In an evening of surprises, the biggest surprise of the NBA Draft Thursday night began with the first pick. The Cleveland Cavaliers selected University of Nevada-Las Vegas forward Anthony Bennett.
After weeks of mock drafts saying the pick would be Nerlens Noel or Otto Porter, the Cavs went with a player they hardly spoke about. Certainly the Cavs participated in trade talks and rumors ran rampant. In the end, the Cavaliers kept the pick and went with the Runnin’ Rebels star freshman.
Bennett became the first Canadian to be the No. 1 pick, he also starred for Canada’s junior national teams and was the Mountain West Conference player of the year. Bennett is known as a “tweener”,meaning he can play either small or power forward. That might be a problem. He’s 6’8 and weighs 250. In his only year in Vegas, Bennett averaged 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds in 27 minutes. He also is know as a good ball handler with a solid mid-range jump shooter, shooting 38 percent from 3-point range. He need work on the defensive end, but then most players entering the league need to work on that.
With their second overall pick and number 19 in the first round, the Cavs went looking for a small forward in Russia. Sergey Karasev is a 6’7 19 
year old left handed Russian player from a coaches family. His father played point for the Russian National team in the 90’s.
Karasev averaged 18.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists for BC Triumph Lyubertsy in Russia’s Professional Basketball League. In fact their season isn’t over and Karasev hopped a flight back to Russia after the draft to play in his club’s game Friday night.
Karasev strengths include his shooting ability with a quick shot, and his natural catch-and-shoot skills. The weakness in his game are he’s not explosive or tremendously quick, creating concerns on the defensive end. While he’s known for his shooting, there’s room for improvement with his off-the-dribble game. Many scouts compare Karasev to Kyle Korver as a shooter, which is something the Cavs need.
Later the Cavs went for Allan Crabbe a guard from California with the first pick in the second round, the Pac-12 Player of the Year. He became the second Conference Player of the Year the Cavs selected on the night.
Crabbe averaged 18 points per game, is known as a scorer, and excellent at the catch and shoot. He’s 6’6 and ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas thinks he can be a better player in the NBA than he was in college. If that’s the case the Cavs have a find on their hands.
Carrick Felix, a 6’6 1/4 forward from Arizona State was the 33rd overall pick by the Cavs. Felix played three seasons with the Sun Devils. In 2012-13, Felix put his name in lights by scoring over 14 points per game and establishing himself as one of the top offensive players in the Pac-12. He also grabbed 8 boards per game as a 6’6 1/4 forward.
Now comes the free agent season for the league. Cleveland is rumored to be interested in 27 year old Minnesota center Nikola Pekovic, who’s a restricted Free Agent, meaning the Timberwolves can match any offer the Cavs sign him to. Pekovic is 6’11 and scored 16 point per game and hauled in 9 rebounds. Pekovic could shore up the interior defense under coach Mike Brown.
Overall the Cavs filled the needs this team could in the draft. Did it solve every problem? No. But it did set up the team to play an exciting brand of basketball with Kyrie Irving at the point. Then after expected improvement on the court this season, a new crop of Free Agents hit the field after next season and the Cavs cap room give them a chance to maneuver.
Dave Mitchell and Mark Donahue co-host the “Ohio Baseball Weekly” show every Monday night at 9pm. Dave will also host the new Thursday night show “Ultimate Sports Talk” every Thursday night at 7pm.
