On Tuesday night, the NBA Draft Lottery was held in New York City with many teams such as the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers looking to land either Joel Embiid, Jabari Parker or Andrew Wiggins.
But those things did not happen as for the third time in four years; the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Draft Lottery. Last year, the Cavaliers won the lottery and selected Anthony Bennett with the number one overall pick, even though the consensus pick on everybody's board was Kentucky big man Nerlens Noel. Noel eventually ended up with the Philadelphia 76ers.
For the Cleveland Cavaliers, it's simple. They cannot mess up this selection this time around. They really cannot go wrong with selecting either Embiid, Parker or Wiggins. Unless, they go against the grain and select Julius Randle, Aaron Gordon or Dante Exum with the number one overall pick. Whoever the Cavaliers select with the number one pick, it will determine their future going forward.
Currently, the Cavaliers do not have a head coach as they fired Mike Brown for the second time around, and there is talk about Kyrie Irving possibly leaving the city. If they can add an Embiid, Parker or Wiggins it will help them for years to come. Let's take a look at each player one by one. First off, if the Cleveland Cavaliers draft Joel Embiid with the number one overall pick it will make Bucks and 76ers fans happy, but for the Cavs it solves a need. There is a gaping hole at center and adding a young 19-year-old to be paired with Tristan Thompson and Kyrie Irving isn't bad at all. It actually might help develop Kyrie's game to become a better well-rounded point guard.
If Cleveland does not go with Embiid adding Jabari Parker or Andrew Wiggins isn't bad either. Each of them brings a different element to the NBA. Parker is more of the scorer out of the two, while Wiggins is the better defender. Both players have upside but for the Cavaliers, do you want offense or defense? I can't make that decision yet, I'll leave that up to the front office. Looking back at their first and only year in school, Parker and Wiggins' numbers are almost similar.
Parker averaged 19.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, while Wiggins averaged 17.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. There is really no difference and being paired up with Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters with help either player when they step on to the court.
Regardless, who the Cleveland Cavaliers draft it has to be the right fit because just like in the 2003 NBA Draft class when they selected LeBron James, whoever they select can possibly be the new face of the franchise for many years to come.