By Kenny Roda | ESPNCleveland.com

Photo/Getty

I’m not big on Mock Drafts so I’m only going to do two of them and only with the Lottery Picks plus the Cavs pick at #19. I am basing this Mock Draft on what I think each team will do, not what I would do if I had that pick. For example, if I had the number #1 pick in this draft I would take Ben McLemore, the shooting guard out of Kansas, but I don’t think the Cavs will do that.  Also trades will affect the picks in the first round, along with private workouts and interviews.  Thus, my second Mock Lottery Draft will reflect all of that. But for now, here’s my first Mock Lottery Draft. My second and final one will be posted the day of the actual NBA Draft on Thursday, June 27^th.

Kenny Roda covers the Cavaliers for ESPN 850 WKNR, ESPN 1540 WKNR and ESPNCleveland.com Follow Kenny on Twitter @RoadmanWKNR

By Bruce Hooley | ESPNCleveland.com

Nick Gilbert is too young to gain admission to Horseshoe Casino, and that’s probably a good thing for the bottom line at his father’s gambling palace.

For the second time in three years, Nick, the 14-year-old son of Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert, had the magic touch in the NBA Draft Lottery last night in New York City.

Gilbert beat the odds, which gave the Cavaliers only the third-best chance to grab the top pick in the draft, to once again place his father’s franchise atop the order of selection for the June 27 draft.

Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, who missed half the season with torn knee ligaments that will delay his NBA career until perhaps December, looms as a top candidate to join LeBron James (2003) and Kyrie Irving (2011) as Cleveland’s third No. 1 overall pick in the past decade.

“It’s huge for us,” Dan Gilbert said of the Cavs, who entered with a 15.6% chance for the top pick, behind Orlando (25%) and Charlotte (19.9%) “This is our third year in a row in the lottery, and hopefully our last for a long, long time.”

Wearing a wine-colored bow tie, like everyone else in the Cleveland entourage in attendance, Nick Gilbert said, “I just had a feeling that we could get the top pick, which we did. Whoever we pick can hopefully help us make our final push into the playoffs.”

ESPN 850 WKNR’s Tony Rizzo accompanied the Gilbert’s to New York and led the cheers from the gallery, fist-pumping and shouting, “That a boy, Nicky! That a boy, Nick.”

Rizz will have complete details of the trip to NYC on The Really Big Show Wednesday on ESPN 850 WKNR.

Of possibly being the Cavs’ choice first overall, Noel said: “It would be a great thing for me, but I don’t want to assume anything. I’d be very fortunate to be the No. 1 pick…Cleveland would be a great place to play with an all-star point guard like Kyrie Irving and just a great front-court that they have now. I’m really looking forward to that, if that’s a possibility.”

By Kenny Roda | ESPNCleveland.com

Photo/ESPN

Updated (5-21-13)

1 – Ben McLemore  -  SG  -  6’5  -  189  -  Fr.  -  Kansas

2 -  Nerlens Noel   -  C  -  6’11  -  206  -  Fr.  -  Kentucky 

3 – Otto Porter Jr.  -  SF  -  6’8  -  198  -  Sph.  -  Georgetown

4 – Victor Oladipo  -  SG  -  6’5  -  213  -  Jr.  -  Indiana 

5 – Trey Burke  -  PG  -  6’0  -  187  -  Sph.  -  Michigan

6 -  Alex Len  -  C  -  7’1  -  225  -  Sph.  -  Maryland   

7 -  Anthony Bennett  -  PF  -  6’8  -  240  -  Fr.  -  UNLV

8 – Cody Zeller  -  C  -  6’11  -  230  -  Sph.  -  Indiana

9 -  Shabazz Muhammad  -  SF  -  6’6  -  222  -  Fr.  -  UCLA

10 – C.J. McCollum – PG/SG –  6’3  -  197  -  Sr  -  Lehigh

(Oklahoma State point guard Marcus Smart drops out of the Top 10 because he is staying in school)

Kenny Roda covers the Cavaliers for ESPN 850 WKNR, ESPN 1540 WKNR and ESPNCleveland.com Follow Kenny on Twitter @RoadmanWKNR

By Kenny Roda | ESPNCleveland.com

Photo/AP

Otto Porter Jr.

