JoshuaBRobbins The #Magic are looking to acquire draft rights to Justin Harper from Cleveland (32nd) for a pair of future 2nd-round picks. 3 minutes ago · reply · retweet ·

Cleveland sports teams stink because they can't draft, not becaus eof the city or a curse. Grant perpetuated thos eefforts last night. Absent a major trade, last night was an unmitigated disaster.

TT simply can't shoot and won't be able to be on the floor the last 5 minutes of a close game b/c of his foul shooting. Add in that he is undersized and is signed with LMR and there is no redeeming reason why he should have been taken over JV.

Harper selection looked to make up that missed shooting, only to be dumped for two late second round picks. So we give up essentially a late round first and get picks that have virtually no chance of sticking. If we didn't need him at the time, we should have drafted Bertrans and let him sit in Europe.

This team has no scoring at all, even after having the #1, 4, 32 in the draft....How can that be!!

JayJay- Totally agree.

Rotten night, no addressing someone to put the ball in the basket.

Let's hope JOnas doesn't pan out , he sure sounded like his skills were perfect for Scotts style.

I have a hard time getting too upset over anyone labeled a "relentless rebounder". I'll take that every day.

That said, wouldn't surprise me at all if Andy or JJ were on the move now, furthering the rebuilding.

Hell, the descriptions of Thompson could be used for Varejao actually. Except the video I have seen of him clearly shows he blocks shots relentlessly as well.

Well, I'm gonna take a wait & see approach and hope for the best. Hard to be too ticked off when you come away with the best player in the draft. Thompson gets to the line alot and points are points.

HB - Gonna take the Cavs time anyways to get back to playoff relevance.

Unless Gilbert keeps cutting salary (trades for Andy and/or Jamison?) - saving it for a big strike a la Carmelo?

As some announcers said last night....at this time last year NO ONE knew that Carmelo would become available. That happened a short time later.

So stockpile (young) talent and money, you never know....

I understand TTs' skills, so I will await the other shoe to drop.

I just wanted the Cavs to really set the league on its' ear last night.

Getting to the line and making less than 50% is not getting points. In fact it will kill us late in the game.

Waiting is all we can do, but if we weren't taking JV1 to pair with KI, then Williams was a far better selection. We have no one to score form the front line: Andy, JJ, AJ and TT. Only AJ can hit an outside shot and he won't be here by year end. Williams would have solved that.

All that aisde, it will be interesting to compare Charlotte with Cavs. Both took a PG and PF. I like Charlotte's selections every bit as much as ours. Just can't see how we take a defensive specialist with the #4 pick in the draft.

Right now, I would go broke, if Grant put himself in a dunking tank or subjected himself to a pie in the face contest. My only hope is that a trade is brewing with my hope resting with Houston. Getting Courtney Lee and Morris for TT would be a good starting point of discussion. At least Morris can shoot.

I also scratched my head on the 4th pick, but here's W&G's perspective...


W&G: Draft thoughts, and things I've learned

First off, although I have a high opinion of Tristan Thompson as far as a player that I feel will develop into a very strong PF in this league, I was initially dissapointed that we didn't select the Lithuanian kid with our 1st pick because I had him graded higher, and felt that he played a position that will be tough for us to eventually get in the future.

I guess, for the most part that opinion stands, but, other dynamics that I wasn't privy to played a role in the final decision to select Thompson rather than Valanciunas.

More concerns were present with the contract situation that he has than I knew of, and some concern did exist as to whether, once the new collective bargaining agreement is in place, how attractive a rookie scale contract, at that time, would be and whether it would become a greater issue in evenatually getting him to the NBA.

I've talked to a few key players with the Cavaliers today as well, and they had him rated very closely to Williams overall, and with the added year of development that Williams has under his belt than him, that in projecting where Thompson will be with another year of development, will ascend beyond Williams. So, in the Cavaliers view, they very well could have what could amount to the top two players to come out of this draft.

The advantages that I see with Tristan is that he's a solid PF. He's no tweener like with Williams, that not might, but will become a major issue on the defensive side of the ball at the NBA level.

As they stood at the time of this draft, I felt that Irving was clearly the top player. I felt that two players...Valanciunas and Knight have the ability to be as good or possibly better than Irving with development. Those were my top three players in this draft ..I had Willams and Thompson, like the Cavs, very close ...but different players. Thompson will be a strong interior presence, and one that will be defense and rebound first type PF. His offense will be built upon his inside presence as well. Having a PG like Irving will be a big advantage for him offensively.

