2015 Cavs Draft Recap

2015-06-26 Off By Cory Hughey

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I imagine that draft night is the most exhausting day of the year for NBA beat writers. They’ve crammed for weeks (or hours) for the event. Meticulously triple-checked Scrabble letters on the floor name spellings for accuracy, and asked Microsoft Sam and Siri how to annunciate foreign last names, that don’t flow naturally off of the harsh American tongue. They write countless preview articles about what their sources, or the Magic 8-Ball on their desk tells them. Once the big day finally arrives, they are prepped and primed to pump out instant analysis for the media monster. Pick by pick, they get closer to the story all the research has built up to. Finally, their squad is on the clock. Once Adrian Wojnarowski leaks the selection on twitter, the reaction article finally begins, and ten minutes later, a trade is announced. I imagine a brief temper tantrum, with a furry of mumbles expletives follows, and perhaps the Magic 8-Ball is thrown against the wall in a fit of rage.

The Cavs were the story of the past four drafts. Tonight, they were a murmur. The Cavaliers selected Tyus Jones of Duke with the 24th pick. After the talking heads reacted to him becoming the consistent backup point guard that Matthew Dellavedova could never be, it was announced that the Cavaliers traded his draft rights to the Minnesota Timberwolves. For a brief second, I actually thought that it could be the return of Gum Drop Bear.

Initially the trade was a bummer, but it made sense. Kevin Pelton gave the Cavs a B- for the deal, and stated that the 31st and 36th picks will make less combined than Jones would have this season. No matter who would have been selected at 24, he probably wouldn’t have played a meaningful minute in the playoffs next season and that’s all that matters at this point.

Pick #31: Minnesota Timberwolves Select Cedi Osman, Turkey (traded to Cleveland)

https://youtu.be/VTXWhu3zPSc

CtB’s Ben Werth endorsed selecting Osman in the Point Four-ward the day before the draft.

“Turkish wing, Cedi Osman has been mostly projected as a mid to late second round pick. Though his 2014-2015 counting numbers were rather pedestrian with powerhouse, Anadolu Efes Istanbul in the Turkish league, the 6’8″ 20 year old displayed his frenetic energy on a nightly basis. Osman is most easily described as a pleasant mix between Mathew Dellavedova and Chandler Parsons. Like Parsons, Osman is a terror in transition. He times his steps very well at full speed while maintaining good balance for a variety of finishes. His solid rebounding and handle let him start or end the break with equal skill. Like Delly, he plays with top energy at all times showing a good understanding of weakside positional help off ball, and a good chest up technique on ball. On the flip side, his jumper is as streaky as his two NBA counterparts and he gets caught in between on dribble drives. Still, he is first round talent that needs strength and seasoning. It will likely be at least one or two seasons before Osman even considers making the trip to America. That is the only reason why the Cavs would have a realistic shot at snagging him so late. If he is anywhere near their pick, the Cavs should grab him.”

Draft and stash players are like a build your own six-pack at a beer emporium with an endless selection of bottled brew. You’re probably going to get a skunky one or two. If it is, accept it and drink it anyway because you’re a ragging alcoholic. Stash players are great deals for teams with the luxury of drafting at the end of the first round and in the luxury tax. If the player doesn’t develop, you never bring him over and never pay a tax bill on him. If he does develop, you can bring him over a few years down the line, when the cap has gone up. Early reports suggest that Osman won’t come over until 2017. By then, the salary cap will be close to nine-figures. David Griffin was high on Osman in his post-draft interview, comparing his demeanor to Goran Dragic.

Pick #36 Minnesota Timberwolves Select Rakeem Christmas, Syracuse (Traded to Cleveland)

Christmas is older than Kyrie Irving. He’s old for a rookie, but he’s battle tested and could provide a backup body when/if Anderson Varejao misses time. Christmas does have an impressive 9’3” standing reach, and excelled on the defensive end of the floor during his tenure at Syracuse. Christmas was named the ACC Most Improved Player and was a First-Team All-ACC member his senior season. Christmas’s number 25 jersey is retired for Cavs legend Mark Price, but I’m sure he could get the number with the Charge. If nothing else, A Christmas Story House & Museum could use him in a cable access commercial, that we can break down with 2,000 words of analysis.

Pick #53 Cleveland Cavaliers Select Sir’Dominic Pointer, St. John’s

 

 

Pointer was the Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year and averaged an impressive 2.5 blocks and 1.9 steals per game his senior season. His twitter account isn’t verified, and it appears his wikipedia page was created last night. He was rated by Draft Express at the 88th best prospect out of 100. He’s probably a long shot to make the team due to his not ready for prime time offensive abilities.

Did anyone else feel like Nate when it was all said and done?

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