Small Forward  -  6'-8.5"  -   197lbs  -  Age - 19  -  Georgetown  -  SPH.

Reach  -  8’-9.5’        Wingspan  -  7’-1.5” 

Season Averages  -  16.2 PPG  -  7.5 RPG  -  2.7 APG  -  48%FG  -  42%(3FG)  -  78%FT

Draft Projection  -  Top 5

Strengths             

Complete player who does it at both ends of the floor

Above average defender with his long and lanky frame and athleticism

Fundamentals are solid – can handle the rock, distribute the ball and plays unselfish

His 3-point shot is improved, but his mid-range game is very good

Intelligent player

Handles the rock pretty well for a small forward

Weaknesses       

Needs to build a bigger frame and get a lot stronger to play the small forward position in the NBA

While his 3-point shot has improved, it needs to get a lot better and more consistent

Must develop a more aggressive attitude on offense, can be too passive at times

Has to learn to create more off the dribble for himself

Roda Thoughts: Otto Porter Jr. is exactly what the Cavaliers need, a small forward who can score and defend. He has a very high basketball IQ and no real bad habits because he never played AAU basketball. His mid-range game is outstanding and he continues to work on his 3-point shot. Playing in such a structured system at Georgetown, he takes to coaching well. But now that he is free of that structured offensive system with the Hoyas, I expect his offensive game to blossom even more in the NBA.  He will have to put on some weight and get stronger, but then again what 19-year-old kid headed to the NBA doesn’t need to bulk up?  At times he played a little passive, but that may be due more to playing within Georgetown’s system, but he’ll have to be more aggressive and attack the rim more. Mike Brown would love to have Porter on defense, with that wingspan, reach and athleticism and the ability to guard two, maybe three positions. Porter’s best days are ahead of him and he’s one of my top three players in this draft along with Noel and McLemore.

Kenny Roda covers the Cavaliers for ESPN 850 WKNR, ESPN 1540 WKNR and ESPNCleveland.com Follow Kenny on Twitter @RoadmanWKNR

By Kenny Roda | ESPNCleveland.com

Photo/ESPN

Ben McLemore

Shooting Guard  -  6'-5"  -  195lbs  -  Age - 20  -  Kansas  -  FR.

Reach  -  tba    -  Wingspan  -  tba 

Season Averages  -  16.0 PPG  -  5.2 RPG  -  2.0 APG  -  49.5%FG  -  42%(3FG)  -  87%FT

Draft Projection  -  Top 5, could battle for 1^st overall pick

Strengths             

- Best shooter in the draft with an unbelievably quick, compact release and it’s the same stroke over and over and over and over again

- That textbook jumper comes with parking lot range and great elevation, compared to Ray Allen

- Great catch and shoot shooter

- Superb athlete who can jump out of the building. The Flint Tropics and owner/player Jackie Moon are in love with McLemore because at Kansas they had set alley-oop out of bounds plays for him

- Solid defensive player with some size at his position and nice length, good quickness

- Rebounds very well for a shooting guard because of his vertical jump and length

- Great free throw shooter

Weaknesses       

- Has to get in the weight room and get stronger and put on some pounds

- Does not create his own shot very well right now

- Ball handling needs to improve and in turn, that would help him create shots off the bounce and get him to the free throw line

- Even though he broke Danny Manning’s freshman scoring record at Kansas, he needs to be more aggressive as he vanished at times during the season on offense, it might have been because he deferred to the seniors on the team, a lack of confidence or he just needs to be more selfish

Roda Thoughts: McLemore is my favorite player in this draft and in my opinion the best player in this draft. His unique combination for a shooting guard of size, athleticism and elite shooting ability make him a dangerous weapon to have in the NBA game.  He’s not a finished product yet, as he has to beef up a little, get better at handling the rock so he can take people off the dribble and work on defense, but Mike Brown can work with him on that and can you imagine he and Kyrie Irving in the same back court? Uncle Drew driving and kicking it out to McLemore for wide open jumpers, can you say “BUCKETS”? That would be lights out!  I said this last year about Bradely Beal and I’ll say it again this year about Ben McLemore, if I were Chris Grant and the Cavaliers, with all those chips they have on the table, I would do whatever I have to so I could select McLemore. He is the perfect running mate for Kyrie. He would be my starting shooting guard and I would move Dion Waiters to the bench to be my sixth man where he could come off the pine and play the 1 or the 2 and be uber successful similar to his role at Syracuse.  McLemore is my #1 overall pick in this draft!

