NBA Draft 2011: 5 Reasons Cleveland Cavaliers Shouldn't Pick Kyrie Irving

The Cleveland Cavaliers should not make Kyrie Irving the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Could it be a mistake for them to skip him? Yes, of course. But it would be more of a mistake for them to draft him. With the draft less than 24 hours away, Cleveland is still sticking with its decision to pick Irving No. 1 (or so it seems).

But what do the Cavaliers want?

Do they want a very talented player? Do they want a guy they could build the team around? Do they want someone to lead them to a championship?

These are questions I couldn't possibly know the answers to. I would imagine they are looking for a guy to bring an NBA title to Cleveland, but it is also possible that they are looking for someone to fill the seats. With LeBron James' departure, the Cavaliers probably think that they should do what the fans want—take Kyrie Irving.

But the fans are wrong.

Here are five reasons why.

5. Point Guards Are Overrated

Why does everyone make such a big deal about point guards?

Yes, the NBA is a point-guard league, but what does that mean? And why does it matter?

Well, what it means is that there are a lot of very good point guards in the NBA. But that strengthens the point even further. If there are a ton of great point guards in the NBA, why would you choose Irving? By almost all expert accounts, he is worse than last year's No. 1 pick, John Wall, and Wall led his team to a whopping 23-59 record. Sign me up!

But seriously, what is the big deal? I mean, look at the two teams in the NBA Finals. No great point guards there.

It might be important to have a good point guard, but it is certainly not a make-or-break situation. Let's take a look at Deron Williams for example. I'm going to forget for a second the fact that despite Williams being (arguably) the second best point guard in the league, he still has not even brought his team close to the championship (more on that later).

Let me show you some numbers:

12 games (4-8 record), 35 percent FG, 27 percent 3FG, 15 PPG, 4.6 RPB, 12.8 APG

Those were Deron's numbers while he was with New Jersey this past season. They won four out of 12 games, and his shooting percentages were abysmal.

That's what a terrible team does if it's only good player is a point guard. Even the mighty Deron Williams couldn't stop the bleeding in Jersey. You can't expect Irving, who's approximately a million times worse, to turn the Cavs around.

After all, he is only a point guard.

4. Kyrie Played Only 300 Minutes in College

An NBA game is 48 minutes. Most young superstars play about 37 minutes per game.

If you average it out, that means that Kyrie played the equivalent of eight NBA games in the past year and a half. Was he sensational when he was on the floor? Of course. But do injuries play a big part in the draft process? Of course.

Irving can definitely score, I am not arguing that. But his fantastic scoring might be slightly overlooking the fact that he averaged only 3.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and had a shaky 1.74 assist-to-turnover ratio.

To put that in perspective, John Wall averaged 4.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and a similarly shaky 1.62 assist-to-turnover ratio.

So even when he did play, which was not often, Irving's scoring completely masked the fact that he really wasn't all that well-rounded offensively. And rightfully so, look at his superb shooting numbers:

53 percent FG, 90 percent FT, 46 percent 3FG

Beautiful.

One big problem though. He only played 11 games! Why are people assuming that he will be able to maintain such great numbers over the course of a massive 82-game season (by the way, this is the same reason I am afraid of Enes Kanter—he hasn't played organized basketball in two years), much less stay healthy throughout the grinding NBA season?

He has durability issues, and there are questions as to whether Irving is even in such good shape right now. NBAdraft.net reports that he has an extremely high 10 percent body fat (for a PG), and has refused to partake in the normal conditioning/athletic tests that a No. 1 pick always takes part in.

I would be worried. At least a little.

3. Cleveland Has the No. 4 Pick

There is no reason to risk it all on this pick. Instead of shooting for the stars (similar to what the Boston Celtics would be doing if they drafted Jeremy Tyler at No. 25), Cleveland can pick two guys who are good enough to build a franchise around.

They don't have to be the best players, they just have to be the most reliable. With Irving's injury problems, and the fact that, even at his best, he will only be a top 15 PG, Cleveland should focus on building a great team.

