This article is part of our The Prospect Post series.
Imagine if the nation got to see you once a year during your prepubescent years. Then puberty came, your voice dropped, so did something else, and you had to live out the most awkward stage of your life in a bow tie on ESPN. Such is the life of Nick Gilbert – but it seems to be working out well for him.
In two of the last three seasons, the Cavs have won the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. But they may not be done. Just imagine this scenario:
Cleveland trades Anderson Varejao for a young player or draft picks. They sit Nerlens Noel at least for the first half of next season and let him recover from his ACL injury. That means the Cavs are playing with a team similar to the one they had this year, except there's no Andy for those first 25 games. Is that another lottery team? Probably. Is that a team that could get top five in the lottery? Maybe.
Next year's draft class is stacked. Imagine if Cleveland could draft Julius Randle, Aaron Gordon, Jabari Parker, or Andrew Wiggins. Meanwhile, the Cavs can pretty easily set themselves up to have enough cap room to make a run at a big-name free agent in the summer of 2014 (maybe a guy who left Cleveland a few years back – wink, wink). The future is bright in Cleveland. And Cavs fans can all thank Nick Gilbert.
Now onto the updated mock draft:
1.
Imagine if the nation got to see you once a year during your prepubescent years. Then puberty came, your voice dropped, so did something else, and you had to live out the most awkward stage of your life in a bow tie on ESPN. Such is the life of Nick Gilbert – but it seems to be working out well for him.
In two of the last three seasons, the Cavs have won the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. But they may not be done. Just imagine this scenario:
Cleveland trades Anderson Varejao for a young player or draft picks. They sit Nerlens Noel at least for the first half of next season and let him recover from his ACL injury. That means the Cavs are playing with a team similar to the one they had this year, except there's no Andy for those first 25 games. Is that another lottery team? Probably. Is that a team that could get top five in the lottery? Maybe.
Next year's draft class is stacked. Imagine if Cleveland could draft Julius Randle, Aaron Gordon, Jabari Parker, or Andrew Wiggins. Meanwhile, the Cavs can pretty easily set themselves up to have enough cap room to make a run at a big-name free agent in the summer of 2014 (maybe a guy who left Cleveland a few years back – wink, wink). The future is bright in Cleveland. And Cavs fans can all thank Nick Gilbert.
Now onto the updated mock draft:
1. Cleveland Cavaliers – Nerlens Noel, C, (Kentucky)
2. Orlando Magic – Ben McLemore, SG, (Kansas)
3. Washington Wizards – Otto Porter, SF, (Georgetown)
4. Charlotte Bobcats – Victor Oladipo, SG, (Indiana)
5. Phoenix Suns – Anthony Bennett, PF, (UNLV)
6. New Orleans Pelicans – Trey Burke, PG, (Michigan)
7. Sacramento Kings – C.J. McCollum, SG, (Lehigh)
8. Detroit Pistons – Shabazz Muhammad, SF, (UCLA)
9. Minnesota Timberwolves – Alex Len, C, (Maryland)
10. Portland Trail Blazers – Cody Zeller, C, (Indiana)
11. Philadelphia 76ers – Rudy Gobert, C, (France)
12. Oklahoma City Thunder (From Raptors) – Gorgui Dieng, C, (Louisville)
13. Dallas Mavericks – Michael Carter-Williams, PG, (Syracuse)
14. Utah Jazz – Dennis Schroeder, PG, (Germany)
15. Milwaukee Bucks – Jamaal Franklin, SG, (San Diego State)
16. Boston Celtics – Mason Plumlee, C, (Duke)
17. Atlanta Hawks – Steven Adams, C, (Pittsburgh)
18. Atlanta Hawks (From Rockets) – Dario Saric, SF, (Croatia)
19. Cleveland Cavaliers (From Lakers) – Kelly Olynyk, C, (Gonzaga)
20. Chicago Bulls – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG, (Georgia)
21. Utah Jazz (From Warriors) – Allen Crabbe, SG, (California)
22. Brooklyn Nets – Sergey Karasev, SF, (Russia)
23. Indiana Pacers – Shane Larkin, PG, (Miami)
24. New York Knicks – Archie Goodwin, SG, (Kentucky)
25. Los Angeles Clippers – Tony Mitchell, PF, (North Texas)
26. Minnesota Timberwolves (From Grizzlies) – Tim Hardaway Jr., SG, (Michigan)
27. Denver Nuggets – Tony Snell, SF, (New Mexico)
28. San Antonio Spurs – Giannis Adetokunbo, SF, (Greece)
29. Oklahoma City Thunder – Jeff Withey, C, (Kansas)
30. Phoenix Suns (From Heat) – Ricky Ledo, PG/SG, (Providence)
