Late bloomer Bennett benefits Cavaliers

Associated Press

INDEPENDENCE

Anthony Bennett wasn’t really all that interested in playing basketball. Yeah, it was cool dunking on guys, and a great way to make new friends after moving from Toronto to the city’s suburbs.

Then, he decided to get serious about six or seven years ago.

His future was calling.

“I just started growing,” Bennett said, flashing a smile while talking about his unique path to the NBA. “And everyone said, ‘You should probably play basketball.’ So I said, ‘All right. I’ll give it a shot.’ Look where it got me now.”

Look indeed.

Bennett was formally introduced Friday by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who shocked the draft by selecting the UNLV power forward with the No. 1 overall pick on Thursday night.

Although he wasn’t regarded by many draft experts as the best player available, Bennett was always at the top of Cleveland’s board. They scouted the 6-foot-7, 240-pounder extensively all season, fell in love with his game and after getting rave reviews about his character, chose him over Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, Kansas guard Ben McLemore, Georgetown forward Otto Porter Jr. in a flawed draft.

“As we did our evaluations throughout the entire year, we just kept coming back to his ability and his talent and how it fit with our guys,” Cavs general manager Chris Grant said. “A lot of times, like last year, it’s just clear-cut. But for us, through the year, we always had him very high in our rankings and as we went back and reviewed the film and went on campus and visited everybody, we came away saying he’s a great kid. He’s willing to work and do the right things and he’s got a bunch of talent.”

From almost the moment they won the lottery until they had to call the league with their pick, the Cavs listened to multiple trade offers before taking Bennett, who averaged 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds in his one season with the Runnin’ Rebels.

Bennett didn’t find basketball as much as the sport discovered him.

After his family moved from the rough Jane and Finch area of inner Toronto to Brampton, Ontario, Bennett enjoyed playing hoops, but it wasn’t his passion.

“I was just playing around and just wasting time,” he said.

His mother, Edith, was encouraged to get him on an organized team, but as she watched her boy clumsily run up and down the floor, she never dreamed it would one day become his profession.

“At first, people were saying, ‘Oh, he can’t play’,” she said. “But a few of the coaches stuck with him and gave him a chance. See what a chance will get you?”

Bennett’s arrival didn’t come without some risks for the Cavs. He recently underwent shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and has reportedly struggled with his weight while recovering.

Grant, though, sees him as the next piece — along with Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters — to help turn around a franchise that has gone 64-166 in the three seasons since LeBron James left.