Who will the Cleveland Cavaliers take with the #1 pick in the NBA Draft? If you ask ESPN.com's Chad Ford, the Cavs will take Nerlens Noel. Ford has been predicting Noel to the Cavs ever since they won the NBA Draft Lottery. In his mock draft 6.0, Ford continues to believe that Cleveland will take Noel.
Here's Ford's analysis about the Cavaliers potentially taking Nerlens Noel:
Analysis: Yes, for the sixth straight mock draft, I have Noel at No. 1 despite a consensus among NBA bloggers that Maryland's Alex Len is going to be the top pick. I wrote a long post on TrueHoop Monday night on why I think the Cavs are leaning toward Noel.
Here's the short version: While I think Len and Anthony Bennett also are in play for the top pick, Noel appears to be a better fit with the criteria the Cavs are using this year and have used in the past for the lottery. The team itself has remained tight-lipped -- in part because a number of different trade scenarios it is exploring could alter the composition of the Cavs -- but I think it's going to be Noel.
Meanwhile, people seem to have forgotten about the #19 pick. Ford continues to talk about the possibility of trading up to #13 and swapping with the Dallas Mavericks.
According to various reports, one scenario floating around have them swapping picks with the Cavs. If that happens, it's almost certainly to be for Karasev.
Based on that report, if the Cavs are trading up to #13 they are doing it to take Sergey Karasev. However, we can't predict the trade right now. As it stands right now, the Cavaliers still have the 19th pick. If they stay in that spot, Chad Ford still has the Cavs taking Reggie Bullock out of North Carolina.
If the Cavs grab Noel at No. 1, look for them to add a small forward or shooter with the second first-round pick. They would love to get their hands on Karasev if they could; they are trying to move up higher in the draft to grab him. Moving to No. 13 seems to be the consensus of where they need to get to, and it looks like they are willing to eat Shawn Marion's salary for a year to get there in a trade with Dallas. If they can't get to No. 13, Bullock is another shooter they really are high on.
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