NEW YORK — Just in case the Cleveland Cavaliers need it, here’s some advice for what to do with those two high picks: Take Kyrie Irving first, grab Turkish big man Enes Kanter fourth and start enjoying the postseason success you used to have when LeBron James was around.
“If I play with Kyrie, I believe we can make playoffs,” Kanter said Wednesday. “I know we can make playoffs.”
Or pass on Irving and go with Arizona’s Derrick Williams, who can play inside and out, either forward position, and would bring the mixture of power and athleticism to the Cavs’ frontcourt that was lost when James left.
“I feel like I am the most overall ready in this spot by my size and ready to make an impact,” Williams said.
Even in what’s considered a less-than-stellar NBA draft, the Cavaliers have plenty of options at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., tonight when they become the first team since the 1983 Houston Rockets with two picks in the top four (Ralph Sampson and Rodney McCray at Nos. 1 and 3, respectively).
The Cavaliers are expected to start with Irving, considered the favorite since Cleveland won the lottery last month. Though the Duke point guard played just 11 games during his freshman season because of a toe injury on his right foot, the numbers he put up in his limited playing time seem too good to pass up.
“It definitely feels good, you know, knowing that I’m still projected to go No. 1,” Irving said. “We’ll see how it goes (tonight), but it’s an honor to be at the No. 1 spot right now.”
The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 17.5 points while shooting 53 percent from the floor, 46 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the foul line. He returned from his injury in time to play in the NCAA Tournament — where his Blue Devils were overwhelmed 93-77 by Williams in Arizona’s Sweet 16 win — and he said that proves there should be no question about his health.
“Playing in the NCAA Tournament was the deciding factor for me,” Irving said. “If I didn’t play in the NCAA Tournament, I would have been back at Duke for my sophomore season. I just wanted to kind of limit all the questions on my health and durability.”
The Cavaliers also pick fourth — the No. 1 pick was acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers last season in the Baron Davis trade — giving them the ability to add a big man, perhaps Kanter or another from the lengthy list of Europeans available, if they select Irving first.
The Minnesota Timberwolves hold the No. 2 pick and seem open to dealing it. The Utah Jazz has Nos. 3 and 12, the latter potentially putting the Jazz in the difficult position of deciding whether the team wants to keep BYU star Jimmer Fredette in the state.
Fredette led the nation with 28.9 points per game and was honored by AP and nearly every other organization that gives out a player of the year award. But there are doubts over whether Fredette has the quickness to get his shot off in the NBA and defend the much quicker guards he will face on a nightly basis.
Guard Alec Burks could be the first University of Colorado player to go in the top 10 since the Boston Celtics selected Chauncey Billups with the third pick in the 1997 draft.
