Or, put another way: The Cavaliers have been kicked in the teeth a lot in the last year, and Tuesday night was yet another blow.
Which is it?
The Cavs have landed the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft this year, their first top selection since they took one LeBron Raymone James first back in 2003. That's a big moment for any franchise, but the rose is not without its thorns.
It had to be this year? With a class that was already one of the weakest in recent memory only getting thinner by the day, the Cavs had to choose now to win the lottery and get first crack at the pool of available talent.
At best, the timing is a little unfortunate. At worst, the Cavs' franchise is screwed for years to come.
Look, it's going to take a while for that team to recover from losing LeBron. That gaping hole can't be filled by one draft pick or one key free-agent pickup. It's going to be a long, painful climb back up from rock bottom. Owner Dan Gilbert declared last year in an infamous Comic Sans-styled screed that his Cavaliers would win a title before LeBron's Miami Heat, and we now know that claim was total poppycock. Gilbert's Cavs lost 63 games this season; LeBron's Heat won 58 and are now in position to win it all on their very first try.
As baby steps toward redemption go, winning this lottery was not a good one for the Cavs.
There's no one in this draft class that can solve their problems. There's no LeBron, no Dwight Howard and no Derrick Rose. There's not even a Greg Oden — a horrifically inconsistent player who's tremendously productive but never healthy. Most likely, the Cavs' No. 1 pick will be best described as an Andrew Bogut type — a guy who wins you 35 games and leaves you forever stranded in NBA purgatory.
This is a very thin draft, and it's only gotten thinner the last few weeks as the likes of Harrison Barnes, Jared Sullinger and Perry Jones have all said "no, thanks" to a likely lockout-marred NBA. There's not much talent left.
Duke guard Kyrie Irving is the likely No. 1. On talent and potential alone, he's the best player in the draft. Then again, the Cavs might decide they're all set at the point guard position with the 32-year-old Baron Davis, opting to fill a different need instead. (That would be an unforgivable mistake, but hey, you never know.) Other likely high-lottery guys include Derrick Williams from Arizona, Brandon Knight from Kentucky and, of course, UConn's Kemba Walker.
All nice players, but not nearly nice enough to get the Cavs back to the promised land. Hey, remember when Cleveland won 127 games in two seasons? Yeah, me neither.
The Cavs are a mess right now. Their roster is a mix of the borderline-washed-up (Davis, Antawn Jamison, Anthony Parker) and the young-but-not-that-promising (Ramon Sessions, Daniel Gibson, Samardo Samuels). J.J. Hickson and Anderson Varejao might be decent building blocks for the future. Maybe.
This franchise has issues, and none of them are being fixed this June. Getting the No. 1 pick this spring is a win, sort of. It's probably the only thing they're winning for a long while.
What do you think of the Cavs landing the No. 1 pick? Share your thoughts below.