They already have Baron Davis, why would they take a PG because he is the best? Take the second and fourth best guys, and let them form a solid core for the future.

You're telling me that a team with Baron Davis, Anthony Parker (assuming he re-signs), Derrick Williams, Anderson Varejao and Enes Kanter (with JJ Hickson going back to his familiar sixth-man role) doesn't have a chance of sneaking into the playoffs?

There will be many point guards available in the future. Take Williams and Kanter, create a dominant frontcourt, and let Baron be the ring leader. By the time Baron's contract runs out, Cleveland will have already had time to grab another PG.

Why put Baron Davis on the bench?

When motivated, he too can be a top 15 PG (or even top 10), and he is already on the roster. Adding Irving isn't really adding anything, unless they play Baron and Kyrie at the same time (which makes no sense).

Stick to drafting big men this year. You can draft a PG another year.

2. Point Guards Do Not Win Championships

You may be wondering why you are looking at a picture of Isaiah Thomas.

Well, I will tell you why.

Thomas is the last point guard to be the best player on a championship team. Don't believe me? Look it up. That's right, it has been 21 years since a point guard has led his team to a title.

And what is even more interesting about this idea is the fact that clearly, this is a wing-player/big-man league. Every champion since Isaiah has been led by a wing-player/big man, and most of the time, they beat a team that is led by a superstar PG.

Let's take a look at a few Finals series (excluding 2004 Pistons and 2008 Celtics—no clear leader):

Jordan's Bulls: Six championships. From '96-'98, Bulls defeated three teams led by PGs, Seattle once (Gary Payton—Kemp was terrific, but Payton was clear leader. Led team in minutes, shots, assists and steals, and was clearly the best defensive player on the team), and the Jazz twice (Stockton and Malone).

Olajuwon's Rockets: Two championships. Hakeem was the biggest and baddest in the NBA.

Duncan's Spurs: Four championships. Duncan was best for all four, although the fourth was more of a group effort with Parker and Ginobili (even though Duncan was definitely the best and most clutch); the 03' team defeated Jason Kidd's Nets.

ShaKobe's Lakers: Three championships. Led by Shaq and Kobe, defeated Iverson's Sixers in '01 and Kidd's Nets in '03.

ShaWade's Heat: One championship. Led by Wade and Shaq.

Kobe's Lakers: Two championships. Led by Kobe.

Dirk's Mavericks: One championship. Led by Dirk.

Had enough yet? I think you get the point. While point guards are important, they do not bring you championships. The champion-Lakers had Derek Fisher, while the champion-Mavs had a 38-year-old Jason Kidd.

Nuff' said.

1. Derrick Williams Is Better

Come on, admit it, you were convinced even before you got to this slide.

No? You weren't? Well that's OK, because this man is a pretty damn good reason to pass over Kyrie Irving. Williams made a huge jump from year one at Arizona to year two, and there is no reason to think that he won't continue to make leaps and bounds.

Unlike Irving, he actually played in college. 2000 minutes worth. That is a little less than 67 times more than Kyrie. But he didn't only play the game, he dominated.

Fittingly, D-Will's experience trumped Irving's ability when Arizona knocked the Duke Blue Devils out of the NCAA tournament in March. He went for 32 points on 11-for-17 shooting (5-for-6 from deep), and grabbed 13 rebounds (6 offensive). Irving was spectacular too, going for 28 points on 9-for-15 shooting, but he grabbed zero rebounds, and had only three assists.

Who played better? Williams.

Who had a better all around game? Williams.

Who's a better scorer? Irving, but only by a smidgen.

Both can score from nearly anywhere (D-Will shot an astonishing 57 percent from three-point range this season), but Williams is bigger (6'8", 250), more versatile, and has absolutely no questions about his character or durability.

Instead of swinging for the fences, the Cavaliers should take Derrick Williams.

He is a better overall player. He will allow Baron Davis to remain in the starting lineup (which only makes sense considering Cleveland traded its best player to obtain him), and together with Enes Kanter (or whomever the Cavs take with the fourth pick), the Cleveland Cavaliers will have the core of a very good team for years to come.