First-round draft picks Irving and Thompson welcomed to Cleveland
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tristan Thompson, left, and Kyrie Irving hold up Cleveland Cavaliers jerseys, Friday, June 24, 2011, in Independence, Ohio. Irving was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 NBA basketball draft and Thompson was the No. 4 overall pick. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
By JODIE VALADE
Cleveland Plain Dealer
INDEPENDENCE
Maybe now, the Cavaliers can finally, at long last, turn the page.
With Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson introduced as the two newest members of the team Friday, with two of the top four picks in the NBA draft officially in Cleveland, there is new direction, a plan, and players to build around. No more scrambling, no more patching holes.
Maybe now, with two new faces of the franchise, all of Cleveland can forget about that Player Who Left.
“We’re constantly looking forward — day by day, brick by brick for us to get a little bit better every day,” general manager Chris Grant said. “Today was a chance to add two high-quality humans to the organization — and they just happen to be really good basketball players. So for us, that’s part of the process.”
That process meant building the franchise around No. 1 pick Irving, a 19-year-old point guard from Duke who was the player the Cavaliers never wavered in wanting to select first. It meant adding Thompson, the pick at No. 4, who surprised many experts by going so high but whom Grant said was targeted all along by the team.
“We actually had him ranked much higher than fourth, to be perfectly honest,” Grant said. “He’s a player who basically since high school we have beetracking and watching. We just love what he’s about and how he would fit into our organization. This was a very easy pick.”
Grant stressed time and again how character was equally as important as talent when selecting the two picks who are going to be the cornerstone of the franchise for years to come. He repeatedly said how both players possessed mature qualities that will help them to be leaders.
On the court, coach Byron Scott was wowed immediately by Irving’s poise.
“He’s a true point guard in every sense of the word,” Scott said. “You could see had great court vision, he really understands how to run an offense, he commanded that respect from his teammates.”
Which is not to say that Scott expects Irving to immediately be the starting point guard. Veteran Baron Davis will not only mentor Irving, but will compete against him.
“We’ll let them fight it out,” Scott said. “There’s no expectation on Kyrie to start.”
Although Thompson, 20, played just one year at Texas, he is ready to compete for the power forward position while saying it’s not about proving he deserved to be the fourth pick in the draft.
“I’m a self-starter, a self motivator,” Thompson said. “So the whole ‘going number four motivation’ ... I don’t look at it that way. It’s just a number.”