Who knows what might happen between now and the end of the 2011 NBA Draft tonight. When it begins, the Cleveland Cavaliers will have a total of four picks in the Draft, though there has been plenty of talk as of late that the Cavaliers could be looking to move up, move down, and even buy a pick later in the first round.
Let's take a look at when - and where - the Cavaliers will make their selections in tonight's NBA Draft.
FIRST ROUND
#1 Overall - By now everyone knows the Cavaliers won the NBA Draft Lottery and will have the #1-overall pick. We also are pretty sure - as sure as you can be in the high-stakes poker game that is the NBA Draft - that the Cavaliers will use the selection on Duke point guard Kyrie Irving. Irving has the biggest upside of any player in the Draft, and the Cavaliers have had a glaring weakness at the point since the days of Mark Price - at least it seems that way.
#4 Overall - The Cavaliers also have the #4-overall pick, though the talent pool seems to shrink immensely by the time the fourth pick comes along. The Cavaliers need to add size to the front court, but the talent that could be available will be young and raw or international. In both cases, the Cavaliers would likely NOT see any return on their investment until 2012-13 at the earliest. That's the reason we have heard rumblings that the Cavaliers would like to trade this pick for a young, NBA-ready player. Easier said than done.
SECOND ROUND
#2(#32-Overall) - The Cavaliers also own a couple of picks in the 2nd Round and as we've seen in the past, you can get some solid value early in the 2nd Round. The Cavaliers could have their pick of players like JaJuan Johnson from Purdue, Chandler Parsons from Florida or even Norris Cole from Cleveland State. This would be a good time to pick up an athletic wing player.
#24(#54 Overall) - The scouting department really earns their money here. By this point in the Draft, the Cavaliers will likely find a athletic player that has little else to their game. Their best best would be to find someone who can play defense at a NBA-level, even if the rest of their game isn't up to par. A home-grown kid, like David Lighty from Ohio State, would be a nice pickup here as well.