A Bobcats-Cavs swap of picks makes sense
After calling some sources with lottery picks Saturday, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the Charlotte Bobcats and Cleveland Cavaliers swap draft picks in Thursday’s draft. In that sort of a deal, the Bobcats would pick fourth and 24th and the Cavs would move up to No. 2.
From the day he became part of this front office, general manager Rich Cho has talked about gathering extra assets, and that generally means extra first-round picks. It’s a strategy the Oklahoma City Thunder leaned on when Cho was part of that front office.
Generally I’m not a fan of swapping quality for quantity in the NBA draft, but this might be the exception. Three long-time draft scouts all told me roughly the same thing; that after Kentucky’s Anthony Davis goes No. 1 to New Orleans, there won’t be a big difference between the next three to five players chosen.
I think picks 2 through 4 will be some order of Kansas’s Thomas Robinson, North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes and Florida’s Bradley Beal. (Kentucky’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist could fall to, and perhaps past, the Sacramento Kings at No. 5).
Say, for the sake of argument, that the Bobcats don’t have a huge preference between Robinson, Barnes or Beal. Coming off a 7-59 season, the Bobcats have holes to fill everywhere, so adding a second first-round pick could be worth dropping from 2 to 4. Cho’s Thunder sure made out well in 2008, picking Serge Ibaka 24th overall.
Why might the Cavs do this? Just a guess, but I wonder if Cleveland has a strong preference for one player (Beal?) who they see the Washington Wizards drafting third. Cleveland has a potential superstar in point guard Kyrie Irving and a young big man in Tristan Thompson. A wing scorer is logically next on the to-do list.