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I still think CP3 could leave, I wouldn't bet on it, but I don't think that's a done deal.

Report: Cavs taking calls for No. 1 draft pick
SAM AMICO |

Published: Monday, June 24, 2013, 10:59am | 0 Comments

The latest buzz surrounding the NBA Draft as we approach Thursday's main event:

• No less than 10 teams have expressed interest in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ No. 1 overall pick, with the New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings being the most recent to call. According to one source, the Cavs are seeking “a serious haul” in return.

• Numerous teams, including the Cavs, continue to talk with the Dallas Mavericks about the 13th pick. The Mavs are looking to get out of the first round and shed salary -- more specifically, the salary belonging to veteran small forward Shawn Marion.

• The Cavs continue to debate whether they want to take on money in any potential deal with Dallas. Both of the Cavs’ second-round picks (Nos. 31 and 33 overall) are in play in the talks, sources said.

• As for the rumors involving the Cavs, the Boston Celtics and Paul Pierce, sources confirmed the Cavs have indeed expressed an interest -- but the talks have yet to reach the level of seriousness conveyed by some reports. The Cavaliers are reportedly willing to give up both of their second-round picks for Pierce.

• Following the departure of coach Doc Rivers to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Celtics are looking to gut the roster and shed salary, making Pierce and forward Kevin Garnett (and possibly even point guard Rajon Rondo) available. Word is, however, that Pierce wants to play for a contender, making the Cavs hesitant to be overly aggressive in their pursuit of the 14-year veteran.

• Still, some sources indicated the Celtics have until the 13th pick to decide whether to accept the Cavs’ offer for Pierce. If not, those sources said, the Cavs will pull the trigger on the potential deal with the Mavericks.

• Another source added the Cavs’ reported offer of both second-rounders for Pierce “isn’t the entire truth.”

• Chicago Bulls small forward Luol Deng is also said to be a target of the Cavs. League sources say the Cavs may have floated the idea of the No. 19 pick and a younger player, perhaps center Tyler Zeller.

• The Cavs supposedly have had several conversations with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are trying to move up from their No. 9 overall spot. Sources said the Cavs are intrigued, but “aren’t keen on” trading down to ninth. They would prefer to stay in the top five or six.

• With power forward Pau Gasol on the trading block, the Los Angeles Lakers are another team that has been fielding plenty of calls leading up to the draft. It should be noted the Cavs are said to have no interest in a Gasol deal.

• In the most-pressing Lakers news, league executives are beginning to strongly believe center Dwight Howard will sign with the Houston Rockets in free agency. That said, not one of those executives is certain of Howard’s actual plans, and he too appears to remain undecided.

• The Portland Trail Blazers are “sniffing around” about potentially moving up from their No. 10 overall spot, according to one source. But like most of these conversations, the ones involving the Blazers have largely been exploratory.

• Armed with the No. 15 pick and looming wiggle room under the salary cap, execs believe Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond is preparing to make a splash and reshape the roster. Apparently, rising big man Larry Sanders is the Bucks' lone untouchable.

• One team has inquired about Cavs center Anderson Varejao, said a team source. So far, the Cavs have not been too receptive.

• As of late Sunday night, Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, Maryland center Alex Len and Kansas shooting guard Ben McLemore were said to be in the mix for the Cavs’ top pick. Sources added not to disregard Georgetown small forward Otto Porter and UNLV forward Anthony Bennett as possibilities. Bennett impressed the Cavs during his visit last week.

• Finally, the Sacramento Kings have quietly explored what might be the return for talented-but-sometimes-troubled center DeMarcus Cousins. The result: Not much.

http://www.foxsportsohio.com/nba/clevela...amp;feedID=3561

I really want pick 13. We need James Southerland or Sergey Karasev. I think Dion will become a better shooter, but right now I don't like pressuring Kyrie to be our best shooter every game.

In your opinion, how does Reggie Bullock stack up vs those two?

Reggie and Sergey are almost the same type of player. Both remind me of Mike Miller, except a lot better defenders. Both need muscle thought. James Southerland is the best athlete out of all 3, but he plays a lot softer than the other 2. Sergey is the best out of all 3 because he will rack up assists.

Thanks. I didn't get to watch much college B-ball this season so I don't know much about any of the players.

lol, I knew the Aldridge rumor was way too good to be true.

Stern would probably veto the hell out of that anyway, haha

Jazz are prepared to let Big Al walk. He's a 20 and 10 beast, but his P&R defense is horrendous. I still want Pekovic instead.

Sign Howard.
Draft Porter.
Profit.

Do I think Howard wants to come to Cleveland? Not really.

Do I really think he wants to go to Atlanta or Houston? No.

Dwight Howard wants to be liked by everyone, and maybe even win a title.

You show him Kyrie, Dion, and Tristan, three young guys (Plus Porter) he can team up with, be buddies with, and just ask him to defend the paint, and occasionally put in a dunk..

Orlando had nothing around him, LA didn't know what to do with him and Gasol. We have a young team in desperate need for a dominant center.

It makes too much sense to happen.

I don't see how it makes any sense.

If I were Dwight Howard, I don't think Cleveland would make my top five.

It would give me a chuckle if he went to Miami.

I tend to agree.

Dwight Howard wants to be a star. He wants the bright lights. I just don't know if he wants to sell out every last ounce of his talent every night, which would make him the most dominant Center in NBA history. He could be, and should be, the best Center every year, on both offense and defense. He really doesn't have a lot of competition. He is a man among boys at the position. He should really be a 25-30 PPG guy. Instead his high is 22.9 PPG. He's just topped 20 PPG in 3 other seasons. In his 5 other seasons, he has actually been under 20 PPG. That is just astonishing to me. With his dominant size and skills, he should fall off the bus and get 20 per night. He has so little true competition at his position that its ridiculous.

