Cavs Taking a Close Look at Dion Waiters
2012-06-27
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ intrigue with selecting Syracuse guard Dion Waiters with the fourth overall pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft has gathered significant momentum, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
The Cavaliers haven’t been able to get Waiters to visit Cleveland for a workout and meeting with officials, but it hasn’t extinguished management’s ever-evolving fascination with choosing Waiters at No. 4 – especially if the Cavaliers are unable to secure Florida guard Bradley Beal.
I have no idea what to believe anymore. Christ Grant and co. have done a great job of completely confounding everyone as to who the Cavs like most after Davis and Beal. (I’m 90% sure Beal is second on their big board.) The problem with that is it renders our pre-draft speculation especially useless. We’ll keep you guys posted on any rumors and soft news, but I have a feeling we won’t know what the Cavaliers are doing in this draft (or the hours preceding it) until the moment they actually do it.
UPDATE from our colleague Scott Sargent over at WFNY:
Chad Ford’s most recently updated mock has the #Cavs selecting Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at No.4, desiring 2nd lotto pick to nab Waiters/Ross.
This makes me feel better. And it’s smart. If (and for the sake of not being presumptuous, at this juncture, it’s still a very big “if” as to whether or not MKG will even be available at four) the Cavs draft MKG, they could really use a shooting guard who can score. Let’s hope Chris Grant is craft enough to pull off this kind of move.
I love Andy. LOVE. That being said, if this was NBA@K12, i would trade everybody besides Kyrie and TT for as many draft picks as i could get. It always seems to work well on there. I mean, even if some of those picks are disappointing, the Cavs can always go into the Edit Player menu and improve their stats, right?
@Matt Andy is a lovable. I still think if he had a crew cut or cornrows he wouldn’t be the draw he is. He’s an asset now. One more injury and his contract will be an albatross again. I’m sure he could have returned for a few weeks at the end of the season, but there’s no guarantee he wouldn’t have gotten hurt again. It’s an asset management game. Andy was a 2nd round throw in from a draft day trade 8 years ago. We got a lot of value out of him. While he’s still an asset keep it… Read more »
I didn’t say he wasn’t hard working or high character. Neither of those things change the fact he’s extremely brand conscious, wasn’t a leader on North Carolina and failed to rally guys after Marshall went out, and averaged 1 assist in high usage on a very talented team without even being all that efficient. He plays the game selfishly, and he doesn’t show a lot of interest in team dynamics. Yes he’s a hard worker who cares about his craft, and might be the finest gentleman there is. Basketball-wise though, he does seem “me first” and especially when compared to… Read more »
Matt, I don’t think its fair to call Barnes a “me first player who only cares about his brand”. He is actually considered a hard working, high character player. And that brand stuff is overblown. If MKG and Beal are gone, I would be perfectly happy with Barnes at 4. (and p.s., Varejao has actually had 2 major injuries in 2 years, which were the past 2. One more injury, and all of his value is gone.)
hughey, the guy could have come back last season if we weren’t tanking, and that two serious injuries in 8 years, oh no! When he was on the court last year he was easily our best two way player. @The Nupe, Stellar defense and good rebounding are also good traits to have, but oh well. All barnes does is shoot a lot at slightly above average college efficiency. I don’t know why he’s a top 10 pick, he doesn’t do much else, and the fact he can jump real high at a combine doesn’t seem to help his coordination and… Read more »
@Korey Andy is easily replaceable. Just go to the Cleveland Clinic and sign whoever has a broke foot…Or hand…Make sure he has fun hair though so he’ll be embraced by Cavs fans.
@ NUPE
As far as the hype on MKG, think about how good he becomes if he does develop a consistent jump shot. It’s certainly possible.
Remember in 2004, the debate about whether the Magic should draft Emeka Okafor or Dwight Howard? Okafor was more polished and NBA ready than Howard. But Howard had more upside. Obviously, Howard was the correct choice. It’s similiar between Barnes and MKG. Barnes is more polished, but MKG has the upside.
