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Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 best draft selections of the 2010’s

By Dan Gilinsky

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (R) makes a three-point shot over Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry to take the lead in the final moments of the fourth quarter in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on June 19, 2016 in Oakland, California.(Photo credit: BECK DIEFENBACH/AFP via Getty Images)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (R) makes a three-point shot over Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry to take the lead in the final moments of the fourth quarter in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on June 19, 2016 in Oakland, California.(Photo credit: BECK DIEFENBACH/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
Former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving handles the ball. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

Looking at the previous decade, the Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t acquired a ton of key players for the roster via the NBA draft, but three stand out as big hits in that span.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have had their share of duds when it comes to the NBA draft dating back a decade.

The Wine and Gold have had some notable lottery luck looking back before the NBA draft lottery rules changed in 2019 to give the bottom three teams all an equal 14.0 percent chance of landing the top pick, too.

It was unfortunate that the Cavaliers couldn’t land realistically a top two selection in the 2019 NBA Draft to really springboard their current rebuild, but I’m still hopeful the squad’s fifth overall selection of Darius Garland can pan out, thanks to him showing promise as a shooter and demonstrating good playmaking instincts.

Plus, at least at this moment going into the NBA’s current season suspension in regards to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Kevin Porter Jr. has displayed big-time two way potential. In terms of a recent update in terms of the league and players, the league and the NBPA agreed on a “withholding of 25 percent” of players’ paychecks starting on May 15, and then “gradual reduction” in salary could be enacted due to the Force Majeure provision if regular season games are cancelled, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Swinging back to KPJ, though, the 19-year-old has averaged 10.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.9 steals in just 23.2 minutes per game as mostly a reserve thus far this season.

I also still believe Dylan Windler, the Cavs’ 26th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft who has yet to play thus far this season due to a stress reaction in his left leg, can be a rotational sharpshooter if he can get healthier for Cleveland in the near future.

Rewinding to the span of the previous decade, though, Cleveland has again had some really nice lottery luck. The Cavs landed the draft’s top selection in 2011, 2013 (when they took Anthony Bennett…yuck) and in 2014.

So looking back really since 2011 (nearly the previous decade anyhow), let’s revisit the Cavaliers’ three best draft selections since the 2011 NBA Draft, and I say then because Cleveland didn’t have a pick in 2010.