With signing of Andrew Bogut, Cavs add to gaudy number of former top draft picks

Alex Novick

With signing of Andrew Bogut, Cavs add to gaudy number of former top draft picks image

Despite the impression you might have gotten from LeBron James' complaints over a month ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers are loaded with talent. And with some recent waiver wire signings, including the forthcoming Andrew Bogut, their roster's pedigree now looks even more inflated. 

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After the signings of Derrick Williams, Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut over the last three weeks, the Cavs now have seven players on their roster (James, Irving, Thompon and Love are the others) who are former top-5 picks in the NBA Draft. The next closest teams are the Clippers and Timberwolves, with only four such players. 

The Cavs now also have eight top-10 picks on their team, which is the most in the league. The Magic and Clippers each have seven. 

You're welcome, LeBron. 

It remains to be seen whether the Cavs' reloading with former college stars will pay off, but we need to find ways to pass the time until the playoffs, so the composition of each team from a draft standpoint provides a relatively fascinating distraction. 

#Cavs

Despite the frontloading, Cleveland ranks tied for fourth in the NBA when you look at the average draft slot of each player on a team's roster (since there are 60 slots, an undrafted player counts toward the average as a 61 for the sake of this exercise). The Cavs' roster has an average draft number (ADN) of 21, dragged down by second-rounders Kay Felder, Kyle Korver, James Jones, Jordan McRae and DeAndre Liggins. 

The Timberwolves have a runaway lead in this category with an ADN of 14, thanks to 12 of their 14 players being first-round picks. Having a slew of highly drafted players hasn't often translated to wins in this league, and seven of the top 10 teams in ADN currently have a losing a record. 

The suddenly Durant-less Warriors fall in at 22nd on this list with an ADN of 30, possessing four top-10 picks. Having three undrafted players and four second-rounders on the roster – Draymond Green not withstanding – may hurt them down the stretch as they try to maintain that No. 1 seed in the West without KD. 

Then of course there are the Spurs, who rank 29th in the league with an ADN of 39. Yes, the average player on the 45-13 Spurs was drafted well into the second round, and the team possesses only two former lottery picks – Pau Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge. Once again proof that Gregg Poppovich could win Coach of the Year every season. 

Alex Novick

Alex Novick Photo

Alex is an assistant managing editor at The Sporting News.