The Cleveland Cavaliers announced today that the team has signed all of their 2013 NBA Draft picks, Anthony Bennett, Sergey Karasev and Carrick Felix, to contracts.

Bennett (6-8, 240, forward) was the first overall pick in the June draft and first-ever Canadian selected #1 in the history of the NBA. An early entry candidate from the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), Bennett starred for Canada’s junior national teams and was the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year.

Karasev (6-7, 203, guard/forward) was selected 19th overall and led Russia to the Gold Medal in the World University Games in Kazan, Russia.

Felix (6-6, 210, guard/forward) was the third pick of the second round (33rd overall) following a senior season at Arizona State that earned him second-team All-Pac 12 honors and a spot on the Pac 12 All-Defensive team.

By setting themselves up to struggle (understatement) in the upcoming season, the Sixers are clearly looking ahead to the 2014 NBA draft, which by all accounts, is going to be one of the strongest in recent memory.

Finishing next season outside of playoff positioning, which is likely the case, will land the Sixers a lottery pick. The draft day deal that sent Jrue Holiday to New Orleans landed them another one - as long as the Pelicans don’t make the playoffs and the pick falls out of the top five.

These picks, along with future free agent acquisitions and a couple of carry-overs from the current roster, most likely rookies Michael Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel, are supposedly going to form the foundation of the franchise going forward.

It sure seems that the 2014 draft, which has become known as the “Andrew Wiggins Sweepstakes” to many, will be very important to the future of the franchise.

Unlike last June’s draft, where the top pick remained unknown until seconds before the selection, Wiggins is already the consensus first-overall selection. His size, athleticism and offensive ability have franchises foaming, as the kid has surefire superstar written all over him.

Reported by Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com

To hear the Dallas Mavericks say it, Shane Larkin is real close to being the second coming of JJ Barea.

Following a whirlwind day Thursday during the NBA Draft, the Mavs pat themselves on the back after they wound up with Miami Hurricanes point guard Shane Larkin. The same Larkin whose father, Barry, is in the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame.

The same Larkin who averaged 14.5 points and 4.6 assists while collecting ACC Player of the Year honors this past season. Larkin also was the ACC Tournament Most Valuable Player and a second-team All-American while leading the Hurricanes to the NCAA Sweet 16 and staking his claim as being one of the country’s best point guards.

“One of the things that’s really unique about him is from an analytic standpoint he’s one of the best guys we’ve seen coming out of college shooting off the dribble,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “And he can also get to places and get other guys involved, so I just think he’s good and he’s going to get better.”

Reported by Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Blog)

Anthony Bennett wasn’t really all that interested in playing basketball. Yeah, it was cool dunking on guys, and a great way to make new friends after moving from Toronto to the city’s suburbs.

Then, he decided to get serious about six or seven years ago.

His future was calling.

”I just started growing,” Bennett said, flashing a smile while talking about his unique path to the NBA. ”And everyone said, ‘You should probably play basketball.’ So I said, ‘All right. I’ll give it a shot.’ Look where it got me now.”

Look indeed.

Bennett was formally introduced Friday by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who shocked the draft by selecting the UNLV power forward with the No. 1 overall pick on Thursday night.

Although he wasn’t regarded by many draft experts as the best player available, Bennett was always at the top of Cleveland’s board. They scouted the 6-foot-7, 240-pounder extensively all season, fell in love with his game and after getting rave reviews about his character, chose him over Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, Kansas guard Ben McLemore, Georgetown forward Otto Porter Jr. in a flawed draft.

Reported by Tom Withers of the Associated Press

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they acquired the draft rights to forward Arsalan Kazemi (pronounced “are-suh-lahn kah-ZEE-me”) as part of a series of trades made during the second round of the 2013 NBA Draft, which took place last night.  Kazemi was selected 54th in the NBA Draft, becoming the first Iranian player drafted into the NBA.

(Hamed Haddadi, the first Iranian to play in the NBA, was not drafted, and entered the league as a free agent.)

The Sixers started by trading the 35th overall pick to Washington in exchange for the 38th overall pick and the 54th overall pick, where Kazemi was eventually selected.

The Sixers then traded the 38th overall pick to Milwaukee for the 43rd overall pick and Houston’s 2014 second round pick.

The Sixers then traded the 43rd overall pick to Dallas in exchange for Brooklyn’s 2014 second round pick.

Kazemi (6-8, 226) was the first Iranian-born player to compete in NCAA Division I men’s basketball.  Phoenix’s Hamed Haddadi became the first Iranian to play in the NBA as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008.

As a senior at Oregon last season, Kazemi averaged 9.4 points, a team-high 10.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 59.5% from the floor in 35 games played.  He earned Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 and became the first Duck ever to be named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive team.

Kazemi spent his first three seasons at Rice, averaging a double-double as both a sophomore and a junior.  For his entire collegiate career, Kazemi had nearly as many steals (225) as turnovers (232).

Summary of 2013 NBA Draft Night Trades

The following trades took place Thursday night, the day of the 2013 NBA draft. All of these trades have been publicly announced. Review of 2013 NBA draft trades:

1) Dallas traded the draft rights to Kelly Olynyk (the 13th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) to Boston for the draft rights to Lucas Nogueira (the 16th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) and two 2014 second round picks.

2) Minnesota traded the draft rights to Trey Burke (the 9th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) to Utah for the draft rights to Shabazz Muhammad (the 14th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) and the draft rights to Gorgui Dieng (the 21st player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft).

