The Cleveland Cavaliers have the No. 1 pick in the draft, and they apparently have no idea what they want to do with it. Joel Embiid seemed like the obvious choice before it was revealed that he needed surgery on a broken foot, leaving Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker as the likely No. 1 pick. But in typical Cavs fashion, they might have something up their sleeves:
Dante Exum isn’t sure if he wants to be taken No. 1 by the Cavs, either
The Cavaliers are trying to fly Exum from New York to Cleveland for a last-minute workout a day before they must decide on the No. 1 pick. Will Exum get on Dan Gilbert’s plane? The world waits with bated breath.
Graham Denholm
Cavs have offered to send a private jet to NY to pick up Dante Exum for workout in Cleveland,source said.Exum still undecided if he is going
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) June 25, 2014 Exum is reportedly in consideration for the No. 1, but his hesitance to jump on the plane shows he’s not sure if he wants to taken by Cleveland. The Cavs should be used to this story by now. It’s been happening the entire offseason, from John Calipari reportedly turning down $80 million to Parker kinda of-maybe tanking a workout with the Cavs.
Exactly how much money and prestige would it take for you to move to Cleveland and call Dan Gilbert your boss?
Why this makes sense
Well, considering the team we’re discussing, this does seem to make a lot of sense:
Only the Cavs could have the top pick and lose control over the draft.
— Paul Flannery (@Pflanns) June 25, 2014 To be somewhat serious here, perhaps the Cavs do really have some major reservations about Wiggins and Parker. While Wiggins is clearly a phenomenal prospect, he’s still rather raw and may take a few years to develop. As for Parker, there were some rumors that he “tanked” his workout with the Cavs, and as ludicrous as that sounds, maybe the poor workout has Cleveland thinking twice about taking him.
There's also the possibility of a trade in the works. The Cavs have had discussions with the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz (also the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love, but Love reportedly said "no thanks, Cleveland"). If the Cavs traded down, perhaps they have their eyes on Exum.
Why this doesn’t make sense
As good a prospect as Exum is, taking him No. 1 overall would be pretty wild, although it would also be pretty Cavs. Any concerns about Wiggins being raw would also have to apply to Exum, as he’s just 18 years old and hasn’t exactly proven much against elite competition. From Exum’s perspective: wouldn’t he want to go No. 1? Is Cleveland really that bad?
It’s also kind of crazy that the Cavs are just now making this last-ditch effort to get Exum to Cleveland to work out for them. Perhaps these plans shouldn’t have been made THE DAY BEFORE THE DRAFT! It’s certainly rather humorous that Exum appears to be rather ambivalent about making the trip.
Likelihood
Exum going No. 1 probably shouldn’t be all that likely, but I’m not putting anything past the Cavs. Cleveland’s last three draft picks -- Anthony Bennett, Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson -- all counted as a surprise. The biggest question: will Exum tell the Cavs “nah” again? So while it may not be a great possibility, I’m saying there’s a chance. Let’s go.
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