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The Cleveland Cavaliers are celebrating their 52nd anniversary in 2022-23, and this season is off to a great start for them. The history of the Cavaliers can be traced back to the 1970-71 season, when they were first selected in the NBA draft. Since then, they’ve produced some of the most competitive teams in the world and some of the least competitive teams in history. We all know their draft favorites like LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in the 2000s and 2010s. Today wasn’t about the success of Cleveland’s front office, it was about the missteps that held them back.
One pick that won’t make this list but deserves a nod is Dwight Davis with the No. 3 pick in 1972. Now, with Julius Erving being drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks after nine picks, you’d think that would make it easy to pick one of their worst mistakes. However, Irving has been known to turn down the Bucks for the sake of the ABA, and he’d likely do the same if he was drafted with the No. 3 overall pick by the Cavaliers. Although it appeared to be a mistake on the surface, they actually escaped a disaster. The following picks are indeed picks that the Cavaliers regret.
The Cleveland Cavaliers made the worst NBA draft blunder in history.
John Johnson (1970 NBA Draft) – 7th pick
Better pick: Tiny Archibald – 19th pick
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The first mistake the Cleveland Cavaliers made in the NBA draft was their first pick as a franchise. The Cavaliers selected 6-foot-7 small forward John Johnson from Iowa State with the seventh pick. The pick got off to a good start, Johnson was a two-time All-Star in his first two seasons, and the Cavaliers averaged more than 16.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in those years. After Year 3, the Cavaliers decided to trade Johnson to Portland for 2 picks in the 1973 draft. Johnson would never be an All-Star again, but he did enjoy a good 10-year career.
The 12th pick picked by the Cincinnati Royals after Johnson was Archibald Jr. By 1972, Archibald was one of the best point guards in basketball, averaging 28.2 points and 9.2 assists per game. In 1973, Archibald averaged 34.0 points and 11.4 assists and became the only player in NBA history to lead the NBA in both PPG and APG in the same season. Overall, Archibald became a 6-time All-Star, 5-time All-NBA selection, All-Star Game MVP and NBA Champion. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and is revered as one of the pioneers of the point guard position. Have you heard Johnson’s name in the same conversation?did not expect
Vitaly Potapenko (1996 NBA Draft) – 12th pick
Better pick: Kobe Bryant – 13th pick
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In fact, the Cavaliers had a good track record over the next 25 years in that they either selected the best players available, or selected players who were at the same level or worse than their selections. Then, the 1996 NBA Draft happened. The Cavaliers decided to select Vitaly Potapenko from Wright State in the first round of the draft. Potapenko lasted just two seasons in Cleveland, averaging 6.7 points and 3.5 rebounds. Potapenko would be traded to Boston in 1999 for Andrew Declercq and a first round pick. Potapenko retired after the 2007 season without ever making an All-Star or All-NBA team.
After Potapenko was drafted, the Hornets went straight to drafting one of the greatest players in NBA history. In all fairness, the Hornets traded this player is also a mess, watching him win countless championships with the Lakers. I’m talking about Kobe Bryant, of course. Now, if Kobe goes to Cleveland, can he be the player he became in Los Angeles? The answer is absolutely. Aside from learning how to win early on, what sets Kobe apart is his inner being and his passion for the game that made him great. I don’t think a person’s work ethic changes based on his geographic location or situation. At least it didn’t work.
DeSagna Diop (2001 NBA Draft) – No. 8 pick
A Better Pick: Joe Johnson — No. 10
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The next mistake the Cavaliers made came five years after Bryant’s in 2001. The Cavaliers selected DeSagna Diop with the eighth pick in 2001 because they wanted him to fill their interior needs. That’s not the case, as Diop averaged a whopping 1.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in three and a half seasons in Cleveland. He managed to play 12 seasons in the NBA without scoring above 4.0 in any of them. The silver lining is that Diop was as bad as anyone else in Cleveland, which helped them land the No. 1 pick in 2003 for LeBron James.
Diop ranked 10th in second place after Joe Johnson. Over the course of his career, Johnson became one of the game’s best isolation players and one of its most clutch. Johnson can score any way he wants on the court and shows it every night he’s available. From 2007 to 2014, Johnson was selected to seven of eight All-Star teams with the Hawks and Nets. He’s a consistent 20.0 PPG scorer who has led his teams to victory on more than one occasion. In his prime, he was an elite passer, scorer and playmaker who helped the Eagles succeed in the 2000s.
Dajuan Wagner (2002 NBA Draft) – 6th pick
Better pick: Amar’e Stoudemire — the ninth overall pick
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The following year, the Cleveland Cavaliers again wobbled in the NBA draft. This time, they selected Dajuan Wagner from Memphis with the sixth overall pick. Wagner got off to a good start, averaging 13.4 points per game as a rookie in 2002-03. However, injuries plagued Wagner as he played in just 56 games overall after his rookie season. Wagner spent two lackluster years with the Cavaliers and was forced to miss the entire 2006 season with colitis. He would play one game for the Warriors in 2007 before retiring forever.
