Comments on: Cleveland Cavaliers win draft lottery, likely to take Irving

By: savocabol1

savocabol1 — Wed, 18 May 2011 18:26:11 +0000

21-37 before the trade (Feb 24)
11-13 after

Winning % wise they were a little better after the trade, but you can’t really use that as an example to compare to because there was only 24 games played.

By: ljl2

ljl2 — Wed, 18 May 2011 17:18:19 +0000

They finished at the same spot in the standings as they were when they made the trade if I’m not mistaken

By: cosanostra71

cosanostra71 — Wed, 18 May 2011 16:02:45 +0000

wow, the lone Clippers fan in LA. I’m a Lakers fan, but I have been to several Clips games because they are more affordable. I wouldn’t get too down though. Yes, Kyrie to Blake would be nice, but you did dump Baron’s contract which gives you a lot more FA flexibility over the next two years. Wouldn’t give up on Bledsoe quite yet either- he showed some promise last year.

By: cosanostra71

cosanostra71 — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:59:06 +0000

Well, at the time it was a smart trade. Dumping Baron’s contract while actually improving the team on the court. They became competitive enough that you wouldn’t have expected that pick to end up #1 overall. It jumped 7 spots, only the 93 Magic and 08 Bulls have jumped up from lower to grab the #1 pick. Hindsight is 20/20. Kyrie and Blake Griffin would look nice though.

By: ljl2

ljl2 — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:39:47 +0000

I would have responded to mytthor but he disabled replies somehow.

BUT…I didn’t post because almost everyone who commented brought up the same view I had. In that post and this one…
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/02/24/cavaliers-move-for-the-future-could-easily-backfire/

By: ljl2

ljl2 — Wed, 18 May 2011 13:45:45 +0000

I haven’t repeatedly bashed a city just for the sake of bashing it and ignored even the team’s own statement that the deal was about the pick and hopefully davis worked out…which is what Kurt did. Look back throughout the year. There’s a theme- bash Cavs or lick LeBron’s Sack…

By: ljl2

ljl2 — Wed, 18 May 2011 13:44:00 +0000

Actually, the Clippers pick jumped to #1 and the Cavs pick fell 2 spots. But…whatever helps your argument.

And Nick Gilbert was picked as a way for him to raise awareness and money for a charity…

By: savocabol1

savocabol1 — Wed, 18 May 2011 12:27:12 +0000

The best part of the whole thing is that Irving was heavily recruited by Lebrons marketing team to be represented by them……and he shot them down.

By: savocabol1

savocabol1 — Wed, 18 May 2011 12:18:03 +0000

Enjoy it until his contract is about to expire because we all know what will happen…..

By: boondocksaint224

boondocksaint224 — Wed, 18 May 2011 08:26:15 +0000

You’re wrong. The Cavs own pick actually DROPPED to #4 when the Nets moved up to #3 and the Clippers pick got bumped up to #1 while the T Wolves dropped back to #2.

Also, if the lottery was rigged, why did the Wizards win last year over the Nets? The NBA would LOVE to have a legit star in one of its biggest markets, and it would have been in Stern’s best interest to have Wall land there. But I guess tapping into that massive Washington D.C. market comes first, right?

By: mytthor

mytthor — Wed, 18 May 2011 05:57:23 +0000

Funny, I look back at that post and didn’t see any fearless predictions about the place of the pick or statements that it was a great deal from either of you. So congratulations, you’ve successfully proven that you have a better idea about a draft lottery the day after it happened than someone did 2 months before the end of the season.

By: mondzy805

mondzy805 — Wed, 18 May 2011 04:55:55 +0000

As a Clippers fan, its typical for this to happen to us. As long as Donald Sterling is the owner, this will continue to happend. At least we still have Blake Griffin.

