Cavaliers news, features and notes
- Cavs prepare for visit with UNLV’s Anthony Bennett
- NBA Draft: Cleveland Cavaliers could make Ben McLemore first shooting guard to go No. 1 in nearly 40 years
- Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, Tyler Zeller invited to minicamp for national team
- Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller chosen for Team USA minicamp
- Offensive-minded Igor Kokoskov to join Mike Brown’s staff with Cavaliers
- Cavs to hire offensive-minded Igor Kokoskov for Mike Brown's coaching staff
- Jason Lloyd: Lottery victory brings Cavs plenty of options through trades and draft
- Cleveland Cavaliers win draft lottery, will pick No. 1 again
- Cavs win draft lottery, will pick No. 1 in NBA Draft
- NBA Draft lottery: Cavs’ third-best odds have history of turning into top selection
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Jason Lloyd's draft thoughts: Give Waiters a chance
Dion Waiters was a surprise because for weeks, Cavs fans had only heard about Bradley Beal, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Harrison Barnes. One of the three, it was widely assumed, would be a Cavalier by now.
That doesn't mean the selection of Dion Waiters as the fourth overall pick is a bad idea.
I first heard rumblings of Waiters last week, then the chatter intensified late Monday into Tuesday. By Tuesday night, I was convinced the Cavs' interest in Waiters was legitimate and began calling a handful of scouts and executives around the league I have come to trust.
All of them said the same thing. They loved Waiters, thought he was an explosive scorer and would ultimately prove to be the top scoring option in this draft.
Byron Scott said today that Waiters was No. 2 on the Cavs' board behind Anthony Davis. I'm not sure I believe that, but I know people around the league loved him. He wasn't getting past Golden State and No. 7 and he certainly wasn't making it past Toronto at No. 8.
As Thursday night spilled into the early hours of Friday morning, other general managers around the league were texting Chris Grant and congratulating him on the Cavs' selection of Waiters and their draft as a whole.
The Cavs had two glaring needs: they desperately needed another scorer to take some of the burden off Kyrie Irving and they needed size. They accomplished both.
Harrison Barnes went to the Warriors at No. 7 and should have a nice career there. But he is viewed as a spot-up shooter who does little else well. He struggles getting to the basket, he struggled getting separation against weaker college players and he doesn't make the players around him better.
The Cavs believe Waiters can do all those things. Only time will tell. But if the Cavs ultimately are wrong about Waiters, so are plenty of other teams around the NBA.
