The Uncle Drew What If? Anthony Davis & Kyrie Irving
Feb 15, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Team Shaq guard Kyrie Irving (2) of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives against Team Chuck forward Anthony Davis (23) of the New Orleans Hornets during the second half of the rising stars challenge during the 2013 NBA All-Star weekend at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
The Cavaliers with Irving & Davis
The Cavs drafted what they hoped was their shooting guard of the future in Waiters. The team expected their backcourt was sown up and they could focus on the front court. With roles reversed the Cavs now would have their front court taken care of with Davis and Thompson pairing up at the 4 and 5 position and Irving running the point. With the 24th pick the Cavs could of still tried to trade up, in the real scenario they traded up to #17 to get Tyler Zeller. Zeller most likely would not of been their choice instead they would of looked at a shooting guard or small forward to add to their core. Evan Fournier and John Jenkins were selected after the 17th pick and could of been targets. Waiters was a mystery the entire draft build up, so who knows where he would of gone if the Cavs didn’t select him #4.
With Irving, Thompson and Davis, along with Jenkins, the Cavs would of been a running team under Byron Scott. Davis’ ability to finish at the rim would of been lethal on pick and rolls with Irving. His ability to step out and hit a 16 foot jumper would allow spacing for Thompson around the rim. Jenkins’ shooting would fit well off the pick and roll game. Spotting up on the wings or in the corner. While injuries could of played a role in the season, Irving and Anderson Varejao missed a great deal of time, the Cavs would of most likely won more games with this core instead of Waiters and Zeller.
Yet if the results stayed the same and the Cavs still had the #1 pick this past draft the Cavaliers could of added Victor Oladipo or Ben McLemore to their backcourt with Irving. The Cavs would still have a huge hole at the small forward spot. The Luol Deng trade would be unlikely as signing Andrew Bynum to backup Davis, given that Davis would stay at the 5 spot for the Cavs. Bynum also noted Mike Brown as a big reason he came to Cleveland. With this up temp team it is likely that Scott would of been retained as coach for at least another year.
In the end the Cavs would have 2 of the top young stars to build around along with Thompson. They still would of had a high draft pick this year but the ceiling on the team would of been much higher. Bringing in a high priced free agent small forward would be much more likely if that player saw the upside of playing with Irving and Davis. Rim protection would be far less of an issue and spacing would be better with Davis’ ability to step out from the paint regularly.
Needless to say the narrative of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans, would be significantly different based on one tie breaker. This is not the Boston Celtics thinking they were going to get to draft Tim Duncan only to lose the lottery to the Spurs. This was not about the Draft Lottery Night, instead it was about the little tie breaker held April 27th, a full month before the May 30th Draft Lottery Special. Then this Uncle Drew commercial would of been appropriate leading up to draft night. Irving looking to go get his big man in Davis.
Imagine with me what the Cavaliers would like this if these two teamed up. What do you see? Play chose your own adventure, how do things change? How exciting would the possibility be? How sad did this article make you know how close the Cavs were to this reality?