NBA Draft 2011: Taking a Peek into Cleveland Cavaliers Future after the Draft

Now that we are a little more than a day removed from the 2011 NBA draft in which the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Kyrie Irving with the No. 1 pick, I feel like I have a much clearer head to take a look at what the Cavs did and what they are possibly planning with their picks.

The No. 1 pick was a no-brainer.  Kyrie Irving was the best player in the draft (or second-best depending on who you ask), so picking him was a great choice.

I only have one complaint with how they handled having the first and fourth pick.  It's no secret that the Timberwolves absolutely could not have taken Kyrie Irving if Cleveland ended up taking Derrick Williams, and it would have forced them to trade down, something they didn't seem to want to do considering the offers they were getting.

So, isn't it possible that the Cavs could have made David Kahn think they were more interested in Williams than Irving and then swapped picks with them, getting something like a second-round pick along with what would be Kyrie Irving.  In essence, they would be getting something for nothing.

I did have a few problems with how they handled things, I think they could have gotten Tristan Thompson a few spots later, they should have considered keeping Justin Harper, and the pick of Milan Macvan is a bit puzzling.

However, the time to question the picks is in the past; right now is a time to look forward, so that's just what I will do.

The role that Kyrie Irving takes on is pretty obvious.  He is the starting point guard of the future, who will be anything from a poor man's Chris Paul to a rich man's Mike Conley; either way, he should be quite a serviceable starter.

Assuming nothing strange happens with Irving, he should be the permanent starter by the beginning of his second year (they will probably fiddle with the lineup quite a bit this season), and if the salary cap hardens and the rules make it easier for teams to keep their players, then he could be the Cavs starting point guard for the next decade.

The Tristan Thompson pick makes one thing obvious to me—they are planning on collecting assets much in the way a few other teams (like the Timberwolves) are doing, following the Celtics model.  I'm not so sure they are going to go all-out and trade for a superstar, but they could do it on a much smaller level, trading for draft picks with lottery teams.

With Thompson, they now have JJ Hickson, Samardo Samuels (who also plays some center), Antawn Jamison and Luke Harangody at power forward. They also have five point guards under contract or soon to be under contract (two of which have played some shooting guard) with Irving, Baron Davis, Ramon Sessions, Boobie Gibson and Manny Harris.

This year will likely see the Cavs in trade talks more so than any other team in the league, as they have many tradeable players and assets with a high value this season.

Sessions is the most obvious player that could be on the move, and he should easily be traded by the end of January.  They also have Antawn Jamison's expiring contract, which is good for taking $15 million off the books of any team.  They could trade that to collect some more assets or keep him and let the money come off their books, which could prove to be more valuable depending upon the result of the lockout.

Now when they drafted Tristan Thompson, I was sure they were using that pick for another team and had traded down but just didn't have the details of a trade yet.  I assumed it was going to Charlotte at No. 7 where they would take Jonas Valanciunas (until Toronto picked him) or Bismack Biyombo, because the thought was that a center was the way to go.

However, the picks rolled on, and Thompson remained a Cavalier, so I accepted it and tried to figure out what their plans were for the big Canadian.

My conclusion was that he and Hickson will be the primary power forwards (even though they have a few dozen of them), and a few years down the line when they show what type of player they are going to be, the front office will decide whether to keep them both or trade one of them for more assets.

So what does this all mean for the outcome of the 2011-2012 season you might ask?  Well, it may not have an outcome much better than 2010-11, so get hunkered down.

Cleveland should still be a high lottery team unless the season is shortened like back in 1999 which could make it possible for them to go on a run and end up a low lottery pick, but high lottery looks to be the most likely scenario as of right now.

That could mean someone that is more likely to be a superstar than Irving, like Harrison Barnes, Perry Jones, Jared Sullinger (meh) or Anthony Davis (another damn power forward, I know, but still!).

So, at the beginning of next season, they could have a starting lineup that looks something like Irving, free-agent shooting guard x/Baron Davis, Barnes/James McAdoo, JJ Hickson, Anderson Varejao/Ryan Hollins/free-agent center x with Thompson, Gibson and Christian Eyenga off the bench.

That may not be a playoff-worthy lineup, but there is a lot of potential there, especially depending on Irving, Thompson and next year's draft pick combined with the fruits of this year's trades.

I wasn't high on the Thompson pick 24 hours ago, but now that I take a closer look at what the future could hold, I have to say I'm not upset.

For more 2011 NBA draft coverage, stay tuned to Bleacher Report for NBA draft results and NBA draft grades.