The Phoenix Suns’ only 2 picks after Wagner were electric big man, Amar’e Stoudemire. By the start of the 2005 season, Stoudemire was well on his way to becoming one of the best big men in basketball. Stoudemire made his first All-Star appearance in his third season, averaging 26.0 points and 8.9 rebounds. He became a force on both ends of the floor and the cornerstone of the most explosive offense in basketball. Stoudemire would go on to make six All-Star teams and five All-NBA teams during his career.
Dion Waiters (2012 NBA Draft) – 4th pick
A Better Pick: Damian Lillard – No. 6
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Once again, the Cavaliers either have a strong draft or a poor draft. In 2012, the Cavaliers drafted highly touted rookie Dion Waite from Syracuse. He was known in college as a shooter and big-name player, and Cleveland hopes to translate that to the NBA. Waiters did have some good times in the NBA, but his pick at No. 4 proved to be unwarranted. He did win a championship with the Lakers in 2020, but his role was extremely limited. Waiters played for four teams in eight years and has a career average of 13.1 points per game.
The 2nd overall pick later picked by the Portland Trail Blazers was one of the best players of the modern era, Damian Lillard. Not much was known about Lillard after coming out of Weber State unless scouts did their homework. It appears the Cavaliers have not, as Lillard has become a player around whom championships can be built if someone gets it right. Lillard was named to the top 75 NBA teams along with six All-Star teams and six All-NBA teams. As some salt in that wound, Lillard also won Rookie of the Year after Cleveland turned him down because of Waiters.
Anthony Bennett (2013 NBA Draft) – No. 1 pick
Better pick: Giannis Antetokounmpo – 15th pick
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The season after fumbling Lillard to Portland, the Cavaliers made one of the worst draft blunders in NBA history. Anthony Bennett was one of many people’s No. 1 players in 2013 after a great season at UNLV. The hype was very short-lived, as it quickly became apparent that Bennett didn’t belong in the NBA. Too bad for Bennett, Cleveland said goodbye after only one season. He will be on 4 teams over 4 seasons before exiting. Bennett peaked in Minnesota in 2015, when he averaged 5.2 points and 3.8 rebounds.
To be fair, 29 teams missed Antetokounmpo in the 2013 NBA draft. By the time 2019 rolled around, not many teams or scouts knew exactly how dominant Antetokounmpo was, but he showed everyone that they made a mistake. Giannis has won 2 MVP Awards, 1 Most Improved Player Award, 1 Defensive Player of the Year Award, and the NBA title of Finals MVP so far in his career. In the 2022-23 season, Giannis is regarded as the undisputed best player in the world, with the ability to change the game in an instant on either side of the ball. Can you imagine LeBron returning in 2015 without Giannis and Irving?
Andrew Wiggins (2014 NBA Draft) – No. 1 pick
A Better Pick: Joel Embiid — No. 3
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Andrew Wiggins isn’t the Cavaliers’ fault because of the way he plays basketball. In 2022-23, Wiggins could win a championship as a primary option and defender. That’s exactly what he’ll do when he leads the Warriors to a championship in 2021-22. Wiggins is here because the Cavaliers decided to trade him for Kevin Love. While the move secured an NBA championship in 2016, Love’s price tag has hindered team building following the departure of LeBron James. They’ve figured that out and have a very competitive squad for the 2022-23 season.
Joel Embiid was selected by the 76ers with only the 2nd pick after Wiggins was selected. Now, Embiid missed a lot of time early on and likely walked off the court as the Cavaliers won and made it to the NBA Finals. How is this different from where Wiggins is? Over the past two seasons, Embiid finished second in MVP voting behind Nikola Jokic and established himself as one of the top two centers in basketball. He’s an elite scorer, defender and rebounder, and his impact can change the direction of a game or season. Embiid is off to another blockbuster start to the 2022-23 season. Can you imagine if it’s Garland, Mitchell and Embiid now?
Collin Sexton (2018 NBA Draft) – No. 8 pick
Better pick: Shai Gilgeous Alexander – 11th pick
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Let me start by saying that I believe Collin Sexton is a good, if not great, basketball player. No team can foresee locker room issues or injuries causing their players to leave the field. Sexton fell victim to both, as he reportedly got into fights with teammates in 2019 and 2020 despite being one of the best players on the team. Sexton, a 20.0-point-per-game scorer in his second year in the NBA, looks poised to be Cleveland’s next franchise star. Just 11 games into the 2021-22 season, Sexton tore his ACL and will miss the rest of 2021. Injuries made Sexton a casualty, and he was traded to the Jazz in a trade that sent Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland.
While the trade is going well, another player the Cavaliers missed out on by three draft picks in 2018 is taking the league by storm this season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the most exciting players in basketball so far in the 2022-23 season, and has been that way for about 3 years. At just 24 years old, Gilgeous-Alexander is having the best year of his career so far. He averaged 31.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. Shai is the only reason the Thunder are still alive in 2022-23, even though that vitality is also fast fading. Gilgeous-Alexander looks ready for his first…
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