Cleveland Cavaliers: Grading Their Draft Performance

facebooktwitterreddit

The Cleveland Cavaliers were in the enviable position of not only having multiple picks in the NBA Draft, but they also had the No. 1 pick. This means they could pick any player they wanted, in the faith that he would still be on the board — a luxury all 29 teams would give for.

In total, the Cavs picked three players. Let’s grade each of the picks.

Anthony Bennett: No. 1 – B+

The Cleveland Cavaliers shocked the world on draft night by taking Anthony Bennett, a power forward from UNLV, with the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. Bennett had been slowly falling down mock draft boards, mostly because of his lack of elite height for the power forward position and the fact that he seemed awfully large for an elite athlete.

In what has been described as a draft without stars, Anthony Bennett is one of the few players that could reach stardom in the NBA. He is an explosive athlete  with a well-rounded offensive game. He can shoot 3s, play in the pick-and-pop and can even bang down low. His defensive work is perhaps a little shaky, but that can develop over time. Bennett will create mismatch after mismatch at the next level and if he puts it all together, this could be a great pick. You still have to wonder whether they should have taken Nerlens Noel though. Time will tell.

Should Cleveland have taken Nerlens Noel? Photo Credit: SportsAngle.com

Sergey Karasev: No. 19 – A-

Sergey Karasev is a great fit on the Cleveland roster. He can shoot, fills a need at the 3, while possessing a relatively high basketball IQ from the clips we have seen. Some mock drafts had him in the early teens, so to grab him at No. 19 is a great pick. Karasev will make an immediate impact.

Carrick Felix: No. 33 – C

Carrick Felix is a bit of an unknown quantity, many draft board had him possibly going undrafted. I feel there were a lot of better options with this pick (Ricky Ledo, Jamaal Franklin), but Cleveland must see something in him, so let’s not write him off. He has the lowest body fat percentage of any player in the draft, so there’s that.

Overall grade: B

I really like the Karasev pick and you can see the reasoning behind the Bennett pick, I’m just hesitant on the fit with the current roster. What happens to Tristan Thompson? Unless Bennett can improve his lateral quickness and spend minutes at the 3, that could create a logjam at the 4. All in all, Cleveland mixed risk with safety and the picks made will come in and drag the Cavs to the playoffs.