Tonight, the Cavaliers will most likely go one of three routes with the pick. They can draft Parker. They can draft Wiggins. Or they can choose to trade the pick for "veterens" that supposedly will make the team better in the immediate future. Honestly, Embiid falling out of the realm of possibility with various medical problems has turned out to be much more disheartening than I think most of us have expected. Now with the doubts about Wiggins/Parker being a franchise savior, much less one that wants to be here, the number one pick seems to be much less of a commodity than it once was.
I'm here to say that's absolute B.S. and that a trade down will ultimately be a disastrous decision for this franchise.
In Wiggins, you have an athletic freak who has a solid spot-up jumper and a tremendously impressive transition game, not to mention being an instant shut-down defender on the wings. Though he struggles with his handle and finishing at the basket at times, the Canadian boy-wonder has the ability to overcome those flaws with pure work ethic. His ceiling is probably along the lines of a more athletic Paul George and his floor is probably Andre Igoudala. While it might not seem like a slam dunk for the number one pick, both of those options tremendously improve your team immediately, and even if it takes a few years to get there, his defense and alley-oop potential will be marvelous to watch.
In Parker, you have one of the most polished offensive players that has come out of college in the past decade and a hell of a competitor on the court. Even though his defense is shaky at best, Parker can immediately help the team improve on the offensive end, and can certainly improve on the defensive end over time. As most analysts have said, Parker will come into the league averaging nearly 20 points a game, and I'll bet he can also throw in about 5 rebounds and 5 assists on a team like the Cavs. For Parker, his ceiling is probably Paul Pierce and floor is most likely a slightly better version of Antwan Jamison. Again, both players that will help the Cavs both short term and long term and I'd be surprised if you can get a veteran that will help on the offensive end as much as Parker in return for the #1 pick.
Now the rumors are swirling right now as to what the Cavs do with the pick. Here's a small sampling that I've compiled from Twitter:
Cleveland Cavs extremely active in the trade market in the past 24 hours for the No. 1 overall pick. Still torn on Wiggins/Parker.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) June 26, 2014
Based on conversations with sources around the league it sounds like a better than 50% chance Cavs deal 1st pick.
— Probasketballdraft (@Probballdraft) June 25, 2014
Sources out of Orlando say Cavs have inquired about Magic guard Victor Oladipo during teams' exploratory trade talks.
— Sam Amico (@SamAmicoFSO) June 26, 2014
The Cavs, Kings and Celtics are in trade talks involving Rondo to Sacramento an unnamed players to Cleveland & Boston getting the 1st Pick.
— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) June 25, 2014
So here is my plea:
Dan Gilbert and David Griffin,
Please don't over-think this one. You have two prospects within your grasp that are burgeoning all-stars with the potential to be franchise players. Both will help your team immediately, maybe not as much as a veteran, but that's what bringing in Blatt was about and can easily be further remedied with free agency. Build this team right, through the draft, and good players will be sure to come. You already had the scapegoat of Mike Brown, who probably cost the team about 10 wins by himself. Draft either Parker or Wiggins and I will guarantee you'll make the playoffs.
Sincerely,
Brad Aronson