The Worst Draft Mistakes In Cleveland Cavaliers History

The Cleveland Cavaliers are celebrating their 52nd year of existence in 2022-23, and the season has gotten off to a great start for them. The Cavaliers history dates back to the 1970-71 season when they made their first selection in the NBA draft. Since then, they have yielded some of the most competitive teams in the world and some of the least competitive teams in history. We all know of their biggest draft hits, such as LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in the 2000s and 2010s. Today is not about the hits by Cleveland management but about the misses that have set them back.

One choice that will not be included on this list but deserves some recognition is their selection of Dwight Davis with the 3rd overall pick in 1972. Now, Julius Erving was selected 9 picks later by the Milwaukee Bucks, which you would think makes the choice an easy selection for one of their worst mistakes. However, as we all know, Erving spurned the Bucks for the ABA and most likely would have done the same thing if he had been selected 3rd to the Cavs. Although it can be seen as a mistake from the outside, they actually dodged a bullet wasting their pick. The picks below were truly the ones that the Cavaliers regret.

There are the worst NBA draft mistakes in Cleveland Cavaliers history.

John Johnson (1970 NBA Draft) – 7th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Tiny Archibald – 19th Overall Pick

The first mistake that the Cleveland Cavaliers ever made in the NBA draft was the first selection they ever made as a franchise. With the 7th overall pick, the Cavs selected John Johnson, a 6’7’’ small forward out of Iowa. The pick started off well, with Johnson earning 2 All-Star appearances in his first 2 seasons, with the Cavs averaging over 16.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 4.5 APG in each of those years. After year 3, the Cavs decided to trade Johnson to Portland in exchange for 2 draft picks in the 1973 draft. Johnson would never be an All-Star again but did enjoy a nice 10-year career.

Selected 12 spots after Johnson by the Cincinnati Royals was Tiny Archibald. By 1972, Archibald was one of the best point guards in basketball and averaged 28.2 PPG and 9.2 APG. In 1973, Archibald became the only player in NBA history to lead the NBA in PPG and APG in the same season when he averaged 34.0 PPG and 11.4 APG. Overall, Archibald became a 6-time All-Star, a 5-time All-NBA Team selection, an All-Star Game MVP, and an NBA champion. He was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall Of Fame and is revered as one of the pioneers of the point guard position. Have you heard Johnson’s name in the same conversations? Didn’t think so.

Vitaly Potapenko (1996 NBA Draft) – 12th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Kobe Bryant – 13th Overall Pick

The Cavaliers actually had a great track record for the next 25 years as they either selected the best player available or the players selected after their choice was on the same level or worse than their selection. Then, the 1996 NBA Draft happened. The Cavaliers decided to go with Vitaly Potapenko out of Wright State University with their first-round selection. Potapenko would last just 2 seasons in Cleveland while averaging 6.7 PPG and 3.5 RPG. Potapenko would be traded to Boston in 1999 for Andrew Declercq and a first-round pick. Potapenko would retire after the 2007 season, having never registered an All-Star or All-NBA Team selection.

Directly after Potapenko was taken, one of the greatest players in NBA history was selected by the Hornets. To be fair, the Hornets also messed up by trading this player and watched him win numerous titles with the Lakers. I am speaking, of course, about Kobe Bryant. Now, could Kobe have become the player he became in Los Angeles had he gone to Cleveland? The answer is absolute. Aside from learning how to win early on, what made Bryant special was what was inside of him and his passion for the game that made him great. I don’t think a man’s work ethic changes based on his geography or situation. At least it didn’t use to.

DeSagna Diop (2001 NBA Draft) – 8th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Joe Johnson – 10th Overall Pick

The next mistake that the Cavaliers made came 5 years after the Kobe misstep in 2001. The Cavaliers elected to go with DeSagna Diop with the 8th overall pick in 2001 as they hoped he would have fulfilled their needs in the paint. This was not the case, as Diop would play 3 and a half seasons in Cleveland and average a whopping 1.6 PPG and 2.6 RPG. He managed to hang around for 12 seasons in the NBA, never eclipsing 4.0 PPG in any season. The silver lining is that Diop was just as bad as everyone else in Cleveland, and it helped them land the No. 1 overall pick in 2003 for LeBron James.

Taken 2 spots after Diop at the No. 10 slot was Joe Johnson. Over the course of his career, Johnson became one of the best isolation players in the game as well as one of its most clutch. Johnson could score any which way he wanted to on the court and showed it every single night he was available. From 2007 through 2014, Johnson made 7 out of 8 All-Star teams with the Hawks and Nets over this time. He was a consistent 20.0 PPG scorer who more than once led his team to victory. At his peak, he was an elite passer, scorer, and playmaker who helped the Hawks reach relevance in the 2000s.

Dajuan Wagner (2002 NBA Draft) – 6th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Amar’e Stoudemire – 9th Overall Pick

The very next year, the Cleveland Cavaliers would swing and miss in the NBA Draft once again. This time, they selected Dajuan Wagner out of Memphis with the 6th overall pick. Wagner started out decent, averaging 13.4 PPG as a rookie in 2002-03. However, injuries and illness would catch up with Wagner as he would only play in 56 games total after his rookie season. Wagner lasted just 2 more uneventful years with the Cavs and was forced to miss the entire 2006 season with Colitis. He would play 1 game for the Warriors in 2007 before retiring from the game for good.

