like_that;1028233 wrote:I thought the pick was eventually unprotected.
Nope. IF after about 4 years the Kings manage not to make the playoffs (or come close) the Cavs receive the Kings 2nd round pick. While trying to find that info, I ran across this article which was an interesting read:
By JASON LLOYD Akron Beacon Journal By JASON LLOYD Last modified: 2011-12-25T03:26:43Z Published: Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011
If the summer of 2010 is when it all fell apart, the summer of 2012 just might be when they put it all back together. At least that's the way it's aligning for the Cavaliers. Dan Gilbert's aggressive spending, a perfectly timed amnesty clause and an upcoming draft class bursting with talent have culminated nicely to form a path to relevance for a Cavs franchise that has spent the past 18 months wandering in the wilderness. When General Manager Chris Grant speaks over and over about the team's flexibility, this is what he means: The Cavs already chopped about $14 million off next season's salary cap by using the amnesty provision on Baron Davis. When Antawn Jamison's contract comes off the books after the season, the Cavs will have dropped a staggering $30 million off their cap. If Anderson Varejao is traded this season, the figure moves closer to $40 million. The Cavs have seven players under contract for the 2011-12 season worth a total of about $30 million. That includes a $4.5 million player option that Ramon Sessions will almost certainly pick up and a $4.8 million team option on Daniel Gibson that easily could be declined, so there is flexibility built into that already low figure. With a salary cap of about $60 million next season, the Cavs will have plenty of money to go shopping. It has never been Grant's philosophy to build a contender through free agency, and as everyone painfully learned throughout the LeBron James era, marquee NBA free agents don't like Cleveland very much in February. So go ahead and rule out Dwight Howard and Deron Williams. Ray Allen would be a tremendous fit, but there are other teams closer to a championship that would probably be more appealing to him. Then there is a great class of restricted free agents like Eric Gordon, an Indiana native, and the Denver Nuggets' Danilo Gallinari. Both are young, athletic wings with great range that can fill the biggest gaping hole left on this team. Neither is worthy of a max contract, and although the New Orleans Hornets and Nuggets are likely to match any offers for their stars, the Cavs will have the cap space to make any team squirm. If all the key free agents say no, the Cavs can get aggressive in the trade market. The small-market Memphis Grizzlies are going for it in the Western Conference this season. They've devoted about $45 million in payroll to Rudy Gay, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. If it doesn't work this year, the Grizzlies might be forced to listen to offers for Gay, who is owed $68.5 million for the next four years and would command the biggest haul in a trade. The Cavs, loaded with first-round picks in coming years, are building enough assets to make that happen. Atlanta Hawks ownership is already on record as this being a make-or-break season. If the Hawks fail to make it past the second round again in the stacked Eastern Conference, ownership might start selling off pieces. If they do, the Cavs will be at the front of the line bidding on center Al Horford. None of this even takes into account the high pick in next summer's draft that the Cavs are likely to obtain. As currently constructed, they will be fortunate to match their win total of 19 from last season in this lockout-shortened season. The Cavs are destined to finish with another top-five pick, which is exactly where they want to be in a draft that includes potential superstars like Kentucky's Anthony Davis, Ohio State's Jared Sullinger, Connecticut's Andre Drummond and North Carolina's Harrison Barnes. If the Sacramento Kings can slip into the playoffs in the West, the Cavs will acquire their first-round pick as part of the J.J. Hickson trade. That would give them one high pick and one in the middle of the first round. Varejao would command a first-round pick in return. If he is moved, suddenly the Cavs could have the opportunity to package two lower picks in a great draft and sneak back into the bottom half of the lottery. All of this is conjecture, of course, but what we definitively know is the Cavs' blueprint includes assembling a core of young players who can learn and grow together. They already have a budding superstar in Kyrie Irving, an athletic big man, with decent upside in Tristan Thompson and another high lottery pick on the way in June. And gobs and gobs of cap space next summer. This season will again be painful and filled with many, many more losses. But legitimate hope, and relevance, aren't nearly as far away as they appear today.