Kyrie Irving Wins 2011-2012 NBA Rookie of the Year

In what doesn’t come as a surprise, Cleveland Cavalier point guard Kyrie Irving wins the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. Irving collected 117 of 120 potential first place votes.

Irving on the season averaged 18.5 points and 5.4 assists and shooting 46.8% per game. Irving started for the Cavs from day one, and while the Cavs finished with a losing record, the future is bright. Irving also became the fourth rookie in 10 years who won Rookie of the Year along with being the first overall pick of the draft.

From living in Cleveland and having the opportunity to watch Kyrie on nightly basis, I can say the kid has skills, and if the Cavs can find a way to surround him with some more young talent, the franchise has a chance to do something special. While everybody would love for Kyrie to become the next big thing to erase the memories of LeBron, lets allow him to carve his own identity.

Lottery Winner or Ticket Stub Dud

The NBA had their Draft Lottery today…and I didn’t watch one bit of it. Why, because it means absolutely nothing right now. The NBA Draft is not until June 23^rd. So a lottery to determine the order of the draft on May 17^th isn’t anything that’s going to cause me to throw some big party with chips and dip. Nonetheless, this is a day for teams that are on the bottom of the basketball totem pole and most are in need of an impact player to turn around their fortunes. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers were the two teams with the highest chances to receive the number one pick. And in a turn of luck the Cavs received the number 1 pick and number 4 pick (pick that belonged to the L.A. Clippers was received by the Cavs in a mid-season trade) which should help them in filling the void the Mr. I’m taking my talents to south beach left. Now I know what this means for the Cavs, however as I listened to talk radio in Cleveland you would’ve thought they won the rights to draft M.J. in his prime. Let’s put this in perspective; yes this is very good for the Cavs, they should get two impact players that in a year or two will catapult them into the playoffs. BUT, the draft is not an exact science. Yes, Kyrie Irving is expected to be very good yet, who really knows. His toe that he injured in college could fall off and then Cleveland fans will then be screaming they’re cursed. Let’s hold your horses until we see who they draft and give them time to develop before you start stitching banners to hang in Quicken Loans Arena. Yes, be excited, although let’s not forget, you still have no center and no consistent scorer, problems that will not completely be solved by Kyrie. So don’t let little ole me put a damper on your celebration. Still all I ask is that you hold off on lighting fireworks and throwing ticker tape. Remember the Cavs won the NBA Draft Lottery, not the Rolling Cash 5 in the Ohio Lottery.