Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Mock Draft 2011: Grading the Experts' Picks 2.0
With the 2011 NBA draft only a few days away and mock drafts flooding the web, I'd like to take a moment and review some of the best the Internet has to offer.
Three months ago, before the draft order was set, I graded the experts picks for the Cleveland Cavaliers when it was projected that they would have the first and eighth overall picks.
Things have changed quite a bit since then, as you can see.
As a reminder, sites included and graded will be nbadraft.net, draftexpress.com, mynbadraft.com, nba-draft.com, hoopshype.com and realgm.com.
Grading will not be based on how accurate the mocks appear to be, but rather the quality of talent the Cavaliers would receive based on that specific mock.
Let's begin.
Mock No. 1: NBA Draft.net
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First Selection:
Kyrie Irving: 6'2", 180 lbs
Freshman Guard, Duke
2010-11 Stats: PPG: 17.4, RBG: 3.8, APG: 5.1, FG%: .452
Second Selection:
Enes Kanter: 6'11'', 270 lbs
Freshman Center, Kentucky
2010-11 Stats: None, ruled academically ineligible.
Draft Grade: A In March I stated that Kanter falling to the Cavs second pick would be a draft miracle. While it's clear now that there's no chance he would have fallen all the way to eighth, fourth is much more possible.
This would be a tremendous duo to build around. Cleveland desperately needs a center and can afford to pass on small forward for now with all the talent in next year's draft. Irving and Kanter might be as good as it can get in the draft for the Cavs.
Mock No. 2: Draft Express.com
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First Selection:
Kyrie Irving: 6'2", 180 lbs
Freshman Guard, Duke
2010-11 Stats: PPG: 17.4, RBG: 3.8, APG: 5.1, FG%: .452
Second Selection:
Jonas Valanciunas: 6'11", 240 lbs
Center, Lithuania
2010-11 Euro League Stats: PPG: 7.6, RBG: 3.6, APG: 0.2, FG%: .700 in 14.9 minutes per game
Draft Grade: B+ Valanciunas is the popular pick for the Cavs at fourth overall right now. He has a buyout with his current team that is believed to be around $3 million, which obviously won't discourage Dan Gilbert.
At 240 pounds, Jonas has more of an NBA power forward build right now, but with 20-25 pounds of added muscle could turn into a very interesting center prospect.
If Kanter is off the board, I would either take Valanciunas or trade the pick instead of reaching on another player.
The last time the Cavs dipped into the Lithuanian talent pool, it worked out pretty well for them.
Mock No. 3: HoopsHype.com
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First Selection:
Kyrie Irving: 6'2", 180 lbs
Freshman Guard, Duke
2010-11 Stats: PPG: 17.4, RBG: 3.8, APG: 5.1, FG%: .452
Second Selection:
Enes Kanter: 6'11'', 270 lbs
Freshman Center, Kentucky
2010-11 Stats: None, ruled academically ineligible.
Draft Grade: A I see a pattern developing here. Kanter was reportedly in Cleveland in Monday for a second workout with the Cavs, who seem to be leaning toward the center at four.
Mock No. 4: NBA-Draft.com
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First Selection:
Kyrie Irving: 6'2", 180 lbs
Freshman Guard, Duke
2010-11 Stats: PPG: 17.4, RBG: 3.8, APG: 5.1, FG%: .452
Second Selection:
Enes Kanter: 6'11'', 270 lbs
Freshman Center, Kentucky
2010-11 Stats: None, ruled academically ineligible.
Draft Grade: A Being the first draft site to have the Cavs taking the same two players as they did three months ago, props to NBA-Draft.com for sticking to their original predictions.
Kanter and Irving again are the picks for Cleveland, receiving no argument from me.
Mock No. 5: My NBA Draft.com
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First Selection:
Kyrie Irving: 6'2", 180 lbs
Freshman Guard, Duke
2010-11 Stats: PPG: 17.4, RBG: 3.8, APG: 5.1, FG%: .452
Second Selection:
Jonas Valanciunas: 6'11", 240 lbs
Center, Lithuania
2010-11 Euro League Stats: PPG: 7.6, RBG: 3.6, APG: 0.2, FG%: .700 in 14.9 minutes per game
Draft Grade: B+ Again, the pairing of Irving-Valanciunas is visited. My-NBA-Draft has Kanter falling all the way to six, with another international prospect, Jan Vesely going to the Raptors at five.
Again, Kanter is just too good to pass on at four for a more project-type player like Valanciunas. I don't see this happening, and hope it doesn't.
Mock No. 6: Real GM.com
6 of 7First Selection:
Kyrie Irving: 6'2", 180 lbs
Freshman Guard, Duke
2010-11 Stats: PPG: 17.4, RBG: 3.8, APG: 5.1, FG%: .452
Second Selection:
Enes Kanter: 6'11'', 270 lbs
Freshman Center, Kentucky
2010-11 Stats: None, ruled academically ineligible.
Draft Grade: A Every single draft has Kanter falling past the Timberwolves and Jazz to the Cavaliers at four, which is interesting to note even though Kanter worked out for both teams.
Kyrie Irving appears to be the man for Cleveland.
Recap
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A couple interesting notes:
-All six NBA draft websites had the Cavaliers taking Kyrie Irving first overall. In March, Jared Sullinger and Derrick Williams were also considered for the top pick.
-Jonas Valanciunas, picked to go fourth by two sites, was not projected at any pick for Cleveland in the first version.
-Enes Kanter, thanks to an impressive combine and other players pulling out of the draft, did not slip past pick No. 6 in any of the present mock drafts. In the previous edition, he fell to the Cavs at eight.
-Derrick Williams was not projected to go first in any of the mocks.
-None of the mock drafts featured a trade by Cleveland to try and acquire the second pick, despite rumors of them doing so.
The best realistic situation for me is if the Cavs took Kyrie Irving and Enes Kanter. Passing on Kanter would be a big mistake, as he can dominate the game in many forms.
With Irving, you get your team leader and point guard for Byron Scott to build around, much like he did with Chris Paul in New Orleans.