Chosen just 2 picks after Wagner by the Phoenix Suns was electric big man, Amar’e Stoudemire. By the time the 2005 season rolled around, Stoudemire was already on his way to being one of the best bigs in basketball. Stoudemire would earn his 1st All-Star appearance in his 3rd season, averaging 26.0 PPG and 8.9 RPG. He became a force on both sides of the ball and a cornerstone of the most explosive offense in basketball. Stoudemire would go on to be named to 6 All-Star teams in his career, along with 5 All-NBA Teams as well.

Dion Waiters (2012 NBA Draft) – 4th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Damian Lillard – 6th Overall Pick

Once again, the Cavaliers went on a solid streak of either drafting pretty well or being a part of less-than-subpar draft classes. In 2012, the Cavs selected highly-touted prospect Dion waiter out of Syracuse. He was known as a shooter and big-time player in college, and Cleveland had hopes it would translate to the NBA. Waiters did have some good moments in the NBA, but his selection at 4th proved to be unwarranted. He did get himself a championship in 2020 with the Lakers, but in an extremely limited role. Waiters played for 4 teams in 8 years and averaged 13.1 PPG for his career.

Selected 2 picks later by the Portland Trail Blazers was one of the best players in the modern era, Damian Lillard. Coming out of Weber State, little was known about Lillard unless scouts did their homework on him. It appears the Cavs did not, as Lillard has gone on to become a player that championships could be built around if someone could do it right. Lillard was named to the NBA’s Top 75 list, as well as 6 All-Star teams and 6 All-NBA teams. As some salt in the wound, Lillard also took home Rookie of the Year after Cleveland spurned him for Waiters.

Anthony Bennett (2013 NBA Draft) – 1st Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Giannis Antetokounmpo – 15th Overall Pick

One season after fumbling Lillard away to Portland, the Cavs made one of the worst draft mistakes in NBA history. Anthony Bennett was one of the players that many had going No. 1 in 2013 after a nice season at UNLV. The hype was extremely short-lived as it became apparent very quickly that Bennett belonged nowhere near the NBA. Bennett was so bad that Cleveland said goodbye after just one season. He would end up with 4 teams in 4 seasons before calling it quits. Bennett peaked in 2015 with Minnesota when he averaged 5.2 PPG and 3.8 RPG.

To be fair, 29 teams missed out on Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2013 NBA Draft. Not many teams or scouts knew exactly how dominant Antetokounmpo would be by the time 2019 came along, but he showed everyone they made a mistake. Giannis has gone on to win 2 MVP awards, 1 Most Improved Player award, 1 Defensive Player of the Year award, and an NBA title that came with Finals MVP in his career so far. In 2022-23, Giannis is viewed as the consensus best player in the world with his ability to change the game in an instant on either side of the ball. Could you imagine if LeBron had Giannis and Kyrie in 2015 when he came back?

Andrew Wiggins (2014 NBA Draft) – 1st Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Joel Embiid – 3rd Overall Pick

Andrew Wiggins is not a mistake by the Cavaliers because of the way he plays basketball. In 2022-23, Wiggins is someone you can win a championship with as a primary option and defender. That is exactly what he did in 2021-22 with the Warriors in winning a championship. Wiggins is here because the Cavaliers decided that trading him for Kevin Love was the move to go with. While the move paid off with an NBA title in 2016, Love’s price tag hampered building the team up after LeBron James left. They have since fixed this issue and have an extremely competitive team in 2022-23.

Just 2 picks after Wiggins was selected, Joel Embiid was chosen by the 76ers. Now, Embiid missed a ton of time early on and would have likely been off the floor while the Cavaliers were winning and going to the NBA Finals. How is that different from where Wiggins was? Over the past 2 seasons, Embiid has finished 2nd in MVP voting to Nikola Jokic and established himself as one of the game’s Top 2 centers in basketball. He is an elite scorer, defender, and rebounder whose impact can also change the direction of a game or season. Embiid is having another sensational start to 2022-23. Could you imagine if it was Garland, Mitchell, and Embiid out there right now?

Collin Sexton (2018 NBA Draft) – 8th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Shai Gilgeous Alexander – 11th Overall Pick

Let me start this one off by saying that I believe that Collin Sexton is a good or even great basketball player. No team can foresee issues in the locker room or injuries that will cost their players time off the court. Sexton fell victim to both, as it was reported he fought with teammates in 2019 and 2020 despite being one of their best players. Sexton was a 20.0 PPG scorer by his 2nd year in the NBA and looked poised to be Cleveland’s next franchise star. Just 11 games into the 2021-22 season, Sexton tore his ACL and would miss the rest of 2021. The injury made Sexton expendable, and he was dealt to the Jazz in a trade that brought Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland.

While the trade is working out well, there is another player the Cavs missed out on by 3 picks in 2018 that is taking the league by storm this season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been one of the most exciting players in basketball so far in 2022-23, and things have been looking this way for about 3 years now. At just 24 years old, Gilgeous-Alexander is having the best year of his career so far. He is averaging 31.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 6.1 APG, 1.7 SPG, and 1.2 BPG. Shai is the only reason the Thunder still have a pulse for the 2022-23 season, although that is rapidly evaporating as well. Gilgeous-Alexander looks ready for his first All-Star appearance and perhaps even an All-NBA selection while Sexton is still adjusting back to the league.

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