The Cleveland Cavaliers fumbled the 2012 NBA Draft worst than any other

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2012 draft could’ve been much different 10 years later.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a great-looking roster and after years of struggling without LeBron James, the team looks poised to take back its identity in the post-James world the Cavs are in. Among them is having a cast of characters that include a great point guard, a dynamic power forward, and a rookie that very well be a great shooter in the league.

It reminds me of the team the Cavs could’ve had in 2012 had they done the NBA Draft differently. The team was already rolling with Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson, 11 years before we knew what headcases both men would become. The 2012 draft saw the Cavs target another play-maker, a shooter, and a big.

They ended up drafting Dion Waiters and Jared Cunningham in the first round and then Jae Crowder in the second round. Crowder and Cunningham were both traded to Dallas for Tyler Zeller and Kelenna Azubuike. It was a trade the Mavs won, simply because of who Crowder would end up becoming. While Crowder did end up in Cleveland eventually, he was far from what he had looked like in Dallas and later in Boston, making it a painful reunion between the two sides.

Waiters, unlike the other two, did play in Cleveland. We just wished he didn’t. He had some flashes of skill, but I always saw him as Dejaun Wagner 2.0 and so did the rest of the league. Though Wagner was a decent due who dealt with injuries, while Waiters was just a wreck.

What the 2012 NBA Draft could’ve looked like for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The NBA Draft that year saw a lot of teams pass on guys, but somehow the Cavs passed on two All-NBA players and a third NBA All-Star in the form of Damian Lillard, Draymond Green, and Khris Middleton.

Normally you could write this off and shrug off the missed opportunity. Yet, looking at the Cavs draft, they went after a ball-dominant guard (Waiters), a two-guard with three-point shooting potential (Cunningham), and a catch-all forward with endless potential (Crowder).

That’s literally how you would describe Lillard, Middleton, and Green.

There’s no way to say if the Cavs would’ve coached up Green and Middleton the right way, nor is there any way of saying for sure what the Cavs would’ve looked like with all three of them; maybe they would’ve sucked. Though we can say, that in hindsight, the Cavs had three picks in 2012 and missed on all of them.

Here’s hoping the Cavs’ recent grouping of rookies turns out much better than the class of 2012.