Welp, that didn't go as hoped.
By now, I'm sure you've heard the news, the Cavaliers will be selecting fourth in the upcoming NBA Draft, which means, unfortunately for fans of uni-brows, that Anthony Davis is no longer a possibility. Gone are the dreams of Kyrie Irving running pick and rolls with Davis, of Anderson Varejao's curls bouncing next to a fierce uni-brow, and of a core ready to be built upon. What's left is uncertainty, a lot of risk, and a lot of tough questions.
Today I pulled the lever on ESPN's Draft Lottery Machine 100 times. The Cavs wound up picking fourth 15 times. Of those 15 pulls, the Cavaliers wound up selecting Andre Drummond eight times and selecting Bradley Beal seven times. Much like the rest of the Fear the Sword writers, I greatly prefer seeing Beal suit up in the wine and gold over Drummond. The Cavs need a scorer, which does not describe Drummond in the slightest. The Cavaliers also already have a big-man project in the works in Tristan Thompson, which makes me wary of bringing another on board.
So what happened those seven times the Cavaliers selected Beal instead of Drummond? Someone in the top three selected Thomas Robinson, causing Beal to drop to four. Problem was, that team was always the New Orleans Hornets, who are absolutely not drafting Thomas Robinson when they have Anthony Davis locked up with the first pick. Looking at the Washington Wizards, who are drafting third, with Nene already on the books and starting wing players of Jordan Crawford and Chris Singleton, odds are they're grabbing either Michael Kidd-Gilchrist or Bradley Beal with their pick. That leaves it up to the Charlotte Bobcats who needs help just about everywhere. It's simple, if the Bobcats take Robinson, the Wizards take Kidd-Gilchrist and the Cavs get Beal. If not?
Who knows? Maybe the Cavs take a gamble and go for Harrison Barnes despite him having a disappointing tournament. Maybe Charlotte goes for Barnes because of the UNC connection and because Michael Jordan is a terrible judge of talent, which causes Beal to fall. Maybe the Cavs shock everyone and pick Robinson despite already having Tristan Thompson. Who knows? All I know is, it's all in the hands of Chris Grant and his scouts right now.
All we can hope is that they choose wisely.