Cleveland Cavaliers win 2011 Draft Lottery

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a miserable 2010-11 season, starting last summer when LeBron James bolted for Miami as a free agent and finishing in the Eastern Conference cellar with a 19-63 record. Now the healing may start for the Cavaliers one summer later.

With Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert’s son, Nick, representing the team at the Draft Lottery, Cleveland walked away with the Nos. 1 and 4 picks in the 2011 NBA Draft that will be held June 23. Cleveland was awarded the No. 1 pick with the draft choice received from the Los Angeles Clippers in the Baron Davis trade made at the trade deadline, which had just a 2.8-percent chance of being the No. 1 pick. Cleveland beat out the Minnesota Timberwolves, who had the best odds (25 percent) at the top overall selection after finishing the season 17-65. Minnesota will select second.

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The Utah Jazz, by virtue of the draft pick they received from the New Jersey Nets in the Deron Williams trade, will pick third. The Toronto Raptors had the third-best odds at the No. 1 pick but instead fell all the way to No. 5, and the Washington Wizards fell from No. 4 to No. 6. The Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Bobcats, and Milwaukee Bucks round out the top 10.

Since the NBA instituted the Draft Lottery format back in 1985, Cleveland has only had the No .1 overall pick twice before this, selecting Brad Daugherty first overall in 1986 and James in 2003.

The Cavaliers must now decide what to do with their picks. Duke point guard Kyrie Irving and Arizona forward Derrick Williams are considered the top prospects in a fairly weak draft class, with other players like Kentucky’s Enes Kanter and Brandon Knight, Connecticut’s Kemba Walker, San Diego State’s Kawhi Leonard, Jan Vesely from the Czech Republic, and Jonas Valanciunas from Lithuania as possible top-10 picks.

2011 Draft Order:

1. Cleveland

2. Minnesota

3. Utah

4. Cleveland

5. Toronto

6. Washington

7. Sacramento

8. Detroit

9. Charlotte

10. Milwaukee

11. Golden State

12. Utah

13. Phoenix

14. Houston

15. Indiana

16. Philadelphia

17. New York

18. Washington

19. Charlotte

20. Minnesota

21. Portland

22. Denver

23. Houston

24. Oklahoma City

25. Boston

26. Dallas

27. New Jersey

28. Chicago

29. San Antonio

30. Chicago

By Eric Lorenz
Pro Basketball Fans Staff Writer

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