At the one third mark of the season, the Cavaliers having a record of 10-17 and looking very bad at times fans, local and national media have weighed in on the drafting of Cavs GM Chris Grant. I take a more objective look at his drafting and at the very end ask you if Grant has really done a poor job in drafting.
After the departure of one LeBron James every fan knew that it was going to be a long rebuild to get the Cavs back to Championship caliber. Fans and media seem disappointed that the Cavs have not been better since LeBron left. I say to them that they really haven't paid attention to the front office and they haven't paid attention to how teams are built for the long term in the NBA. The problem lies with them and their unrealistic expectations.
Let's look at Chris Grants first round picks since joining the Cavs:
2011 Kyrie Irving: 1st overall pick
The consensus among the so called draft experts, fans and media was the fact that the pick would be Kyrie Irving or Derrick Williams from Arizona. While it was divided most of the folks realized that Kyrie Irving was a special talent and the Cavs resisted the temptation of going with a big man who was very skilled .
Do I really need to get into the credentials of Kyrie?? Among the best PG's in the sport and could very well be the best PG. Does need to tighten up his defense but, it's pretty obvious that he was the correct pick.
2011 Tristan Thompson: 4th overall pick
Tristan Thompson was a pick for the Cavs that came somewhat out of nowhere. Currently he is blossoming into a double double a night guy with about 12 ppg and 10 rpg. Keep in mind that Tristan is getting better and better each and every time he steps onto the floor and in about another year or so will be about 15-11 player if he keeps up his progress. He plays excellent defense and is a very solid pick and roll defender. One of the highlights this year is how Tristan played Kevin Love when in Cleveland where he prevented Kevin Love from getting any open shots on the three point line. It was a superb game defensively by Tristan. All in all, I classify this as a very solid pick by Grant.
In saying that this was a solid pick I do acknowledge that it was other outstanding players on the board as well such as Jonas Valunciunas(who had to spend the year abroad), Enes Kanter, Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker, Kenneth Faried and Kawhi Leonard to name a few. I think all of these players would've been solid picks but I can't blame Chris Grant for picking Thompson because he is as solid as any of the players mentioned.
2012 Dion Waiters: 4th overall pick
In coming out of Syracuse as 6th man Waiters appears as though he is about to blossom into a true Superstar who appears to be very similar to James Harden at the same stage. Some naysayers say Waiters plays better off the bench. This is a very shortsighted in my opinion because they fail to see that Waiters played well as a starter too and has no say in how the Head Coach decides to use him. Some people say that Waiters doesn't play well with Kyrie Irving. In my opinion they play beautifully together because both can handle the ball, penetrate, shoot and get others involved. Those folks are saying they don't play well together are stuck in the traditional way of thinking of having a clearly defined #1 and #2 in which the #1 handles the ball primarily and #2 is the one taking the shots. What these people fail to realize that having such a diverse backcourt gives you many options. Go take a look at the back court of Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars for example.
Dion Waiters at this point in time in his 2nd year is averaging 15ppg, 2.5apg and shooting 40% from 3 point land. If you back and compare his numbers at the same stage with James Harden who in his 2nd year finished with 12 ppg, 2 apg and shot 35% from 3 point land in his 2nd year. We can further see the breakdown between the two players in what each player does per 36 minutes: In 36 minutes per game Dion is averaging 19 ppg, 3 apg and shooting 40% from 3 point land whereas, James Harden in his 2nd year per 36 minutes was about 16 ppg, 3 apg and shot 35% from 3 point land. I think we get the message Dion is a special talent and absolutely worthy of wear he was picked.
In saying that, I do acknowledge that other good players that came after Dion and would've been worthy too such as Damian Lillard, Harrison Barnes, Andre Drummond(who I wanted). One a side note for those people who are still upset because the Cavs didn't take Barnes a couple of things. It doesn't take long to see that Dion Waiters has a much greater ceiling than Harrison Barnes who is a fine player in his own right and a buddy of mind who follows the Golden State Warriors told me that the Warriors were hoping that Waiters would slip to them because they were going to take him OVER Harrison Barnes. My buddy also told me that Jerry West who works as a consultant was very high on Waiters. Keep in mind that they were going to take Waiters despite having Klay Thompson too.
2012 Tyler Zeller: 16th pick(trade up)
The jury is still out on this selection. Zeller appears to be a solid role player for the Cavs and for whatever reason isn't getting the playing time he deserves at this particular time. Last year was a mixed bag for Zeller in which he showed he could hit the mid range shot, run the floor and rebound at times. In saying this though he was fairly inconsistent and was pushed around far too easily by opposing big men. If I were a new Head Coach I would be disturbed by my findings while watching this on tape.
Fast forward to this year. In the limited times that Zeller has been in games he has looked very improved and prior to the start of the regular season the buzz among the beat reporters for the Cavs was that Zeller could be the most improved Cavalier player. A freak accident in the first scrimmage and sickness has slowed his contribution to the Cavaliers. It seems the momentum is building for Zeller to start getting more playing time because of the clear decline in Andy Varajao's performance and the need to inject new blood into the rotation. The last game in which Zeller came into the game in the fourth quarter he had 13 points and four rebounds in the game and got into the game in the first half for the first time in a long time.
Players the Cavs could've taken instead: Terrance Jones, Jared Sullinger, Andrew Nicholson and Tony Wroten. All of these players would've been good. I have seen enough of Zeller to know that he isn't a bust so I am willing to give Chris Grant a pass for now on this pick. I am more encouraged with what I see and think Zeller is a product of a Head Coach that chooses to go with veteran players even when the players are failing him(more on this on another article)
2013 Anthony Bennett: 1st overall pick
Bennett to this point has been slowed because of an injury, being overweight, the progress of Tristan Thompson and a Head Coach who pushed for him to be drafted and clearly didn't have a clue on how to use him. I have seen flashes of a special player at his position even it it's at the Small or Power forward positions. His ability to play inside out is something that was attractive. In my opinion Bennett has been hampered by poor coaching of Mike Brown. In the case of the game of LAC game in which Bennett scored six points in about five minutes eight minutes he was quickly taken out of the game in the 1st half and never saw the floor again. In fairness to Brown, Bennett at times seems lost on defense and unsure of himself on offense too but this can only be corrected by playing time. The Head Coach seems to fall in love with players like Alonzo Gee, Andy Varajao and CJ Miles who have simply not gotten the job done.
I know people wanted more out of the 1st overall pick but I was under no illusion that he would struggle out of the gate with the injury, out of shape and the expectations out of team this year. With that being said, his ability to score the ball, the fact that he has lost the weight and is currently at his playing weight while in college and the fact that the veterans ahead of him simply aren't getting the job done can no longer be ignored. Bennett deserves more playing time and it's up to the head coach to find away to make it happen.
Other players that could've been considered: Victor Oladipo, Alex Len and Michael Carter Williams. Keep in mind also it was no consensus #1 pick in this draft
2013 Sergey Karsev: 19th pick- See Anthony Bennett
2013 Carrick Felix: 33rd pick- See Anthoy Bennett
So in seeing the information that I posted in this blog. I ask you has Chris Grant really done a poor job in drafting??
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