The Boss;772820 wrote:No I knew who he was, I'm just saying, his draft stock SOARED because of the tournament. And he definitely deserves some props for that. But the other guy being considered at #1 was far and away, easily the consensus #1 player in college basketball before his injury. And they say the toe is no big deal anymore. There are question marks with Williams. The only question mark with Irving was the toe and that seems to have been answered. He's a no brainer.

I mean you're right with everything in your post except the tournament.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/620518-2011-nba-mock-draft-first-round-breakdown-and-predictions

That's from February, before the tourney, and they had him going 3rd, so I don't know how you can possibly say his stock soared because of the tournament if he was a top 3 prospect before it.

Williams was always highly regarded. If I remember correctly people were surprised he returned to Arizona last year.

As for the log jam, Jamison isn't a piece of the future so forget him. JJ and Varejao have both played the 5 a little and Williams could play some at the 3. Not really a problem.

Williams can play the 3, I don't know why everyone thinks he's a tweener. Given his size, weight, shooting ability, and athleticism he certainly compares to other players in the league that play at that position. The real question is if you're the Cavs, do you go Irving with #1 then one of the European big men at #4 or do you go Williams at #1 and then Knight or Walker at #4 which still gives you a young point guard?

Of course he was always highly regarded, he went to Arizona. But we're talking about a guy in Irving that has been regarded as the #1 pick since he was in high school.

Y-Town Steelhound;772835 wrote:Williams can play the 3, I don't know why everyone thinks he's a tweener. Given his size, weight, shooting ability, and athleticism he certainly compares to other players in the league that play at that position. The real question is if you're the Cavs, do you go Irving with #1 then one of the European big men at #4 or do you go Williams at #1 and then Knight or Walker at #4 which still gives you a young point guard?

I would honestly give some thought to Williams at #1 and then Knight at #4.

thedynasty1998;772826 wrote:Williams was always highly regarded. If I remember correctly people were surprised he returned to Arizona last year.

Yeah he's been talked about as a top 5 pick for most of the season as I recall.

september63;772845 wrote:I would honestly give some thought to Williams at #1 and then Knight at #4.

That would be one hell of a pick up if that happened, BUT how much better do people think Irving is compared to Knight?

You dont not pass on Kyrie Irving to draft Derrick Williams. This shouldnt even be a discussion.

KR1245;772854 wrote:You dont not pass on Kyrie Irving to draft Derrick Williams. This shouldnt even be a discussion.

Its not in my mind.

Automatik;772850 wrote:BUT how much better do people think Irving is compared to Knight?

That is the million dollar question....and is that more than the difference between Williams and random european big man?

This isn't the NFL draft. There is a BIG difference between being a top 5 pick and being the consensus #1.

I dont want anything to do with Andre Iguodola. I would rather get Gay than him.

Pick6;772872 wrote:I dont want anything to do with Andre Iguodola. I would rather get Gay than him.

Unintentional comedy at its finest

Y-Town Steelhound;772835 wrote:Williams can play the 3, I don't know why everyone thinks he's a tweener. Given his size, weight, shooting ability, and athleticism he certainly compares to other players in the league that play at that position. The real question is if you're the Cavs, do you go Irving with #1 then one of the European big men at #4 or do you go Williams at #1 and then Knight or Walker at #4 which still gives you a young point guard?

I didn't see enough of Irving to be sold, but most NBA people are. With that said your scenario would be worth consideration.

I would like to have Gay but I'm not sure if hes going to be available.

We dont have to rebuild all at once. I'dlike to see Grant pull off a trade that would land us another lottery pick in next years draft, use the TPE. You pair Kyrie and the #4 pick with a couple top picks in next years class? Watch out

video of a draft party

http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/video/2...110517-1707277

KR1245;772888 wrote:I would like to have Gay but I'm not sure if hes going to be available.

We dont have to rebuild all at once. I'dlike to see Grant pull off a trade that would land us another lottery pick in next years draft, use the TPE. You pair Kyrie and the #4 pick with a couple top picks in next years class? Watch out

last I head, the Grizzlies have no intentions of trading Gay. Im not sure they even have a big enough need or there is a player they are that into that they would want to trade up.

The Boss;772866 wrote:This isn't the NFL draft. There is a BIG difference between being a top 5 pick and being the consensus #1.

Unless your name is Olowokandi, Kwame Brown, etc....Irving is by most accounts the #1 pick, but Williams isn't far behind in terms of talent and potential. I don't think anyone is going to argue that Knight is better than Irving but you need to look at the big picture here. The Cavs are building a team and need to get quality players at both of these picks. The question is what combo is going to yield more results in the long term? Irving/EBM or Williams/Knight? It's certainly a fair question to discuss. Next year's draft seems to be deeper in terms of wing players so the Cavs certainly wouldn't be faulted going with a great point guard and solid big man this year in hopes of getting a solid to great wing player in next year's draft. The Cavs won't be contenders after this draft or even after the players in this draft develop (even if they do to their full potential). This is simply an early step of the rebuilding process but certainly having two top 4 picks this year speeds up that process.

Y-Town Steelhound;772862 wrote:That is the million dollar question....and is that more than the difference between Williams and random european big man?

I wouldn't even consider taking one of those bigs over Williams. I think he could contribute and excite fans immediately.

I'm with dynasty....I haven't seen enough of Irving, but I watched a lot of Brandon Knight. I think he will also be a solid pro, but I'm not sure about contributing immediately.

"Don't compare me to Lebron"
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/05/18/kyrie-irving-to-cleveland-don%E2%80%99t-compare-me-to-lebron

Automatik;772897 wrote:I wouldn't even consider taking one of those bigs over Williams. I think he could contribute and excite fans immediately.

I'm with dynasty....I haven't seen enough of Irving, but I watched a lot of Brandon Knight. I think he will also be a solid pro, but I'm not sure about contributing immediately.

That's the thing though, they don't need him to contribute immediately. Actually it would benefit the Cavs more if they sucked again this year and got another lottery pick. You can't just go with the "Draft Irving cause he's the best player and the rest will figure itself out" strategy. They tried that with LeBron and it didn't work....they need to build this team up with young talent at all positions.

Pick6;772903 wrote:"Don't compare me to Lebron"
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/05/18/kyrie-irving-to-cleveland-don%E2%80%99t-compare-me-to-lebron

No one in Cleveland is going to compare him to LeBron IMO though it is certainly tough shoes to follow. I think Cavs fans are realistic that he's not on that level talent wise. However, you can be cautiously optimistic about Irving and his potential without "comparing him to LeBron". My guess is that Cavs fans will be patient.

How about the fact Irving turned down lebron and LMLR? That could have been awkward.

Adrian Wojnarowski wrote a great article about it
Cavaliers can move past LeBron with Irving

Jerseybuck, from that article:

the Clippers must be mortified to see it turn into the No. 1 overall. Irving and Blake Griffin(notes) could’ve been a Westbrook-Kevin Durant(notes) partnership, but that’s how it goes with the Clips.

LOL

september63;772789 wrote:Irving was wooed by LBJ's marketing team but politely declined their offer. Question: If Irving would have been represented by LBJ's guys do you think the Cavs would have gone in a different direction? I do understand they still might.

This is for Jersey Buck. I posted that earlier this morning. You think they would have passed on Irving rather than deal with LBJ Marketing?