Despite considering trades up until the deadline, the Cleveland Cavaliers are very happy that they’ve ended up with Andrew Wiggins. There was also no doubt that the Milwaukee Bucks are more than pleased that they’ve ended up taking Jabari Parker with the second overall pick.
What makes the Cavs so happy? It has more to do with just Wiggins or improving their chances of finally making the postseason this year. While it was agreed that Wiggins was the most talented player going into the draft, with the most upside, the moment Joel Embiid proved to be another huge injury risk, the Cavs were dreaming of somehow landing Kevin Love. They still dream of landing LeBron James through free agency.
Kyrie Irving doesn’t just come with talent. He comes with ego. He and Dion Waiters don’t get along all that well. Irving doesn’t need someone battling with him for the number status on the team. Wiggins is the perfect guy for that. He might be one of the most promising athletes to enter the league in quite some time, but his one year in Kansas proved that this isn’t a guy who is willing to take over the world with him in charge. He is more than happy with being excellent as a number two option.
And while it might draw some criticism, like it has for LeBron James, for lacking some sort of killer instinct or selfishness one would expect from a number one player, it should benefit both Wiggins and the Cavs early on. He won’t steal the spotlight from Irving, not to mention add his versatile scoring ways and excellent defense, which was something the Cavs were sorely missing too many times last season.
Parker didn’t want anyone else but the Bucks. Unlike Wiggins, Parker doesn’t seem to be a player that has a lot of room to grow. Like Glenn Robinson nearly 20 years ago, this is a kid who is ready now to be close to All-Star level. He can score in more ways than anyone else in this draft excluding Doug McDermott, but it should translate to the NBA a lot better. He also wants to be a number one player.
And the Bucks gave him that option. He’ll have some talented youngsters to make up for his perceived bad defense, and he’ll have the stage set for plenty of shot attempts and points. The Bucks needed a lot of things, but a scorer more than anything else. They might not have gotten the guy with the most potential in this draft, but they’ll enjoy someone who answers their number one need better than anyone else.