2011 NBA Draft: Is Kyrie Irving Making a Mistake Only Working out for Cleveland?

I came across this story on Fox Sports Ohio where Irving says that he has spoken to a few teams, but he will only work out for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

If they guarantee that they will pick him, that’s great. However, the same story pointed out that they also worked out Derrick Williams, the Arizona forward that has just as good a chance of being picked number one as Irving.

The thing is if Cleveland does not take Irving first, he would fall to third and be picked by Utah a much better fit with less pressure than Cleveland. Utah just missed barely missed the playoffs after trading Deron Williams. That team was built for a point guard.

Timberwolves pick second but they just signed Ricky Rubio, a point guard they have been waiting for since they drafted him fifth in 2009. There is no way they can justify drafting another point guard, considering they also took two more guards in that draft.

They drafted Johnny Flynn out of Syracuse right after Rubio, kept him but traded Ty Lawson, whom they drafted, 18^th to Denver. Of these, the best has been Ty Lawson, for Denver. Rubio had a devastating buyout clause with this Spanish Team and Flynn; a kind word would be to say injuries have affected him.

Hence there is no way the Timberwolves would keep Kyrie if they drafted him as there has been too much speculation and time wasted on Rubio.

The great news is the Cavaliers pick at fourth, but I still think that any recruit that goes to Cleveland at this time is in for a rough ride. There is a lot of prestige that comes with being drafted first and the pay is better.

A guy that was drafted first can at least hope to be in the league for 10 years barring injury, whereas guys that get drafted lower are more likely to be released if they have a bad start.

It is nice to be drafted first. Mike Krzyzewski has been coaching at Duke for over thirty years but he has only had one player drafted first and that was Elton Brand by the Chicago Bulls in 1999. However in this instance it might be best to avoid the minefield that is Cleveland. 

After LeBron’s decision, the spotlight is on The Cavaliers to fulfill their owner Dan Gilbert’s promise that they will win a championship before Miami Heat. Dallas Mavericks beat the heat in the NBA Finals on Sunday which means Gilbert’s promise can still be fulfilled.

Kyrie is a great talent with a positive attitude and if anyone can take on the challenge of turning Cleveland around it will be him. As for his time at Duke, this is what he had to say:

"I wanted to get as much out of the college experience as I could," he said. "Whether it was one year or two years, (the NBA) was something I had in the back of my mind. I wasn't going to try to force it or anything. The injury sidetracked me but look where I am now. I'm blessed."