NBA Draft 2012: Cleveland Cavaliers Firmly Entrenched In Lottery

It's March, which means that March madness is going to be sweeping the nation soon and raising/lowering plenty of players' stocks. For teams that are looking towards getting a lottery pick in the 2012 NBA Draft like the Cleveland Cavaliers, this is quite important.

It might be a bit early in the NBA season to already start unleashing the mock drafts -- we're only barely past the All Star break, for crying out loud -- but there is an official SB Nation 2012 NBA Mock Draft now so it's better sooner rather than later! They have the Cavaliers getting the eighth overall selection and picking up Florida shooting guard Bradley Beal.

It's been a rough couple of years at shooting guard in the draft -- Paul George is still going to be a small forward, right? -- but Beal is a rare flower. While his shooting hasn't been as good as advertised coming out of high school, he creates a lot of shots and draws fouls well, something important for high-usage two-guards in the NBA. The Cavaliers are set only at point guard, and need a strong pick with what could be the club's last lottery pick for a spell.

With the first overall pick last season, the Cavaliers picked up Kyrie Irving. The young Irving has already started to blossom into a star player so the Cavs can hope for a high pick in 2012 to add to their young and talented team.

For more on the Cleveland Cavaliers, check out Fear The Sword.