Anyway, back to his desire to be seen by and among the rich and beautiful, I doubt that he would want to come to Cleveland .... even if that might be a strong possibility to be his best possible destination.

I don't see him coming here.

If he wants to win, he should team up with Paul somewhere or go to Houston.

As for Thursday, we're probably going to be a bit disappointed regardless of the outcome. This is a weak draft, and we're a bad team.

I just we hope we don't take on some overpriced vet so we can get swept by the Heat in the first round.

I actually have a lot of confidence in Chris Grant. He has made picks that have made the "experts" shake their heads, but that have turned out pretty damn well. I have every confidence that he will get maximum value out of this draft, no matter what.

I read that he had offered #1, Tristan Thompson, and Waiters for Kevin Love.(and was turned down, as any logical team with Love would do) However, it shows that he is working hard to try and improve the team.

The Plain Dealer had their reporters who cover the Cavs do a round table, and one brought up a very good point. Chris Grant has made a lot of trades, and he really hasn't "lost" any of them. He has piled up assets, and has the ability to make moves if he can uncover a partner. He even won the "throw in" where we moved up from the Heat pick to the Lakers pick, which should allow us to move up further, possibly even into the lottery for a 2nd lottery pick.

He had to rebuild a completely broken team. He has done so to the extent that we have players who free agents would like to play alongside, and a strong, young base on which to build. If we can overcome the "coming to Cleveland" part of things, we should be an attractive destination for quality free agents next year, who are looking to win.

I keep hearing Len vs. Noel talk.

Grant is a fan of sabermetrics. Irving, Thompson and Waiters all had very high numbers. If that's any indicator going forward, Noel is the pick. His numbers in that regard are the best in the draft. Len isn't even top 20.

I don't know that Noel will be more than a shot-blocker in the NBA. But I have no problem taking him. It's a weak draft and we're a long way away.

But to take Noel, you almost have to concede the year a bit. And all I hear from the Cavs is playoff expectations.

I'd like to see Waiters moved into a sixth-man role where he belongs. But there's a lot of work to do ... we have a lot of assets come Thursday.

Dwight would be a nice fit in Cleveland, because they need the presence down low, but yeah, he'd never go there. Not at this point in his career. They shouldn't even try to sign him.

I'm pretty excited for tomorrow. I think I may DVR the draft because I have an early hockey game, and just come home and watch it. Big night for us. I think we are almost forced to make a trade at some point because of the number of picks.

A name to watch next year: AJ Hammons, C, Purdue. I really like the potential that kid has. Him and Nerlens would be pretty beasty front court.

I really believe there will be a star in this draft. Probably won't be a superstar, but a guy that will give you at least 20 a night and make several all star appearances.

I think Oldipo, Burke, and Mclemore have the best chance to be that guy. I know we wont draft burke, but I would defintely consider the other two. Especially Victor. You look at Kidd-Gilchrist, he went 2 last year, and wasn't as nearly polished offensively as Victor. Victor has a ways to go offensively, but he has made steady improvements each year. Plus you add all his intangibles, and he has a great chance to meet his potential.

I'm just scared to death of these 2 bigs. the nba plays much smaller now, and there are very few good centers. You're at a great advantage if you have one come playoff time, but it's such a huge risk with these guys. I think the safer pick will be with one of the guards. Bigger upside, and less risk.

i wouldn't be surprised if burke drops out of the top 10 if the cavs don't try to move up from 19 to get him, irving waiters and burke would be a nice 3 guard rotation as they can all play both

I have kinda come around to the idea that we should take McLemore if we stay at #1. He's not a need, but he is probably the best player in the draft, has the best NBA body, and has skills that directly translate to the NBA. A 3 Guard rotation of Irving/Waiters/McLemore would be awfully impressive. We might be able to trade up to 13 and still be able to add a capable big, or maybe a pure scorer SF like Muhammed. He's not my first choice in many ways, but if we could move to 13, and grab him there, then he might be worth a chance.

I also think if we don't trade first pick it will be Len or porter. I don't think we risk noel. We need offense and we need a replacement for Gee for sure...noel serves neither purpose, throw in injuries and let someone else worry about it. If he turns into an all-star so be it..kudos, but I think he'll end up more like oden.

we also need defense.


as for risk, I think it is there for both Noel & Len. not sure which is more because it is extremely dependent on the medical reports that we do not have.

i was pretty hyped about mcelmore as well, then reports are his workout went really poor, so I'm on the fence about him. If we didn't already spend a high pick last year on a 2 i'd say go for it, but we need and andy/gee replacement at this point.

The pick is going to be Noel for one simple reason.

If you gamble on one of the other guys, and it doesn't pan out, it's the kind of move that gets you fired.

Noel is the "safe" pick (Regardless of injury), and it's the one we'll make.

PF and C? well id say atleast 2-3 on every team

when i look at nerlens i just can't help but think of diop, shot blocking machine, not much else

and how did I end up being more on Noel's side? I have not liked him as a prospect and think it's terrible that we might have to select him at #1 overall (I just apparently like him better than some others).

I know it's a weak draft, but I would want more out of the first pick. Roy Hibbert went 19th, Z went 21st, I think that's somewhat where these guys should go. I would go for broke and take the guy with the highest upside no matter the position. Obviously, I don't think that's Len or Noel.