This is going to be an interesting draft to say the least. I think the Cha pick is up in the air, the very first mock I saw after the order was finalized was Davis, MKG, Beal, Barnes. I still think that first boar may be right. Hopefully Robinson goes #2 leaving the Cavs with a choice between Barnes and MKG. I honestly don’t know what the fascination is about MKG, each analyst seems to say he can’t shoot, he can’t dribble etc, but then say he’s a leader and a winner. When Kyrie is on your HS team, it’s… Read more »
I’m not in love with trading andy and 24 for 7 either, but It shouldn’t be based on not having a legitamate starting center next year. Who cares about next year? Seriously guys. We’ll be doing well just to make the playoffs, and have no chance at competing with the best teams, so there is no rush to fill every whole. If the Cavs management thinks a move creates a glaring whole, but increases our overall talent level for the foreseeable future they have to do it. There is always free agency and our future onslaught of draft picks to… Read more »
I don’t love the 24 and Andy for 7, because at 7 we’d either have to replace Andy or take a SG (assuming MKG is the pick at 4), and if we did the latter, that creates a hole at C. I’m sorry but not even Kyrie Irving could make Semih Erden look like a legitimate starting C in the NBA. Now if we could package 24, 33, 34, and another role player for 7, that’s a different story.
And then take Lamb + Ezeli
Sounds good
@ Mallory
Beyond that, what makes him think Howard will stay in Houston? I thought the “Dwight Howard watch” media circus got out of control last season. I can’t believe he’s actually inviting that into Houston.
Still, if he pulls it off, it’s a good roster. I figure it puts them on the same level as the Lakers, Clippers: a contender, but still behind the Thunder and Spurs.
I know one cavs exec has had him 3rd for months now.
Can I just say, for the record, that Daryl Morey is definitely playing a sick and twisted real life version of NBA 2k12? How many trades is he going to make!
I hope so on waiters. I don’t even really like him in the top 10, but to be fair haven’t seen him play too much. From his stats and profile he looks like a poor mans shorter Beal. But to all of you assuming MKG will fall to us at 4, I hope you’re right. Its still incredibly likely that the draft goes Davis, MKG, Beal… Don’t start counting chickens yet.
I know this is crazy Clevelander talk but just imagine the trade that Cory is referencing going through and us walking away with MKG and Barnes…bonerized.
There’s no way they take him with the #4 pick. I’m with Darryl in that this screams of the Cavs looking at players in the 6-12 range hoping they can trade back into the lottery using the #24 pick.
@Cory
That makes a lot of sense. I think they’re expecting to get MKG at #4 and are looking to move into the top 10 again to grab their SG. That would give us a large chunk of our future lineup:
Irving
Waiters/Ross/Lamb
MKG
TT
some C in 2013 (there’s supposed to be a ton of them next year)
I absolutely love Dion Waiters, but they should not take him at 4. My plan from the start is Cavs take MKG at 4 and then trade Andy and 24 to GSW to get number 7 and take Waiters. Both of these players will be amazing. C’mon Cavs. This is what we need.
I take it as one of three things. 1. This is the doomsday scenario where Beal and MKG go second and third. If that actually does happen I’m literally okay with Robinson, Waiters, Barnes or Drummond. 2. Can’t is sending out a rubix cube to Rich Cho that the Cavs aren’t going to pay his random to trade with the Bobcats in an attempt to get Cho to lower his asking price. 3. The Cavs have had discussions about obtaining a second top 10 pick. This would explain the sudden visit by Ross as well. I still think Andy, the… Read more »
Waiter was shut down during the combine and working out with other teams cause a team made a promise to draft him I can’t see the cavs picking a player who hasn’t worked out or interview with them
Man, the Cavs sure have a lot of people at Number 2 on their Big Board. Does it just not go up to 3?
I expected this headline to be:
Cavs Taking a Close Look at Dion Waiters, Because Why Not I Guess
What makes you 90% sure?? No offense but I trust Wojo more than u! And the Cavs do what they want, consensus of draft experts be damned. Just look at last year’s #4 pick, fer instance…