Cavaliers win the NBA Draft lottery, Will select 1st and 4th overall

Cleveland needed a miracle, and they got one last night.  The ping-pong balls bounced the Cavaliers' way, and we won the NBA draft lottery.  Thanks to the pick from the Clippers, we also secured the #4 overall pick.

Talk about the kind of night we needed.  The last time an NBA team had two picks in the top 4 goes all the way back to the 1982 Houston Rockets.

Duke guard Kyrie Irving is now within the Cavaliers' sights, but no one really knows how GM Chris Grant will choose to use these picks.  Other contenders are Derrick Williams, Enes Kanter, Kemba Walker, and Kentucky point guard Brandon Knight. 

This gives the Cleveland faithful a reason to cheer.  Things have been going the city's way since the NBA regular season ended.  The Indians are in first place, the Browns had a great draft, Peyton Hillis on the cover of Madden 12 and now the Cavaliers winning the NBA draft lottery.

When rebuilding an NBA franchise, you need a rapid infusion of young talent.  With two of the top 4 picks, the Cavaliers will have exactly that as we move into the future. If this is a sign of things to come, things look good for the state of our franchise.  This will surely motivate Dan Gilbert to continue to back his promise of turning this team into a contender again.      

       

NBA draft lottery: Our hopes lie in ping pong balls

After one of the least productive seasons in franchise history, its time for things to go the Cavaliers way. Tonight marks the first step in that direction, with the draft lottery. I've never been more excited abput watching ping pong balls fly since the last time I dominated in beer pong.

I have a lot of faith in the current GM Chris Grant and Dan Gilbert's intention to turn this team into an immediate contender. I'm pretty sure no one thought the Indians would be very good this year, but yet they manage to defy expectations and currently sit atop the AL central. Why not the Cavaliers next season?

Bring in a Derrick Williams and Kyrie Irving, use the trade exception to land a proven big man, and this team is not that far out from the 8th seed in the playoffs. (which Andrew Polansky will vehemently tell you is the worst spot for an NBA franchise)

Kyrie is being touted as the likely #1 overall pick, but on what basis?  He played in only a handful of games last year.  Sure, he has a silky smoot jumper, but his foot injury will cause him to wear a special shoe for the rest of his basketball career.  Personally, I favor Derrick Williams and Kemba Walker. In that order. 

Williams is the scoring small forward we need (and a power dunking juggernaut), and Kemba is a clutch shooter.  LeBron James is not walking through that door; we need to land someone with at least the potential to become a star.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have the highest percentage of landing the #1 spot, with a 25% chance.  Unforunately for the team that drafted Ricky Rubio, the last time the team with the most ping pong balls won the #1 pick was in 2004.  It just doesn't always work out.  The Cavaliers have the second most ping pong balls. The drama will take place on ESPN at 8:30.

The hopes for this franchise lie in this and the next few drafts, so we need the balls to bounce our way. Thanks to the Clippers, we will likely have two top 10 picks. A la Kobe Byant, "You can call me crazy" but I see a monumental turnaround for this franchise in the next few years. Under the radar, just where we like to be. It's the Cleveland way.