Cleveland Cavaliers Draft Pick Tristan Thompson Could Surprise Doubters

I don't think that I'm the only Cavaliers fan who was a little shocked when David Stern announced Cleveland's choice for the No. 4 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft last Thursday night.

All the talk in the days leading up to the draft were that the Cavs were very high on Lithuanian center Jonas Valanciunas and that he would be the pick if Enes Kanter and Derrick Williams were both off the board.

Well all the pundits ended up being wrong as Chris Grant threw the first curve ball of the night, selecting Tristan Thompson out of Texas.

I was really taken back by the choice and wasn't sure what to make of it since Thompson wasn't someone who I had really considered for the Cavs that high (I didn't want us to draft Valanciunas at all, but was rather hoping for Jan Vesely).

I wondered aloud in my Draft Diary column that I was worried about taking Thompson that high because he wasn't really a guy who jumped out to me during his one year at Texas.

The scouting report on Thompson is that he is an excellent rebounder (especially on offense), has a high motor, a crazy 7'2" wingspan, and is very good at scoring around the rim.

The negatives are that he is undersized at 6'9", doesn't have a polished post game, virtually no perimeter game, and Shaquille O'Neal thinks he's a bad free throw shooter.

That all makes it sound like he'll be a nice role player, but not exactly what you'd expect from a top four pick.

Enter ESPN's John Hollinger and his Draft Rater rankings. This is the annual column in which Hollinger takes players' college stats and predicts how they'll translate to the NBA.

The highest rated player was...drumroll please...Tristan Thompson.

Thompson's 16.21 rating was even superior to that of Kyrie Irving (15.14) and Derrick Williams (15.97). This information caused Hollinger to rank Thompson No. 3 on his overall big board entering the draft.

What this means is that the things that Thompson does, the way that he affects the game, that goes beyond just the eye-catching plays that often vault players to the top of the draft. The stats don't lie...his impact on the game is profound and undeniable.

Hollinger's ratings have seldom failed with the exceptions generally coming in cases of injuries, character problems, or off-court issues.

And Thompson gets glowing remarks on the character test. Leading up to and after the draft, the Cavs brass stressed how important it was to them that they were drafting not just good basketball players but good men as well. They placed more importance on the interviews than the actual workouts.

Thompson is a guy who has consistently worked hard his whole life and really seems to love playing the game of basketball.

Though I was skeptical of the pick at first, I now think the Cavs made a very good choice in selecting Thompson. I think he's going to have a very solid impact on the team for years to come.

The question is...where does he fit on this team?

At 6'9", he's too short to play center and the roster already holds three other PF's in J.J. Hickson, Antawn Jamison, and Luke Harangody. What does this mean for those players' futures with the franchise?

The development of Thompson's shooting ability and overall offensive game will greatly affect how much playing time he will get and inevitably how great his impact on the team will be.

Only time will tell if Thompson was a reach...or a steal.

You can follow me on Twitter @ClevelandFlack.