There have been rumors that the Cavs want to trade their number one draft pick. They should, but they might have trouble finding a trade partner. Nerlens Noel is a good player with a lot of potential, but are teams willing to take a chance on him because of his surgically repaired ACL.
The Cavs should not take a chance on Noel, if they are stuck with the number one pick they should take Otto Porter. They have no use for Noel on their team at this moment. They do have a need for Porter as a starting small forward. As I see it, if the Cavs draft Noel, they will be out of the playoffs for another couple of years.
Their one and only trading partner, in my mind, is Washington. Washington could use Noel as a starting big man and as a tradeoff, the Cavs would still be able to draft Porter. The Cavs would obviously be able to bring in either another player or pick. The Cavs have a good amount of cap space so they could ask to take Emeka Okafor off of the Wizard's hands in return for a future first round draft pick. This ensures that the Wizards get a guy that they want and need and the Cavs get a first round pick, along with the guy they want, only a couple of picks later.
The Cavs cannot go any lower than the Wizards because they will likely take Porter if he is on the board. However the Wizards likely want Noel, but they cannot risk either the Cavs taking him or a team swooping into the Magic's spot to take him.
The Wizards cannot risk staying put because they could end up without both Noel or Porter, which is something they cannot afford to happen.
Cleveland cannot afford to go with Noel who would be a luxury pick at this point. They need Porter to complete this team. If they were able to trade down and still get Porter it would be a win-win for the Cavs.
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