FanSided NBA Mock Draft Pick No. 4: Cleveland Cavaliers Select Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
By Zak Kolesar
The FanSided NBA network is conducting a Mock Draft of the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft. The Cleveland Cavaliers have two picks, Nos. 4 and 24, in the first round, and as editor of Right Down Euclid I will be making the draft decisions for the Cavaliers. We will start with the No. 4 pick. Cleveland is now on the clock…
With the fourth pick in the FanSided NBA Mock Draft Zachary Kolesar, the general manager of Right Down Euclid (representing the Cleveland Cavaliers), has selected Michael Kidd-Gilchrist of Kentucky.
Team Name (site name): Right Down Euclid
Player name: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Position: SF
Height: 6’ 7”
Weight: 233 lbs
School: Kentucky
Short summary of the player and his stats from college:
Kidd-Gilchirst has physical characteristics that make up an NBA wingman. His height puts him at an advantage over other wing players, as he has a skill set that allows him to take his defender down low. He averaged 31.1 minutes, 11.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.9 blocks on 49.1 percent shooting from the field, 25.5 percent from beyond the three-point arc and 74.5 percent from the free throw line.
Why the decision was made to select this player:
With Anthony Parker’s departure from the Cavaliers, Cleveland’s need for a wing player and his experience with Kyrie Irving are all attractive reasons as to why Kidd-Gilchrist should go to the Cavaliers at pick No. 4. Although he only attempted 8.2 field goals per game, the Kentucky freshmen will give Irving another option to go to, further expanding on Cleveland’s idea of an eight-player team.
How he will fit in with the team:
In addition to being a high school teammate of Kyrie Irving, Kidd-Gilchrist is only 18 years old and has a lot of time to learn along with his young teammates. Being able to play with Tristan Thompson and Irving will make the former Wildcat more comfortable as he transitions into NBA play. Irving will also have another go-to man for when it gets to crunch time and he will be able to help the new talented Cavalier players.
Best case and worst case scenarios for this player:
Best Case: Andre Iguodala
Worst Case: Shannon Brown
There has been a shakeup with the FanSided Mock Draft. The Right Down Euclid team has decided to trade Kidd-Gilchrist to the Memphis Grizzlies for Rudy Gay.
In a shocking blockbuster trade in the 2012 FanSided Mock Draft, I traded away the newly-acquired Kidd-Gilchrist for the six-year veteran in Gay. Gay has not had a successful shooting percentage throughout his career, having a lifetime average of 45.6 percent from the field.
My rash decision was caused by a sick feeling in my stomach about not being able to acquire Bradley Beal, the player I’ve wanted since the end of the NCAA tournament. Kidd-Gilchrist has the potential to be a very good player due to his defense, but I think he will struggle offensively and not take as many shot attempts as Kyrie Irving wishes he would. Kyrie needs someone who can assist him in scoring, and since the Cavaliers lost their leading scorer, who better to fill in for that role than Rudy Gay.
This may end up backfiring a lot, but I believe that Gay can be used as better bait than the unproven Kidd-Gilchrist to get the key players that the Cavaliers want to be the “eight players” they desire. It’s no longer about one player for the Cavaliers, they learned their lesson the hard way. The number eight has become kind of a mantra for Cleveland, stressing team achievements instead of individual ones.
The Cavaliers are up again at pick No. 24. Let’s hope we draft a fresh new player to the Wine and Gold squad.