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Six players the Cleveland Cavaliers missed out on in the NBA Draft

By Zane Harris

Anthony Bennett of the Cleveland Cavaliers (right) poses for a photo at the 2013 NBA Draft. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
Anthony Bennett of the Cleveland Cavaliers (right) poses for a photo at the 2013 NBA Draft. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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Kawhi Leonard, Cleveland Cavaliers
Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors handles the ball. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Players #4 and #5 missed by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the draft: Klay Thompson and Kawhi Leonard

The next entry on the list is two players that the Cavs missed on in the 2011 NBA Draft, so we’ll count that being the case for each. While it could have been a stretch for them to pick either of these players, they both would go on to be perennial All-Stars and for Kawhi Leonard becoming one of the best players in the league. Firstly, the Cavs did not make a bad pick at all by going with Tristan Thompson with the fourth overall pick, albeit the players that they missed out on make the entry valid.

Klay Thompson would have been the perfect fit alongside Irving who was the franchise player at the time. His elite three-point shooting would have provided perfect floor spacing for Irving and Thompson could have also been used as a crutch to cover up Irving as an on-ball defensive liability.

As for Leonard, if he developed into the player that he is today, a Cavs big three of Kyrie, Kawhi, and LeBron may have been the best big three that the NBA has ever seen and would possibly even be comparable to the big three of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman.

Thompson has career totals of 11,995 points, 2,130 rebounds, and 1,146 assists on career averages of 19.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Kawhi has totals of 9,620 points, 3,323 rebounds and 1,377 assists, and has been a two-time NBA Finals MVP both with the San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors in his one season with them last year.

Tristan Thompson has career totals of 5,839 points, 5,539 rebounds, and 624 assists on career averages of 9.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assists. While the 2011 draft was one of the better drafts in Cavs history, it could have gone down as one of the greatest drafts in NBA history for a single team. That’d be if they were able to land Klay Thompson or Kawhi Leonard, who was acquired then via trade with the Pacers, who officially drafted him, by the Spurs.