I was wrong about the 2021/22 Cleveland Cavaliers

I was wrong.

I figured based on the draft position of the Cavs since Lebron left, this rebuild was going to take forever.

When the Cavs drafted Sexton, I thought he was the best of what was left. I loved the Kevin Porter Jr. pick though. When they picked Garland, I was thought ok, but drafting a guy who played 5 college games is risky, I mean they did it with Kyrie, but the Cavs luck isn't good enough to where they can hit on another guy who was injured, right? When they picked Okoro, I wondered "why take a guy that can't shoot when you need scoring," and lastly, when they got Mobley, I was happy but I wanted Jalen Green.

It wasn't that I didn't like the guys they picked, it's just that besides Mobley, I thought of them as outside of the top tier, possible franchise changing guys.

On top of all that, I was also thinking, "we can't trade Love... why does Cedi look great one night and then dissappear for 2-3 weeks... Allen is good, but as a defender only as he is still developing offensively... and why in the hell did we trade for Lauri and extend him with Love/Mobley on the roster? WTF you doing Koby?"

To me, bad lotto luck and the Nets pick from the Kyrie trade being much worse than expected made me question the Cavs chances at a quick rebuild. I had visions of them drafting in the top three for 3-5 years and building a team of "name brand" drafted stars, but they kept getting picks outside of the so-called "top talent," before finally hitting the motherload at #3 with Mobley.

I figured we were going to be the next OKC, who at one point drafted Durant, Harden, and Westbrook, all guys who have won an MVP. Problem was, every year they had top 3 worst record, they picked outside of the top 3, and the Nets pick that was supposed to be top 3-5, turned into #8 cause the damn Nets played too well late in that season. In 2018, I thought they'd get someone like Ayton, Young, or Luka. In 2019 I thought they'd get a Zion, Ja, or RJ. And in 2020, I thought maybe Edwards, Wiseman or Ball. Pretty much any one of those combinations sounds way sexier than what we got at the time of the picks..2018-Sexton, (plus KPJ and Windler), 2019-Garland, and 2020-Okoro. Finally this year, we catch a lottery break and get Mobley.

I wasn't expecting much this season. Hell, I was expecting Koby and JB to be fired, and for the Cavs to be in the lottery again.

But with the arrival of Mobley to team with Allen to form a defensive wall, the ascension of Garland, the surprising 6th man play of Kevin Love, the progression of the young guys, and the team buying in, the Cavs have turned around quickly. This franchise has developed players, found the right coach, and have guys willing to accept their roles, which has helped them not only win games, but also it seems to have them playing for one another.

This shows that the front office and scouting department is pretty damn good (or lucky), even though at times since 2018, we've all questioned their decisions. The Cavs are now a playoff contender, and with a few moves and the continued progress of the draftees, they could make a leap into title contention in the next few years. This is all occurring without Sexton, who could become a valuable trade chip, or could come back next year and be a contributor. I don't think any of us could've imagined that after missing out on "stars" on draft night for three straight years, the Cavs would have turned it around this quick. I know I couldn't.

But again, I was wrong on how the Cavs were team building, and I can admit it. But I couldn't be more happy than to be wrong about my team.