The 2016 NBA Draft begins tonight at 7:30, but the Cavs will not be featured in it. Like, at all. They’ve got no picks left. How did we end up here? Well, Scott Sargent of Scout.com wrote up an awesome summary where all the picks the Cavs would have had are now:
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– Pick No. 24 was one of the many selections obtained in the deal that sent LeBron to Miami back in 2010. Two summers ago, however, this one was swapped to Philadelphia in the deal for Kevin Love. Many forget that this was a three-team trade, but this is one of the handful of picks that will belong to the Sixers—one that could eventually be moved given roster restrictions.
– Pick No. 26 was obtained in the deal that sent Dion Waiters to Oklahoma City and also brought J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to Cleveland. Like the trade above, many forget that the Cavs also received a pick in this deal which is insane in hindsight. The Cavs sent that pick to Denver moments later in the deal for Timofey Mozgov, somewhat negating that whole “two first-round picks” narrative that was bantered about. Denver then sent to Philly (another pick for the Sixers) in a bizarre deal that included taking on Javale McGee’s salary.
– Pick No. 28, where Cleveland would have been picking, was moved in the cap-clearing deal that sent Tyler Zeller to Boston, and Jarrett Jack and Sergey Karasev to Brooklyn.
– Pick No. 48 was owned by Cleveland following the 2013 NBA Draft, but was moved in the deal that landed the Cavs Luol Deng following the Andrew Bynum experiment.
– Pick No. 58, where Cleveland would have been picking, was moved in the deal that allowed the Cavs to acquire (and subsequently release) Keith Bogans.
And that’s where they’ve gone. At this point, however, nothing matters more than an NBA Championship, and the city of Cleveland will take a parade for a title over a parade for a draft.