Kenny Roda covers the Cavaliers for ESPN 850 WKNR, ESPN 1540 WKNR and ESPNCleveland.com Follow Kenny on Twitter @RoadmanWKNR

By Dave DeNatale | ESPNCleveland.com

Photo/AP

The one and only Dick Vitale joined Kenny Roda on Wednesday night's edition of Cleveland SportsNight.  The longtime ESPN college basketball analyst discussed everything from who he believes are the top players available in this year's NBA draft to his thoughts on Mike Brown returning to coach the Cavaliers.

Coming up in June is the NBA Draft.  The Cavaliers have a lottery pick plus the 19th selection.  Give us your thoughts on who are the top three players in the draft?

All three guys really have question marks.  You look at Noel, everybody says he'll most likely be number one but he's coming off major major knee surgery.  Now, it looks as though he'll be fine but he's got a little risk factor involved and he's limited offensively.  I don't think it's a draft filled with instant impact players so you have to really be selective.  People are charting the kid from Kansas, McLemore, high along with Oladipo from Indiana.  I'm going to tell you a guy that if you wait a year or two, has the potential to really be special.  That's Cody Zeller also from Indiana.  He has the chance to be a heck of a player because of his size and fundamental play.  But he's limited physically.  There are a lot of good potential players but I don't see any instant impact players.

What do you see as the biggest need for the Cavaliers?

They need talent.  They need talent across the board.  Whether it be inside or help outside for Irving.  The unfortunate thing for players like Irving is that they have to be instant superstars because they don't have the surrounding cast of veterans around them.  The Cavaliers have some nice young kids to build around but they've got to add to that.  I really like Trey Burke and think he's going to be a very good NBA player.  He's got a special swag about him, he can score and he can pass the basketball.  I think they'd love to have him in Cleveland.  Now I love Irving and think he's going to be special.  Waiters has a lot of potential but needs to be consistent.  But the Cavaliers need to find a winning mode.  Losing becomes contagious and you get into a mental rut.  The Cavaliers have suffered big time since the loss of LeBron.  There's no doubt about it.  I really wish them a lot of luck and hope they hit some home runs through the draft and maybe trades.

What are your thoughts on Ben McLemore?

You know what?  I like McLemore but he went through a really bad shooting slump there towards the end of the year.  I tell you one thing, you've got a problem with a guy who plays second guard if he doesn't make his shots.  That's why I like Oladipo.  He's got lots of upside to him and I don't think we've seen him as the refined player I think he could be.  I really think he's going to get better and better.  He's got a great work ethic and terrific attitude.  I think he could really fit in with what they're trying to do with the Cavaliers with the way he defends.  I really think they need to look at him and his abilities.

One player the Cavaliers are certainly looking at is Otto Porter, Jr., the small forward from Georgetown who plays the three.  How do you like Porter and his game?

Otto got better and better as the year progressed.  He's a scorer, he's got toughness, he's a winner.  He didn't get spoiled by the system.  He comes from a great family and is a great kid.  I like Otto Porter a lot.  If you're looking for a small forward, he'd be a guy I'd really think about taking.

Dickie V., what did you think about Dan Gilbert admitting he was wrong and bringing back Mike Brown?

I thought Mike Brown did a good job when he was in Cleveland.  Unfortunately when you coach someone like LeBron, you have almost no chance to be recognized as a great coach.  I thought Brown did a super job when he had LeBron and the Cavalier cast to be able to consistently win the number of games he did.  They didn't win the championship, but they were a little shorthanded.  So I think it's great they brought back Mike Brown, who was never treated fairly by the public as he should have been for what he did.

To listen to the full interview, click here