The NBA draft in 2014 has trade rumors starting up early after the Cleveland Cavaliers got the number 1 pick and now teams in the top 5 like the Cavs, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz all could look at trading their picks in major deals, as players like Kyrie Irving, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge could get traded this summer.
The draft lottery had a major surprise with the Cavaliers winning this year, as they took the top spot in the draft last season and now have won it in three of the past four years. Some would argue that the lottery system doesn't work and this is their example and they would be right, especially since the Cavaliers have remained terrible since LeBron James left even with Kyrie Irving coming in. Some reports have the Cavaliers considering trading the number one pick, but so far no concrete deals have started up with any teams, although many likely want to move up.
The top of the draft this year is deeper than any in recent memory, as names like Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle, Jabari Parker or Joel Embiid could be the top pick and no one would be surprised. The Cavaliers have the chance to add a high impact player with their pick and it comes after they selected Anthony Bennett number one last season. While it may be too early to call him a bust, Bennett was terrible as a rookie and had no real impact on the team and if he doesn't turn into at least a solid rotation player, it could set the Cavaliers back a few years easily.
The Cavaliers had just a 1.7 percent chance of getting the top pick this year and they beat out the Bucks, who had the worst record in the NBA and had a 25 percent chance to win. the Bucks ended up in the number two spot, so they will be able to get an elite prospect, but it does hurt after having the best chance to once again miss out on the top pick. Seemingly the top team never gets the number one pick and that is another reason why the lottery system is terrible. The Cavs think they can be a player in the Kevin Love trade this summer because of the number 1 pick and they may look to trade it for him if the Timberwolves are willing, but so far that looks like it's not the case.
There are a number of players on the trade block this year and past Love is Rajon Rondo and LaMarcus Aldridge and while Boston and Portland want to keep their stars long term, they may not be able to get that done. Aldridge is an interesting option because he is a free agent in 2015 and likely will not sign and extension with the Blazers since he can make more money on the market later on. The Cavaliers likely will stick with the top pick and Embiid looks like the early favorite ahead of Wiggins and Parker, who are sure to go in the top five.
