Chris Grant is a very astute player of the smoke screen game by not allowing the Cavs full opinion to be known outside of the confines of the Q offices. This skill will be particularly useful this year when no one dominant player seems to be available at pick #1. Even if the Cavs hold Nerlens Noel near to their hearts, they would be wise to allow some reporter types to catch wind of the fact that they are seriously considering Ben McLemore.
Right now the only major mock draft that has the Cavs taking McLemore is www.nbadraft.net. Personally, I think the odds that the Cavs actually take McLemore are far greater than the percentage of draft mocks predicting it. Also, and I might be wrong on this, I think that more teams will pick up the phone and call the Cavs about the first pick if they think Cleveland is preparing to take the Kansas shooting guard. The health questions surrounding Noel and Len are substantial going into the draft. Even if a team was really sold on Noel, they would think twice about pitching a deal to the Cavs because of the cloud over his immediate future. The same cannot be said about McLemore who is not suffering major health issues and is looked upon as a possible 20 PPG scorer in the NBA.
The real beauty of this is that, no matter which player might be desired by another lottery team, it is best if the Cavs keep them guessing as long as possible. That will maximize the possibility of some team falling in love with one of them and come to the Cavs offering gifts. Knowing the history of the NBA draft, my guess is that the Cavs will be forced to keep the pick anyway and use it. In fact, that might even be their preference. If they keep the pick, five names will seem to move in and out of favor with the Cavs. Those players are Noel, McLemore, Len, Porter and Oladipo. Of those five, Noel and McLemore will be mentioned most often and are the most realistic pics.
I wouldn’t want to bet on Grant’s move in this situation. Despite the vast majority opinion picking Noel for the Cavs, keep an eye on McLemore going forward. Even if a smokescreen, his name will start popping up more and more in my opinion.