ESPN reportedly making changes to 2019 NBA Draft lottery coverage in what may be huge night for Cavs

In what will be one of the more anticipated NBA Draft lotteries in recent memory, especially for fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers, ESPN is reportedly making changes to its 2019 NBA Draft lottery coverage.

With the 2019 NBA Draft lottery just a mere week away, in what will be potentially a huge night for Cleveland Cavaliers fans (given that Cleveland is tied with the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns for having the best odds to win the lottery, a 14.0% chance, per Tankathon) ESPN is reportedly planning to make some changes to its lottery coverage.

Specifically, according to Justin Terranova of the New York Post, ESPN will make a few changes with it’s pre-lottery coverage.

"“The network is throwing more resources at the NBA draft lottery on May 14, a night that will be centered on who will get the No. 1 pick and the ability to draft Duke star Zion Williamson.Rachel Nichols will host ‘The Jump’ at 8 p.m., which will serve as a half-hour pregame show and will feature an interview with NBA commissioner Adam Silver. The lottery itself will start at 8:30, which Nichols will host, and the order should start being announced around 10 minutes into that program. There also will be an ‘NBA Countdown’ show at 7 p.m. with host Michelle Beadle and analysts Jalen Rose, Paul Pierce and Chauncey Billups.”"

Terranova hit on how ESPN plans to have a college perspective for it’s pre-lottery coverage, too.

"“ESPN is adding more of a college perspective with analysts Jay Bilas, Jay Williams and Maria Taylor part of the coverage. There also will be ‘Hoop Streams’ coverage on Twitter between 7-8 p.m. that will be hosted by rising star Cassidy Hubbarth, and also will have a post-lottery show when the network goes to its coverage of Game 1 or 2 of the Western Conference finals.”"

This is expected to be one of the more anticipated NBA lotteries in some time, because of who is at the top of the draft.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have had a bunch of memorable moments in the last 16 years that included winning the LeBron James lottery in 2003, their run to the 2007 NBA finals, winning the lottery three times over a four-year span, James coming back, coming back down from 3-1, and becoming one of a few teams to make it to four straight finals.

You can potentially put down May 14, 2019 as one of the most important days in franchise history as well, because of what it could mean.

It’s been said many times, but Williamson is a slam dunk to be drafted number one overall and is a franchise-changing player at that.

In his one season at Duke, Williamson was the Naismith Men’s Player of the Year, as he had 22.6 points on 70.8% effective field goal shooting, to go with 8.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, per Sports Reference.

He also had a ridiculous PER of 40.8 (again, per Sports Reference).

If the Cleveland Cavaliers win the 2019 NBA Draft lottery, we’re talking about Cleveland being irrelevant for just one more year.

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The Cavs would probably find themselves on national TV significantly more next year than they were this year, if they have Zion. I also believe Williamson could speed up Cleveland’s rebuild by perhaps two years.

Williamson would change everything for Cleveland both on and off the court.

On the court its obvious, as he would give them a franchise cornerstone player who at the very least, looks like he’s the best prospect to come out in over a half-decade, since Anthony Davis, according to ESPN NBA Draft Analyst Mike Schmitz.

In addition, off the court, he comes in with maybe more hype than anyone since the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted James, according to ESPN’s Nick DePaula, who highlighted how Williamson is going to land a massive shoe deal even before he proves himself in the NBA.

"“Long before he steps on an NBA court, the projected No. 1 overall pick in June’s NBA draft is expected to land a sneaker endorsement deal that will make him far richer than his first NBA contract will.In fact, many in the sneaker industry expect that Williamson’s eventual deal will make him one of the three highest-paid rookie sneaker endorsers ever, joining the likes of LeBron James and Kevin Durant.”"

A guy who definitely has expertise when it comes to this sort of thing gave his take on the Williamson potential bidding war, too, per DePaula.

"“In my lifetime, I think it’s going to be the biggest bidding war ever done,” said Sonny Vaccaro, the famed former marketing executive with Nike, Adidas and Reebok. “I would put them all on go.”"

Those are strong words from Vaccaro, and it’s not all that surprising, given the high-flying style of Williamson, who projects to be a superstar at the NBA level eventually.

May 14, 2019 will be a critical night for the Cleveland Cavaliers, because getting the first pick would completely change the future of their franchise. So, hopefully there’s 2019 NBA Draft lottery luck as well, just like the recent past.