Well nobody will ever be able to say that GM Chris Grant is predictable.
For the second straight year I made the trip down to The Q to watch the NBA Draft and for the second consecutive year the Cavs turned in a selection at #4 that was met with a chorus of groans by most in attendance.
Normally when fans burst into boos it's a result of terrible play or lackluster effort, but the jeers delivered the past two draft nights have been caused by the front office taking a player that most in attendance were not expecting.
Tristan Thompson was a relative unknown to Cavalier fans leading up to last years draft and the same can be said for 2012 draftee Dion Waiters this time around.
Thompson had an up and down rookie season but proved to be a decent enough selection considering those picked directly before and after him. I like his potential considerably more than Derrick Williams and Enes Kanter going forward and while some say the Cavs whiffed by passing up Jonas Valanciunas, I can't blame Grant for taking the more sure thing rather than falling in love with the mystery of the big Lithuanian.
Turning my attention towards this years draft, I admittedly was in the majority of Cavs fans who were expecting and hoping for one of the Barnes/Beal/Kidd-Gilchrist trio to land in Cleveland. Most of the conversations overheard prior to and immediately after the selection were focused on these three players and the need to come away with one.
My disappointment in selecting a college sixth-man turned to excitement the more I learned about Waiters' game and after reading article after article labeling Waiters as one of the prospects with the most potential going forward.
Considering that some of the people who are now comparing Waiters' ceiling to NBA stars Dwayne Wade and Russell Westbrook are the same who had him failing to the middle to late lottery, it's clear just how credible mock drafts from even the top league insiders really are.
None of the so-called "draft experts" foreseen the Cavs choosing the combo guard from Syracuse, or most of the other names called on draft night for that matter. While its fun to look at the various mock drafts leading up to draft night and some do have bits and pieces of correct information, the entire draft process is a game of cat and mouse and fans need to take everything with a grain of salt.
Taking a step back from what is being released by the media and the juicy rumors we'd all love to believe are true, the selections of Thompson and Waiters will ultimately be graded by their play in the future rather than where Chad Ford or Y! Sports had them falling in the draft.
A backcourt of Kyrie Irving and Waiters leading this team into the future has me intrigued and it's nice to see the beginning of the future core start to take shape.
Going forward I'm planning on holding off judgement for the direction Chris Grant steers the franchise in, no matter how exciting the ESPN Draft Simulator may seem.
No comments:
Post a Comment