Six players the Cleveland Cavaliers missed out on in the NBA Draft
By Zane Harris
Player #2 the Cleveland Cavaliers missed out on drafting: Victor Oladipo
The second player on the list is no Kobe Bryant, but, he could have been the second piece alongside Kyrie Irving that pushed the Cavs to be a playoff contender in the Eastern Conference while LeBron James was spending his time with the Miami Heat. That player is Victor Oladipo.
The Cavs held the first overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft and hypothetically could have used that pick to choose Giannis Antetokounmpo, but, that would have been one of the most off the wall picks of all time even if it were to work out perfectly for the team.
More realistically they could have selected a now-All-Star-caliber guard in Oladipo to pair alongside Irving to form a very promising and young backcourt. As many know, the Cavs instead made what could have been the worst draft pick of all time in selecting Anthony Bennett with the first overall pick.
Bennett is widely considered to be one of the worst draft picks ever and would find himself struggling to even stay on a roster after being the first overall pick not even a decade ago. Oladipo has career totals of 7,207 points, 1,900 rebounds, and 1,628 assists and career averages of 17.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. While he has struggled with injuries throughout his career and has somewhat struggled to find his footing in the league, he has seemingly found a home with the Indiana Pacers and has taken over the role as the face of the franchise.
That was following stints with the Orlando Magic, who eventually dealt Oladipo to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and then he was a part of a deal again later on to the Pacers by OKC. Meanwhile, Anthony Bennett has career totals of 658 points, 472 rebounds, and 77 assists on an atrocious 39.2 field goal percentage and a 26.1 three-point percentage. He has had career averages of 4.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 0.5 assists and has appeared with the Cavs, then the Minnesota Timberwolves, Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets.
It would have been very interesting to see how Oladipo would have developed and molded his game around the budding star of Irving if he were to be drafted by the Cavs, but, that is sadly a world that we as Cavs fans will never know.