He's been described as being similar to JJ Hickson in many respects, and he is. But, he's a smarter version, with defensive instincts, excellent hands, and very good quick feet as well. He has lots of room for development, and I expect that with his work ethic, he will develop.

So, I am not upset at all with the pick overall, but, in my opinion we could look bad if and only if Valanciunas comes over within a year, and fulfills his potential.

But, I believe that Tristan Thomson will develop into a strong PF in this league, and be the type player that winning teams need to win in this league. I like his future, and see him as having a higher eventual ceiling than JJ.

I have to think that Hickson will be gone, and I would say good riddance. He's severely lacking.

TT is a physical freak of nature, and he could be the kind of defender who will shut down guys like Williams and leQueen.

Shooting can be learned and TT is young and green. If the kid ever does develop a workable shot he could be a force in the league.

Re: W&G: Draft thoughts, and things I've learned

Originally Posted by Backstage
Any chance the dynamic rhymes with Span Filbert? Someone said he was high on TT, but I wasn't sure how deep DG got into Grant's head and war room on this, even though I know he was in Independence.


<W&G>
No, this was Grant and Scott. They had this guy right about even with Williams, and ascending beyond him in the future. I had Tristan over Kanter myself. Offense is pretty, but the defensive components are what gets you in the money games...

Re: W&G: Draft thoughts, and things I've learned

Originally Posted by Frank Reynolds
Wine and Gold,
What do you anticipate happening with JJ Hickson? I remember you stated that JJ was looking for a max deal which I don't see happening with the next CBA.

<W&G>
This will be his most key year. I don't think that drafting Thompson makes it a given that Hickson is eventually traded. But, it does make it easier for us, if we so determine, to move him for a player that better fits our needs. We'll see. I think most of you realize exactly where this puts things. It will come down to how well he fits as a player, and with his contract demands.

Thompson wasn't picked because they are looking to move Hickson, he was picked because he was seen as the best option (all things considered) at that point in the draft. But, it can't be denied that we are now more flexible in what we can do with a player like Hickson now. And that's a good thing.

HOOPSWORLD
NBA Saturday: Cleveland's New Cornerstones

By: Alex Kennedy Last Updated: 6/25/11 9:13 AM ET


With two of the top five selections in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson, which threw the draft its first curve ball, but gave them the two players they had ranked at the top of their board.

They had projected Irving and Thompson as the two prospects with the most potential in this class and fell in love with their engaging personalities after bringing them in for workouts.

They also saw the chemistry between the players. Rather than drafting a foreign prospect like Jonas Valanciunas - which was heavily considered - the team knew that Irving and Thompson were already close friends, could relate with one another and would be able to go through this process side by side.

After Irving was picked, he was ushered into the media room and his press conference dragged on throughout several selections. As the fourth overall pick was announced, Irving was being asked a question, but kept leaning over to the television to see who would be joining him in Cleveland. After seeing Thompson was the selection, Irving smiled and his eyes lit up.

"I'm really looking forward to it," Irving said. "Tristan is a great friend of mine, and just having another fellow freshman being drafted to Cleveland and playing with him, I'm really excited. He's also a young player, and having somebody alongside you that will go through the rookie ups and downs with you, it will make the transition into the NBA that much easier."

While many were surprised to see Thompson selected, the Cavs rely heavily on advanced analytics, which chart how effective a player will be five years down the road. When Thompson's statistics, age and efficiency were put into Cleveland's formula, Thompson actually had a higher rating than Irving. The numbers also ranked Thompson higher than recent big men selected in the top ten such as Greg Monroe and Derrick Favors.

Now, playing with Irving, it'll be even easier for him to reach his full potential.

"I love it," Thompson said. "One of my strengths and attributes is getting up and down the floor so playing with Kyrie, it's going to be exciting. Knowing Kyrie and having a friendship prior to the draft, it's definitely [better] having somebody there to support you and go through what you go through. He's almost like a brother to me, and will have my back and I'll have his. We'll get through this together."

Around this time last year, there was panic in Cleveland due to LeBron James' upcoming free agency. Now, with Irving and Thompson, there is hope that the Cavaliers can turn this team around and once again return to an elite level. The cornerstones are in place and the future in Cleveland looks extremely bright.


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