Cavaliers looking to make most of their four picks, starting with No. 4

They’ve got four picks in the top 34, including the fourth choice overall.
That should allow the Cavaliers to add at least one quality player — the latest rumors have them taking North Carolina small forward Harrison Barnes — while also offering some flexibility in the rest of the June 28 NBA Draft.
“I would be stunned if the Cavs keep all four picks,” Pro Basketball Draft’s Joe Kotoch said. “I would also be stunned if they take more than two U.S. players.”
Translated, that means the Cavs are going to take the player they feel best suits their team at No. 4 — that looks like Barnes if Florida’s Bradley Beal and Kentucky’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist are off the board — and keep their options open the rest of the night.
Cleveland could try to package the No. 24 pick in the first round with one or both of its second-round picks — the Cavs have Nos. 33 and 34 — in an attempt to gain a better choice.
If the Cavs keep their choice at 24, they could trade their second-round picks for future assets and/or draft international players and allow them to develop overseas for a few years.
That’s something general manager Chris Grant and his staff will work on right through the two-round draft, but the forecast of the early picks appears to have taken a turn for the worse in recent days as far as the Cavs are concerned.
The one certainty is New Orleans will take Kentucky big man Anthony Davis with the first pick.
Charlotte, which has the No. 2 selection, appeared to be leaning toward Kansas power forward Thomas Robinson, but now is said to be eying Florida shooting guard Beal, a player the Cavs might want to get at No. 4.
At No. 3, Washington still appears to be leaning toward small forward Kidd-Gilchrist, who teamed with Davis to lead Kentucky to the national championship.
The Cavs, who don’t really need a power forward like Robinson after drafting Tristan Thompson with the No. 4 pick last year, would love to be able to choose between Beal and Barnes (or one of those two and Kidd-Gilchrist), but that can only happen if Robinson goes No. 2 or 3.
Other than Beal and Barnes — and Kidd-Gilchrist if he somehow unexpectedly slides — the only other player getting much mention at No. 4 is Connecticut big man Andre Drummond, who is such a raw, unpolished prospect he is compared to Dwight Howard in one breath and Kwame Brown or Darko Milicic in the next.
“If you presume Davis goes one, Thomas Robinson goes two and Kidd-Gilchrist goes three … then I would tell you Bradley Beal should be the first choice of the Cavaliers,” Kotoch said. “I would have him ranked well above Harrison Barnes.”
The problem is, it now looks like Beal might go No. 2. That would leave Barnes as the player who best suits Cleveland’s needs — the Cavs are seeking a shooting guard or small forward who can score — and Drummond as a high-risk, potentially high-reward selection.
The 6-foot-4¾, 202-pound Beal and 6-8, 228-pound Barnes worked out for the Cavs over the weekend, and reports say Beal, who will celebrate his 19th birthday on draft night, was the more impressive player.
However, there are also draft experts who believe the Cavs have always favored the bigger, stronger and presumably more physically and mentally mature Barnes.
Athletic and a better shooter than many give him credit for, Beal averaged 14.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting .445 from the field, .339 on 3-pointers and .769 at the line as a Florida freshman.
The owner of a 6-8 wingspan and 6 percent body fat, Beal would be expected to step right in as Cleveland’s starting shooting guard in 2012-13.
Barnes, who averaged 17.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists as a North Carolina sophomore, might do the same at small forward, but a number of scouts question whether he handles the ball well enough to be a highly effective NBA player.
Barnes, who turned 20 on May 30 and displayed great athleticism during workouts, shot .440 from the field, .358 on 3-pointers and .723 at the line last season, but struggled mightily in the NCAA Tournament.
With its No. 4 pick still uncertain, what Cleveland will do if it stays at No. 24 is extremely tough to predict.
Some players to keep an eye on are Baylor’s Quincy Miller, Vanderbilt’s Jeff Taylor, St. Bonaventure’s Andrew Nicholson and Iowa State’s Royce White, all of whom are small forwards or power forwards.
France’s Evan Fournier, a swingman type who could be the only international player taken in the first round, is also a possibility.
A guy like 6-11½, 264-pound Vanderbilt center and Nigeria native Festus Ezeli could be taken in the second round as a project, as could international players like Georgia forward Tornike Shengelia, Greece forward Kostas Papankolaou and 6-7 Czech Republic point guard Tomas Satoransky.
“That’s when you can take some risks, make some trades, do some things,” NBA scouting director Ryan Blake said. “If it doesn’t turn out that good, so be it.”
Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com.