We, as Cavs fans, may currently being witnessing the best history the Cavs have ever seen. Most Cavs fans have been through a lot -- and while the franchise has not quite been as heartbreaking as the Browns and Indians (with the exception of The Shot), one has to wonder if the Cavs could've been a championship calibur team years sooner.
Today I decided to review the decisions of Jim Paxson while he was in charge as the General Manager of the Cavs (99-05). On a quick side note, when reviewing John Paxson - his brother and GM of the Bulls, I found that John's middle name is MacBeth... which is QUITE unfortunate for him. Jim has the good fortune of being the first born and taking the middle name of Joseph, rather than be subject to Mr. and Mrs. Paxson's creativity and/or drunkeness.
I went and did some research based around Jim's drafting record with the Cavs.... and this is what I found - starting with his first year 1999:
1999: 1st Round, Pick 8: Andre Miller, PG, Utah.
Andre has had a very solid NBA career and played well for the Cavs while he was here. In 1999, 5 of the first 7 picks of the draft have been All-Stars (including Wally) only Jonathon Bender (knee injuries) and Lamar Odom (borderline All-Star) have not been. This is by far NOT Paxson's worst pick in his tenure. That pick may come a bit later in the 1999 draft.
The picks after Miller was Shawn Marion (a superior player to Miller) and Jason Terry (see: Shawn Marion). That bring us to the 11th pick in the draft....
1st Round, Pick 11: Trajon Langdon, SG, Duke
The Alaskan Assassin. Need I say more? Trajan played in 119 games in the NBA, all with the Cavs. He shot 39.6% from 3-pt and averaged 5.4 ppg. Trajan has found his niche overseas where he has been since leaving Cleveland. Overseas he has averaged anywhere from 11.5 - 15.3 ppg and is still playing. Good for Trajan, bad for the Cavs. The Alaskan Assassin has now turned into the Russian Concussion.
An Alaskan tribute to Trajan
Noteable picks after Trajan at #11 include: Corey Maggette #13, Ron Artest #16, James Posey #18, Jeff Foster #21, Andrei Kirilenko #24, Manu Ginobili #57. This makes this pick one of the worst Paxson had.
2nd Round, Pick 39: AJ Bramlett, C, Arizona
I can remember actually liking this pick at the time because I was a big fan of that Arizona team. AJ played in 8 games with the Cavs shooting a Chris Mullen-like 19% from the field. He would be cut by the Cavs that year and find work playing for a CBA team in La Crosse, Wisc. From 2000-2006 he would play in Spain.
The pick after Bramlett in 1999(#40) was Gordon Giricek who is still productive in the NBA. Followed by Fransisco Elson (#41) who is also still playing well in the NBA. Rodney Buford, who contributed for a while in the NBA, was at #53 - and of course Manu at #57. Its tough to find talent in the 2nd round, so a bit of a break will be given to Paxson here.
Overall 1999 Grade: C-
2000 Draft
The Cavs had the 8th pick in this draft, which in retrospect has to be one of the weakest drafts in the past decade or two.
1st Round, Pick 8: Jamal Crawford, SG, Michigan
This pick would immediately be traded for Chris Mihm, who went the pick before to the Chicago Bulls. WHIFF by Paxson again. Mihm would be named 2nd Team All-Rookie, averaging 7.6ppg and 4.6rpg. and year 2 where he started 60 games would see very little improvement averaging 7.7ppg and 5.3rpg. Mihm would prove that this is about the level of player he is. In '05 he scored 10+ppg with the Lakers, but that would be about it for Mihm. He has only played in 10 games this year. The original pick would prove to be much better.
Chris Mihm only did this to himself...
Jamal Crawford would start off a little slow until his last season with the Bulls where he shot up to 17ppg in 03-04. Since then, it has been pretty consistant 17ppg/4rpg/3apg. The last 3 seasons he has been near 20 ppg. The Cavs would've faired better with Crawford here.
2nd Round, Pick 37: The Cavs traded their pick, Sherman Douglas, and other considerations to Denver for GREG GRAHAM. Greg would play in 6 games for the Cavs the next season and then would never play again. This #37 pick would end up being Eddie House, who is a key contributor to the Celtics. Some guy named Michael Redd was still on the board at this point, he would go 9 picks later. Redd, Jamal Magliore, and Kenyon Martin would be the only All-Stars from this draft class.
I will give Paxson a bit of a break here since this was a very weak draft with one real All-Star in Redd who he had 2 chances to draft.
2000 Draft Grade: C-
2001 Draft
This would end up being a pretty bust-filled draft. The Cavs definately could have done better though...
1st Round, Pick 8: DeSagana Diop, C, Oak Hill Academy
Our third straight year with Pick #8. DeSagana, who I might add has a pretty unnecessary prefix infront of his name, was supposed to be a Baby Shaq of sorts. DeSagana would be plauged with weight issues in his 4 seasons with the Cavs and would never eclipse 2.3ppg. DeSagana would develop a bit more with his defensive game and catch on with the Mavs, who he is still with, but still has never gotten beyond 3ppg. Not something you look for @ #8. On the board still was Joe Johnson (#10), Vlad Radmonavic (#12), Richard Jefferson (#13), Troy Murphy (#14), Zac Randolph (#19).
DeSagana has found his home in Dallas... and a brand new shiny Ford!
1st Round, Pick 20: Brendan Haywood, C, North Carolina
This was the pick that the Cavs got in the Shawn Kemp deal. The Cavs traded Shawn Kemp in 3-team trade with Blazers and Heat for Clarence Weatherspoon, Chris Gatling, 2001 conditional first round pick (which was this pick). We would then trade Haywood to Orlando for Michael Doleac. Doleac would play 1 season for the Cavs averaging 4.6ppg and 4.0rpg in 42 games. Haywood is still a starting center in the NBA. Not to mention who was still on the board: Gerald Wallace (#25), Samuel Dalembert (#26), Jamaal Tinsley (#27), Tony Parker (#28), Gilbert Arenas (#31). Sooo... thats 3 of the leagues better players, 2 All-Star/MVP Calibur players... and we got Doleac for 42 games.
2nd Round, Pick 36: Jeff Trepagnier, G, USC
Trepagnier was with the Cavs for 12 games and scored 18 points. Mehmet Okur was 2 picks later at #38. Earl Watson at #40, and Bobby Simmons at #42. TREpagnier is playing in the NBAs D-League, after a stint overseas, for Bakersfield where he is averaging 9.6ppg.
Dicky V loved Trepagnier... and Scalabrine and that USC squad.
2001 Draft Grade: D
The only semi-good pick was traded away.
