Draft rumors: Cavs mum on No. 1
With the NBA draft about three weeks away, here are the draft rumblings I'm hearing from around the league.
• Once again, the Cleveland Cavaliers are on the clock with the No. 1 pick. And once again, no one really has a clue what the Cavs are going to do with it.
Last year, everyone -- journalists, NBA teams, even Anthony Bennett's agent -- had no idea who the Cavs were going to select No. 1 until Bennett's name was announced. There were some rumblings the day of the draft that Bennett might be the guy -- but nothing definitive.
That obviously creates a lot of uneasiness and unpredictability throughout the draft.
The Cavs are giving long looks to Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker.
Embiid is getting the first workout of the three. They'll be the only team to get a good look at his back and see him on the court. If the Cavs commit, his agent, Arn Tellem will shut him down and that will be the only workout he does.
But don't expect that to happen. A team source in Cleveland said it's unlikely the Cavs will commit to any player leading up to the draft.
"We have to keep our options open," the source said. "Once you commit, your hands are tied. The good thing about the No. 1 pick is that you have lots of options. Embiid is a great prospect and he might very well be the choice at No. 1. But until you see all three and, more importantly, until we understand the trade market, it just makes no sense to make any promises."
While Embiid fits a need and may have the best upside of anyone in the draft, there are several reasons the Cavs may not go that direction. Remember, last year they felt the same way about Nerlens Noel all year and eventually balked at taking him No. 1.
First, team doctors are going to have to get comfortable with his back. If there is any hint that it may require more treatment or need long-term correction, the chances of Embiid going No. 1 dwindle. The Cavs need a player who can play now, and the feeling is that Embiid, who already is the least experienced of the top prospects, can't afford to miss summer league and training camp. You saw what happened to Bennett last season -- they don't want to repeat that again this season.
Second, owner Dan Gilbert is pushing new Cavs GM David Griffin to make the playoffs this season. The Cavs' ability to do that will, in part, be connected to how much help they get from their pick this season. Embiid is going to have to make the case that he can help them now. I don't think that's out of the question, by the way. Most experts thought Embiid would take more than a year to be an impact player in Kansas. Instead, by February, he was oftentimes the best player on the floor for the Jayhawks.
We've already gone over the cases for Parker and Wiggins and won't do so here. Parker is the obvious choice if the team wants immediate impact and would definitely fit a need if the team is convinced Luol Deng won't be returning. Wiggins is a compromise. He's talented enough, especially on the defensive end, to make an immediate impact. But he still has as much upside as anyone in the draft.
But I think the Cavs' preferred route would to be a trade that thins out their roster and adds a young veteran who could immediately lift the Cavs' long-term chances. The Minnesota Timberwolves' Kevin Love has been the most often mentioned pickup. But the Cavs also have their eye on several other bigs, including the Chicago Bulls' Joakim Noah, the Portland Trail Blazers' LaMarcus Aldridge and the Atlanta Hawks' Al Horford.
• The Cavs aren't the only team open to trading their lottery pick.
Multiple league sources say that there are a surprising number of top picks for "sale" this year.
"I thought getting a lottery pick via trade would be virtually impossible this year," one NBA GM told Insider. "It's not. There are a lot of teams in the lottery right now that would prefer a proven player. A lot of owners have lost their patience with the rebuilding process."
Among the teams that would be open to trading their lottery pick? It's highly likely that the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz are all holding onto their picks. However, after pick No. 5 things are much more fluid. Sources say that the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Hornets, Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns are all open to offers.
While picks No. 5-14 don't hold the same value as a top-4 pick in this draft (which explains why so many anonymous GMs are now suddenly praising the middle of the lottery and questioning whether there really is a top tier of four players) there still is a lot of talent at this point in the draft and a number of bad teams would love to get their hands on a second pick.
While the Celtics, Lakers, Kings, Hornets, Wolves and Suns aren't likely to get an All-Star for their picks, they should be able to score players or multiple assets that help their teams right now. Look for the Bucks, Hawks, Mavs, Blazers and Raptors to be especially busy trying to move up or acquire a second pick.
• NBA team workouts have begun in earnest.
Getting good information about how players are performing in those workouts is especially challenging. Agents obviously have incentive to call and tell reporters that their client "won" the workout or outperformed a player vying for the same roster spot. GMs rarely want to tip their hands and often offer misleading reports about who played well.
But there are other ways of getting information here and a week into the process there are a few tidbits I'm comfortable passing on.
Notes
• Indiana's Noah Vonleh continues to make the case that he's the best power forward prospect in the class. He held a workout for NBA execs in Long Island last weekend that was a wow for many of the people there.
"Vonleh was good," one NBA exec texted me. "Didn't shoot it well but everything else was very good to ridiculously good."
Another exec was even more complimentary: "Vonleh's got elite physical tools and is very skilled. He should be in the same group with Wiggins, Embiid, Parker and [Dante] Exum."
While there is still a strong case to be made for Kentucky's Julius Randle and Arizona's Aaron Gordon as the top power forward in this draft, the momentum seems to be still going Vonleh's way. He had his first team workout in Sacramento on Monday and works out for the Lakers on Wednesday, the Magic next Monday and the Celtics on June 12.
• Marcus Smart, Tyler Ennis and Elfrid Payton appear to be getting early head-to-head matchups in workouts. The three worked out against each other in Sacramento on Monday and are scheduled to work out again on Wednesday for the Lakers.
Smart has also had a workout in Orlando already. Payton has worked out for the Bulls and Ennis has had a workout with the Raptors. A month ago, there was a pretty clear pecking order with Smart at the head of that group, followed by Ennis and then followed by Payton.
All three players helped themselves at the NBA combine, despite not playing in the drills. Their measurements and athletic testing were terrific. And all three were impressive in their individual workout sessions that Insider saw in New York and L.A.
I think Smart still has the lead over those other two and is most likely the second point guard taken after Dante Exum. Depending on where Exum goes, Smart could go as high as No. 4 to the Magic.
Payton appears to be closing the gap considerably -- something reflected in Payton's move to No. 13 on our Big Board. Several team sources say he's in the mix at No. 8 in Sacramento after a terrific workout there. The Hornets at No. 9 and the Magic at No. 12 are possibilities, as well. I doubt he gets past the Bulls or Raptors in the mid-first round.
Ennis is also more than holding his own and looks to be sitting in that same range between No. 8 and No. 20.
• Missouri's Jordan Clarkson was once projected as a first-rounder on our Big Board before a slide in the second half of the season caused his stock to dip. He looked much better at the draft combine in mid-May and that performance has carried on to other workouts, as well.
Clarkson has worked out for the Bulls and Heat already has a workout scheduled Tuesday with the Raptors. A handful of GMs raved about him in a group workout he did in Long Island last weekend for NBA GMs. He seems to have moved confidently into the mix in the late first round.
• Louisville's Russ Smith is riding on a high since being one of the lone standouts in a two-day league-wide workout the NBA scheduled in L.A. right after the draft lottery.
He's since gone on to work out with the Celtics, Suns, Thunder and Heat and seems to be moving into the discussion as a possible late first-round pick.
"Everyone knows Russ is one of the quickest players in this draft and he can obviously put the ball in the basket," one GM said. "But I think he's been showing off that when he wants to be, he can be a guy who can really play point guard. He seems like a perfect change-of-pace guard who can score and speed up the game coming off the bench."
You just said he'll play the 2 if he's drafted by the Magic, the same team that said they were ready to take him with the #2 pick last year to play the point...so i know you dont know what you talking about...if you just dont mess with a certain player just say it and leave it at that, dont come up with some bs 