By: trbowman

trbowman — Wed, 18 May 2011 04:47:23 +0000

Lay off Kurt – like you guys have never been wrong about anything? lol

By: darrkkomens

darrkkomens — Wed, 18 May 2011 03:02:27 +0000

This draft was a clear an obvious David Stern orchastrated sham!!!! come on now… both of the Cavs lottery picks jump up.. to #1 and #4 … This was a makeup for Labron leaving town and how horrible the Cavs looked afterwards.. Then the productions with his son. (cool little kid) but for sympathy its because he knew the fix was in.. The draft was fixed just like the NBA playoffs
and I love Basketball and my team wasn’t even in the draft … but it was clear what they were doing.
I know as soon as I saw his son .. that they would get the #1 pick and that the second pick would be bumped up..

By: jsally430

jsally430 — Wed, 18 May 2011 02:44:55 +0000

Could the timberwolves ever catch a break in this “rigged” lottery. Clevland beats the odds to get the number one pick a year after losing lebron? Weird here’s you’re sorry it happened cleveland

By: bleedhouse

bleedhouse — Wed, 18 May 2011 02:38:11 +0000

good going kurt! you really nailed this one.

“The Cavaliers get… I don’t know why they did this. They get a first-round pick this season that likely going to be in the 7-10 range and they said this is the primary motivation. This is a draft considered to have some nice role players in it but no stars. Are they really willing to pay $9 million in salary for the chance to draft a role player?”

It’s a smart move for the Clippers. For the Cavs… well, that’s why they are the Cavs.”

By: jstrizzle

jstrizzle — Wed, 18 May 2011 02:33:29 +0000

Not for sure. Still have that lingering Eric Bledsoe trade so they keep the better of the 2 first round picks. It is easy to assume it would be the Wolves’ but I also assumed Cleveland wouldn’t have 2 picks in the first 4 this year.

By: ljl2

ljl2 — Wed, 18 May 2011 02:33:18 +0000

hey Kurt,

Time to backpedal?

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/02/24/clippers-trade-baron-davis-to-cavaliers-for-mo-williams/

I bet you will spin this again in another way to bash the city of Cleveland.

By: volcom2143

volcom2143 — Wed, 18 May 2011 02:20:21 +0000

Happy for Cleveland and gilbert’s son . ( not a fan of his dad though ) but it will def be nice for them to add two young players in the top 4 picks even if this isn’t the strongest draft . adding two young pieces to go with jj hickson can only help and boy do they need some help. Has a team ever had two picks in the top four before in the draft ???

By: whatagreatfootballmind

whatagreatfootballmind — Wed, 18 May 2011 02:12:37 +0000

well, minnesota has the 2nd pick so, basically kyrie irving will be a future hall of famer and minnesota will take derrick williams, who will be the second coming of pooh richardson, felton spencer, gerald glass, christian laettner, jr rider, donyell marshall, ndudi ebi, and rashad mccants. awesome!

By: whatagreatfootballmind

whatagreatfootballmind — Wed, 18 May 2011 02:07:45 +0000

No kidding, and don’t forget they will have a guaranteed top 5 pick next year, when Minnesota is forced to give them their pick next year.

By: zacmonte

zacmonte — Wed, 18 May 2011 01:27:54 +0000

Amazing for Cleveland. They can do a lot with these picks. I know a lot of people take Irving here, but honestly, I would strongly consider taking Williams with #1 and take whoever I like more out of Walker or Knight (In my case Knight. I love his potential and he can play beneath Baron until he is ready). But no matter what they do, they will be in a good situation. Sadly, this draft isn’t the strongest but you take what you can get. Going the Irving route, though, expect them to look for Kanter, if he falls, or Valinciunas, because getting a PG and a C would be an amazing foundation to build upon. Personally, I prefer Jonas, especially since they have Hickson and Kanter’s knee issues, and he also measures out better for the 5.

By: jstrizzle

jstrizzle — Wed, 18 May 2011 01:24:19 +0000

Is it time to rip the Clippers for trading that first round lottery pick? Derrick Williams or Kyrie Irving sure would look nice next to Blake Griffin. This site proclaimed them the smartest ever for making that trade. Kinda backfired really.