As you can see from the thread below, not much has changed in the NBA mock draft world, as the SB Nation crew still has the Cleveland Cavaliers taking Arizona forward Derrick Williams (2nd) and forward Bismack Biyombo (8th) in their latest 2011 NBA mock draft.
Here is the reasoning behind the picks:
The Cavs are the opposite of the Wolves: for Minnesota, neither of the top pick options make total sense. For Cleveland, “both please.” I think very few teams would take Williams over Irving at the very top, the Cavs included. A common thread among the worst teams in the NBA is the lack of a top-flight point guard. The Cavs are thin at forward, too — Antawn Jamison is on skates out of town, and J.J. Hickson is a solid but unspectacular option. The small forward spot is destitute in C-Town.
And on Biyombo:
I’m not going to lie: when I first heard about Biyombo, I was convinced he was a hoax, like that soccer player some enterprising kids dreamt up a few years ago. Only Ben Golliver’s live reports on Bismack’s existence convinced me he’s real.
I see the reasoning behind both picks here. The Cavs need to add a dynamic athlete like Derrick Williams at the 3/4 spot who can shoot threes and make plays with the ball in his hands. Williams is probably the most complete player in the draft in that regard. He has fantastic size, athleticism, and is somewhat of a poor man’s LeBron James.
As far as Biyombo goes, he is a freakish athlete but a very raw basketball player. Is he more hype than substance? He seems to be mocked to the Cavs quite a bit from what I can see, but I’m not sure I buy that he is a real option at this point. This team does lack for talent in a lot of areas, and like I have stated before, it would probably for the best if the Cavs could get a little stroke of luck and be in position to take one of the top point guards available in this year’s class.
Would the Cavs take a guy like Jimmer Fredette at 8 overall? It’s certainly possible, and they would be getting a dynamic scorer but would probably be reaching a bit for him.
Either way, this is going to be an intriguing draft because of the overall lack of star power and depth, and the Cavs really need to make good on their two lottery picks.