The NBA draft 2014 is coming Thursday and that means trade rumors will be flying around the top teams and the Cleveland Cavaliers could be trading the number one pick, as the LA Lakers, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz have all made their interests known and names like Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid and Marcus Smart could be in the mix in the top five.
The Cavaliers have received numerous offers from teams for the top pick and according to ESPN.com, the team is considering keeping the pick or making a deal with the Boston Celtics, Lakers or Orlando Magic, while the Sixers are also eyeing the pick. Reports had the Sixers wanting to draft Wiggins and that they would be willing to give up the number three pick in the draft along with Thaddeus Young to get it done.
The Cavaliers won the draft lottery this year after winning it last season as well and now they have the chance to make another top overall selection after taking Anthony Bennett last season. The team had less than a two percent chance to win the draft lottery this year and still did it, while the Bucks had a 25 percent chance to win the lottery and the top pick, but instead they got the second pick and they will get the chance to take either Jabari Parker or Andrew Wiggins depending on who goes first.
The Utah Jazz have considered offering their pick along with Derrick Favors and they likely would go after Wiggins or Parker. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Cavaliers would have selected Embiid number one had he not been injured and now they have to decide what the best course of action is. The team could trade the pick and still pick Embiid if he slips in the draft, but that would mean passing up on Wiggins or Parker, who are considered very good prospects and they came into the season as the presumptive top picks.
The Cavaliers have a number of trades to consider and one is from the Orlando Magic, who has the number four overall pick in the draft and have been trying to bounce back after trading Dwight Howard a couple years ago. The Magic have a solid player in Arron Afflalo who had a good season last year along with the number four and number 12 picks and this could give the Magic Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker or even Joel Embiid if the team wants to take that risk.
The Cavaliers could make the trade and stay in the top five to get a solid player like Aaron Gordon or Marcus Smart, while Dante Exum is also a highly rated player. The team thinks it has a chance to sign LeBron James and trading the pick here could set up a situation where he wants to sign in Cleveland. Embiid likely will fall out of the top five and that could have him drafted by the Lakers or Celtics and that could be huge for those teams once he is healthy.
