Wrong! (I gotcha on that one, didn't I?)

If the Cavs decide to draft Kyrie Irving because they believe he is far and away the best player in the draft and head and shoulders above the Kemba Walker and Brandon Knight, then I'm fine with that.

But I take issue with the given idea that's being thrown around that says that "You have to start rebuilding your team with a solid point guard." I think that's incredibly near-sighted.

Would Irving have a positive affect on the Cavs? Sure.

Is he a guy they could build around for a championship? No.

Nearly all championship teams are centered around wings and bigs. And there are two guys in this draft who fit that criteria: Derrick Williams and Enes Kanter.

Are they the kind of guys you could build around for a championship? Maybe...but what do I know?

But what I do know is that every NBA champion for the last 11 years had good at least one elite wing and one elite big. The '90s were a bit of an aberration with the Jordan Bulls (no bigs) and Twin Towers in San Antonio in '99 (Sean Elliott was their best wing). But neither of those teams had top talent at point either. Neither did the Rockets in '94 and '95.

The key to rebuilding the Cavs has to be placed on the need for an All-Star wing or big or both... not on an All-Star point guard. Derek Fisher has five rings and no other hardware...no All-Stars, no All-NBA, no Most Improved, no nothing. Just five rings.

If Chris Grant and Byron Scott are convinced that neither Williams nor Kanter will be All-Star players or guys who can carry a playoff team, then I'm fine with drafting Irving.

But don't take him because you think you have to start rebuilding a team with a point guard, because that's just not true.

And I don't really think that Iriving is that much better than either Kemba or Knight. Certainly not enough to draft him at No. 1 when either of the other two can be had at No. 4.

My conscience tells me that it would be a mistake for the Cavs to take Irving over Williams. And the principle backs it up.

"Stick to conscience and hold on to principle."

It works in all areas of life...even basketball.

You can follow me on Twitter @ClevelandFlack