NBA Mock Draft 2014 Lottery and Predictions: Cleveland Cavaliers Win No. 1 Pick; Are They Eyeing Andrew Wiggins?
The Cleveland Cavaliers are really good at winning the lottery as they secured the first overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft on Tuesday night.
The Cavaliers, who only had 1.7 percent chance of winning the lottery, moved up from the ninth spot, earning the chance to select the best prospect in the highly anticipated rookie draft.
Cleveland won the lottery for the second straight year, and for the third time in four years. The Cavaliers picked Kyrie Irving in 2011, and selected Anthony Bennett last year.
"It seems surreal," Cavaliers vice chairman Jeff Cohen said of the lottery result via ESPN. "This is three out of four years, and we had a 1.7 percent chance of coming up with the first pick and we pulled it off again."
Cleveland's decision to pick Bennett last year was highly scrutinized, but they will have a chance to redeem themselves this year.
Actually, the Cavs can't go wrong this year as the top three prospects -- Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid, and Jabari Parker -- are all considered as game-changing players.
According to ESPN insider Chad Ford, the Cavaliers are high on Embiid, but they will likely choose Wiggins over the Kansas teammate because of the concerns about the center's back injury.
"I think now is the time we're going to reap the rewards of our patience," said Cohen, who expressed belief that this year's draft will be the deepest since the 2003 NBA Draft that featured LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks, which had the best chance of winning the lottery, fell to second, while the Philadelphia 76ers will pick third in the draft.
The 76ers were also considered as winners on Tuesday night despite failing to move up to No. 1 after also acquiring the 10th pick from the New Orleans as part of last year's draft-day trade that sent Jrue Holiday to the Pelicans.
"If we had No. 3 alone, I would be a little disappointed and so would our group. But the fact that we also have the 10th pick, we may have done better than anyone else," said NBA legend Julius Erving, who represented Philadelphia in the event. "We can get two players out of this draft or leverage those two picks."
The Orlando Magic and the Utah Jazz will pick fourth and fifth respectively. Below is the complete draft order in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft:
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Orlando Magic
- Utah Jazz
- Boston Celtics
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Sacramento Kings
- Charlotte Hornets (from Detroit)
- Philadelphia 76ers (from New Orleans)
- Denver Nuggets
- Orlando Magic (from New York)
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Phoenix Suns
- Atlanta Hawks
- Chicago Bulls (from Charlotte)
- Boston Celtics (from Brooklyn)
- Phoenix Suns (from Washington)
- Chicago Bulls
- Toronto Raptors
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Dallas via Houston and L.A. Lakers)
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Utah Jazz (from Golden State)
- Charlotte Hornets (from Portland)
- Houston Rockets
- Miami Heat
- Phoenix Suns (from Indiana)
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- San Antonio Spurs