Cavs quickly show off their brand-new faces
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio - The newest star of the reborn Cleveland Cavaliers was swarmed by little boys and girls clamoring for his autograph yesterday. At 19, Kyrie Irving wasn't all that much older than those for whom he was signing T-shirts and basketballs.
Later came the pictures, then a few more autographs, then a few more pictures before Irving was whisked away, completing a whirlwind 24 hours that began when he was selected first overall in the NBA draft and ended with an entire city clinging to his No.15 jersey, willing to put the pieces of their sports soul back together for another long, long journey toward a title.
The Cavaliers are starting over. Irving is starting a new life.
"You guys are getting a gentleman," his father, Dredrick, said while watching his son pose for pictures. "I'm not saying that because I'm his father. He's a special kid, and I really mean that."
Ever since the Cavaliers came out of the draft on Thursday night with Irving at No. 1 and Texas forward Tristan Thompson at No. 4, general manager Chris Grant hasn't been able to stop gushing about the type of people they are.
Now the Cavs have to find out whether they can play basketball.
Thompson appeared to be a surprise selection at No.4, but the Cavs have been high on him all season, and Grant said he started watching Thompson play in high school.
"We actually had him ranked much higher than fourth," Grant said.
Thompson is a former high-school classmate of Cavs forward Samardo Samuels.
Samuels has been in town working out at the team's practice facility since the season ended, so he was able to watch all of the private workouts during the draft process. That included Thompson's private workout against Enes Kanter, who went a pick ahead to the Utah Jazz.
"Tristan was way better," Samuels said. "He was the best guy at the power-forward spot they worked out."
Samuels might be a little biased given his previous relationship with Thompson. He even put Thompson's workout ahead of that of Arizona forward Derrick Williams, who went second to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
"(Williams) was cool," Samuels said. "But I like Tristan. His energy level is unbelievable. It seems like he don't know no better but to just play hard."
Thompson is known as a shot blocker who is always at full speed. He averaged slightly better than 13 points a game during his freshman season at Texas, but his offensive game remains a work in progress. He shot less than 50 percent from the free-throw line, but both he and the Cavs downplayed that.
"We're not concerned about that at all," Grant said. "Both of these young men have a tremendous work ethic. They're going to continue to get a little better each day, and that's what our expectations are."
Neither draft pick is assured a starting spot. Thompson is currently slotted behind J.J. Hickson at power forward, and Irving's path is blocked by veteran Baron Davis.
Coach Byron Scott knows a little something about point guards, having coached two of the best in the league, Jason Kidd and Chris Paul. Irving continues to draw comparisons to Paul, which Scott calls unfair.
He wants Irving to be able to come into the league and create his own path, but Scott clearly loves what he has seen thus far.
"The first words that came out of my mouth were, 'Wow,'" Scott said, referring to the first time he watched Irving play. "We had him first (on the draft board) from day one, then when he came to work out for us, it pretty much solidified exactly what we thought. We're glad to get him."
The Cavs introduced Thompson and Irving at an afternoon news conference that included school-age children and season-ticketholders. Then the players were taken to a basketball court dedication behind the Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital in Shaker Heights, where they signed autographs and posed for more pictures.
Both players seemed to embrace the moment. Irving was reared by his father after his mother died of an illness when he was only 4. It has been a long, painful road, but Irving is thrilled to have arrived.
"I hold myself at such a high standard that the expectations people put on me, I try to exceed those. And more importantly, I try to exceed mine," Irving said. "I'm really focused on being one of the leaders on the team. This is a young team, and I'm really happy to be a part of it."
jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com