The Cleveland Cavaliers selected Canadian Andrew Wiggins with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft, making it the second consecutive year a Canadian was picked No. 1 and the second consecutive year the Cavs took a Canadian (Anthony Bennett).
The Milwaukee Bucks selected Duke forward Jabari Parker No. 2, the Philadelphia 76ers took Kansas center Joel Embiid No. 3, the Orlando Magic picked Arizona forward Aaron Gordon No. 4 and the Utah Jazz took Australian guard Dante Exum No. 5.
Wiggins, who played at Kansas, gives the Cavaliers a small forward who can score and defends, and he will join a young team with talent and potential. Kyrie Irving is an All-Star, but the Cavs have yet to turn that talent into success. The Cavaliers have not had a winning season since 2009-10.
But the addition of Wiggins, who expressed a strong desire to be the No. 1 pick, gives the Cavaliers a chance to accelerate the rebuilding process.
The Cavaliers have a new coach (David Blatt), new general manager (David Griffin) and Wiggins is the player in the draft with the highest upside, according to analysts. There are questions about his desire, but it's a small concern and not enough to persuade Cleveland to select another player.
Unlike last year when the Cavaliers shook up the draft by taking Bennett No. 1, the first two picks off this year's draft went according to most mock drafts.
The Milwaukee Bucks wanted Duke's Jabari Parker, and Parker more than hinted that he wanted to play for the Bucks. New Milwaukee Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry stopped by Parker's table about 40 minutes before the draft began.
Parker was considered the most NBA-ready player in the draft and will bring a set of impressive offensive skills to Milwaukee – about 90 minutes from Parker's hometown of Chicago.
Philadelphia took a calculated risk selecting Embiid, who likely would have been the No. 1 pick had a recent physical not revealed a fractured bone in his right foot. It was not known how far Embiid would fall, but medical reports were provided to a handful of teams. The Sixers were not scared off by the report.
Embiid has the chance to be a franchise-changing big man. But the long-term health of his foot will remain a concern. Embiid is expected to return to the court sometime during the 2014-15 season, likely after the New Year.
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On Thursday, Gordon said he thought he would go anywhere between No. 4 and No. 8, and he ended up on the high end of the prediction. He had interest from several teams, and his court smarts and ability to play defense sold the Magic.
The Jazz are building a talented backcourt with Exum now on the roster, adding him alongside point guard Trey Burke and wingman Gordon Hayward – that's if the Jazz can retain Hayward, who is a restricted free agent.
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