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NBA Draft 2012 Reaction: Cavaliers Picked Dion Waiters, Traded For Tyler Zeller -- Unexpected But An Improvement

Nobody was caught more off guard by the moves that the Cleveland Cavaliers made during Thursday's NBA Draft than the fans of the team. After being told that they would be going for Harrison Barnes or Bradley Beal for weeks, they instead went with Dion Waiters out of Syracuse and then shocked the fans again by trading all of their remaining picks for Tyler Zeller at No. 17 overall.

It was a whirlwind of a night, but Cavaliers blog Fear The Sword thinks that despite some of the criticism that the team has endured for their selection choices the team is unquestionably improved:

All in all, it was an exciting night -- not at all like we expected. But when you look at this roster, you simply can't deny the fact that they are improved. They got two very skilled players in Zeller and Waiters who make this a dynamic team with the ability to play various styles of basketball. Perhaps most importantly, they got some athletes and weapons to put next to Kyrie Irving. This is going to be a damn fun basketball team next year.

Of course, right when the Waiters pick was announced they had a slightly different reaction, not that anyone could blame them for being baffled at the time:

Welp.

For more 2012 NBA Draft coverage, stay with this StoryStream. For more on the Cavs, be sure to visit Fear The Sword. And for more NBA news and analysis, check out SB Nation's NBA hub.

Photographs by spatulated, Triple Tri, and chrischappelear used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.