Cleveland Cavs Win 2011 NBA Lottery And Hold 1st And 4th Overall Picks ; Possible Fix?

Quite frankly I think this was fixed for them to coincidentally jump so high and attain the 1st overall by leapfrogging so many other teams and odds just after the LeBron ordeal...






SECAUCUS, N.J. -- The Cleveland Cavaliers got a huge jump on their post-LeBron James rebuilding process Tuesday night, winning the lottery and the No. 1 selection in next month's NBA Draft.

Turning a pick they acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers into the No. 1 selection, the Cavs will pick first for the first time since 2003, when they drafted James out of high school.

He left for Miami last summer and the Cavs tumbled to the second-worst record in the league, but they will have two top-four picks next month as they try to back owner Dan Gilbert's boast that they would win a title before James. They already had their own pick and acquired another at the trade deadline from the Clippers in the Baron Davis deal.

Gilbert sent his son, 14-year-old Nick Gilbert, to the podium and the kid came up with a stunning victory, as the Clippers' pick, originally No. 8, had only a 2.8 percent chance of landing at the top.

Minnesota will select second and Utah turned New Jersey's pick from the Deron Williams trade into the No. 3 selection.

The Timberwolves continued their unbelievable lottery losing streak, falling to 0 for 14 and dropping for the eighth time. They had a 25 percent chance of winning after finishing with a league-worst 17-65 record.

Instead the luck went to the Cavs, who are used to playing deep in the playoffs and hope they won't have to worry about this trip again.

Nick Gilbert was born with Neurofibromatosis (NF), a nerve disorder that causes tumors to grow anywhere in the body at any time. He was wearing black-rimmed glasses and a bow tie and looked serious until he showed a keen sense of humor in a television interview. His father called him his "hero." The Cavs also brought along two Cleveland Browns dressed in the Cavs' wine and gold jerseys for good luck.
They will likely decide between point guard Kyrie Irving of Duke or Arizona forward Derrick Williams.




<TABLE id=nbaDraftOrderTable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=do_number>1</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Cleveland

(From L.A. Clippers)


</TD><TD class=do_number>16</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Philadelphia



</TD></TR><TR><TD class=do_number>2</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Minnesota



</TD><TD class=do_number>17</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> New York



</TD></TR><TR><TD class=do_number>3</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Utah

(From New Jersey)


</TD><TD class=do_number>18</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Washington
(From Atlanta)


</TD></TR><TR><TD class=do_number>4</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Cleveland



</TD><TD class=do_number>19</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Charlotte
(From New Orleans via Portland)


</TD></TR><TR><TD class=do_number>5</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Toronto



</TD><TD class=do_number>20</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Minnesota
(From Memphis via Utah)


</TD></TR><TR><TD class=do_number>6</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Washington



</TD><TD class=do_number>21</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Portland


</TD></TR><TR><TD class=do_number>7</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Sacramento



</TD><TD class=do_number>22</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Denver


</TD></TR><TR><TD class=do_number>8</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Detroit



</TD><TD class=do_number>23</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Houston
(From Orlando via Phoenix)


</TD></TR><TR><TD class=do_number>9</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Charlotte




</TD><TD class=do_number>24</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Oklahoma City


</TD></TR><TR><TD class=do_number>10</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Milwaukee



</TD><TD class=do_number>25</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Boston



</TD></TR><TR><TD class=do_number>11</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Golden State



</TD><TD class=do_number>26</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Dallas



</TD></TR><TR><TD class=do_number>12</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Utah



</TD><TD class=do_number>27</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> New Jersey
(From L.A. Lakers)


</TD></TR><TR><TD class=do_number>13</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Phoenix



</TD><TD class=do_number>28</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Chicago
(From Miami via Toronto)


</TD></TR><TR><TD class=do_number>14</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Houston



</TD><TD class=do_number>29</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> San Antonio


</TD></TR><TR><TD class=do_number>15</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Indiana



</TD><TD class=do_number>30</TD><TD class=nbaDraftOrderTeam> Chicago


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

i was thinking the same thing - can you imagine how great this would be if this draft class was actually good..? i think it's just dumb luck, as the nba could give a care as to what happens to the cavs. it's still wild though.

it's the only league where i would hear the draft was fixed and i wouldn't laugh at the idea. is the league throwing cleveland a bone after the lebron debacle?

I hope the league goes a way for a year with a work stoppage

so they will take Kyrie Irving and who else?

-murph

I might be the only person who thinks Irving just isn't that special. I'd take Derrick Williams.

it might be a reach, but give Kemba Walker a try. he might be a shorter version of D.Rose best case scenario. and if you are gonna compete in the eastern conference going forward, you are gonna need a gaurd quick enough and physical enough to stay with Rose step for step. Kemba has that kind of lightening speed.

or he might be a poor man's Ben Gordon, who knows. but you gotta take a chance with that 4th pick IMO.

I'd also go Derrick Williams first

Fix or not, Cleveland just used up all their lottery luck on one of the worst drafts of the past decade.

eoghater said:

Fix or not, Cleveland just used up all their lottery luck on one of the worst drafts of the past decade.

Click to expand...

100% agree

Chi_Archie said:

it might be a reach, but give Kemba Walker a try. he might be a shorter version of D.Rose best case scenario. and if you are gonna compete in the eastern conference going forward, you are gonna need a gaurd quick enough and physical enough to stay with Rose step for step. Kemba has that kind of lightening speed.

or he might be a poor man's Ben Gordon, who knows. but you gotta take a chance with that 4th pick IMO.

I'd also go Derrick Williams first

Click to expand...

I just don't see Kemba being a star in the NBA. His teammates were very underrated and a large part of the team's success even though he got all the publicity because he scored a ton of points. The fact of the matter is he turns the ball over too much and doesn't shoot well enough from the field or from long range. He just shot so much that he scored points and his teammates sailed under the radar IMO.

I agree with the earlier comments that Irving isn't all that special. I think they'll regret passing on Derrick Williams if that's the choice they make. Williams and Knight would be a good young combo to mix together. Heck, drafting
Williams and trading their #4 for a potential lottery pick next season might not be a bad idea. Next year's draft should be one of the better drafts in quite some time.