Cavaliers mulling draft decisions

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

They’re done measuring, timing and talking to prospective draft picks. It’s time for the Cleveland Cavaliers to choose a few.

Empowered with the Nos. 1 and 4 picks in Thursday’s NBA draft, the Cavs will spend the next 48 hours deciding who to add to their roster. While all signs indicate they will select Duke point guard Kyrie Irving first overall, the Cavs have not yet made any final decisions.

They’ll spend today setting their board and debating their many options, which could include a trade — or two. The Cavs also have two second-round picks (Nos. 32 and 54) and a $14.5 million trade exception, assets they may package with players or owner Dan Gilbert’s cash to make deals.

On Monday, the team held its last round of workouts by hosting Arizona forward Derrick Williams, Turkish center Enes Kanter and Kentucky guard Brandon Knight at their suburban training facility.

Williams and Kanter were in for their second visits, and the pair also met with Gilbert and some of his kids, adding another layer of mystery to the team’s true intentions.

The Cavs have treated this draft with air-tight security, throwing up an impenetrable defense around their plans. Other than a few random tweets on his Twitter account, Gilbert has been out of sight; general manager Chris Grant has made no public comments in weeks and the club closed player workouts to the media.

Nearly one year after LeBron James stripped them of their identity, the Cavs have all the power — and they’re using it.

Trouble is, experts have labeled this draft as one of the weakest in recent memory.

Several top players, including lottery locks Harrison Barnes and Jared Sullinger, decided to stay in college perhaps because of concerns about a possible labor lockout. What’s left are players laden with question marks and only Irving and Williams viewed as potential perennial All-Stars.

If there’s a year when having the No. 1 and No. 4 picks is not ideal, this would be it.

Sorry, Cleveland.

And although the Cavs have not publicly committed to settling on Irving, he appears to be their top choice.

Irving’s not without flaws, however. The major knock on the 19-year-old is that he only played 11 games for the Blue Devils because of a toe injury and there are some who wonder if he needs more grooming.