3) Dallas traded Jared Cunningham, the draft rights to Lucas Nogueira (the 16th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft), and the draft rights to Mike Muscala (the 44th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) to Atlanta for the draft rights to Shane Larkin (the 18th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft).

4) Minnesota traded Malcolm Lee and the draft rights to André Roberson (the 26th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) to Golden State for a  2014 second round pick and cash.

5) Denver traded the draft rights to Rudy Gobert (the 27th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) to Utah for the draft rights to Erick Green (the 46th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) and cash.

6) Memphis traded Darrell Arthur and the draft rights to Joffrey Lauvergne (the 55th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) to Denver for Kosta Koufos.

7) Cleveland traded the draft rights to Allen Crabbe (the 31st player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) to Portland for a 2015 and a 2016 second round pick.

8) Golden State traded the draft rights to André Roberson (the 26th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) to Oklahoma City for the draft rights to Archie Goodwin (the 29th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) and cash.

9) Phoenix traded the draft rights to Nemanja Nedovic (the 30th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) to Golden State for Malcolm Lee and the draft rights to Archie Goodwin (the 29th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft).

10) Portland traded the draft rights to Grant Jerrett (the 40th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) to Oklahoma city for cash.

11) Atlanta traded the draft rights to James Ennis (the 50th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) to Miami for a future second round pick.

12) Indiana traded the draft rights to Colton Iverson (the 53rd player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) to Boston for cash.

13) Atlanta traded the draft rights to Raul Neto (the 47th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) to Utah for a 2015 second round pick.

14) Washington traded the draft rights to Nate Wolters (the 38th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) and the draft rights to Arsalan Kazemi (the 54th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) to Philadelphia for the draft rights to Glen Rice, Jr. (the 35th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft).

The following 2013 NBA draft trades took place Friday morning, the day after the draft.  Both trades were to be announced by the teams immediately.

1) Philadelphia traded the draft rights to Nate Wolters (the 38th player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) to Milwaukee for the draft rights to Ricardo Ledo (the 43rd player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) and a 2014 second round draft pick.

2) Philadelphia traded the draft rights to Ricardo Ledo (the 43rd player selected in the 2013 NBA Draft) to Dallas for a 2014 second round draft pick.

The Atlanta Hawks selected point guard Dennis Schroeder from Germany with the 17th overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft and acquired the draft rights to Brazilian center Lucas Nogueira (16th overall), forward/center Mike Muscala from Bucknell and guard Jared Cunningham from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for the draft rights to Shane Larkin (18th overall).

Atlanta also acquired two future draft picks: a 2015 second round pick from the Utah Jazz in exchange for the draft rights to Raul Neto (47th overall pick) and a conditional 2017 second rounder from Miami for the draft rights to James Ennis.

Nogueira (new-GAY-ruh), a 7-0 center from Brazil, has played professionally for four seasons (2009-13) with Asefa Estudiantes Madrid II and Asefa Estudiantes Madrid in Spain after spending his early teenage years at Central Club in Niteroi, Brazil.  He averaged 5.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 13.3 minutes in 32 games (.664 FG%, .674 FT%) last season with Asefa Estudiantes Madrid in the Spanish ACB league.

“Lucas has a tremendous level of talent and charisma,” said Hawks President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry.  “He can do things with his length, athletically, protecting the rim and finishing around the rim.  He has a good understanding of the game and is a good teammate.”

The 20-year-old has additional international experience as a member of Brazil’s U-18 National Team, helping the club to a second place finish at the 2011 FIBA Americas U-18 Championship in San Antonio, TX.  Nogueira also played for the World Select Team, facing off against the U.S. Junior National Team at the 2011 Nike Hoop Summit.

Schroeder (Shroe-derr), a 6-foot-1 point guard from Germany, has played professionally in Germany since 2009-10.  The four-year veteran most recently was a member of the New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig in the country’s top league, the Beko League.  He put up 11.9 points, 3.3 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 24.7 minutes in 31 games (.424 FG%, .402 3FG%, .838 FT%) last season.

“Dennis is tenacious and athletic,” said Ferry.  “He’s a highly competitive, two-way player and I think he can have a really good future in the NBA with hard work, development and opportunity.”

The 20-year-old has represented Germany in junior national play in the 2012 U-20 Euros and the 2011 U-18 Euros, and was also a member of the World Select Team at the 2013 Nike Hoop Summit.

The Portland Trail Blazers selected CJ McCollum, Jeff Withey and Marko Todorovic in the 2013 NBA Draft. Portland acquired the draft rights to Allen Crabbe, the 31st overall pick, from Cleveland in exchange for a 2015 second round pick and a 2016 second round selection. The Trail Blazers also traded 40th overall pick Grant Jerrett to the Oklahoma City Thunder for cash considerations.

“It was a great night for our team,” said Trail Blazers Owner Paul Allen. “CJ McCollum was the player we wanted going into the draft, and I’m very excited to watch him thrill our fans in the Rose Garden next season.”

Portland selected McCollum, 21, with the 10th overall pick. The Canton, Ohio, native averaged 21.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.05 steals and 32.9 minutes in 111 games over four seasons at Lehigh. A two-time Patriot League Player of the Year, McCollum is the all-time scoring leader in league history with 2,361 career points. McCollum (6-4, 200) is the first player from Lehigh ever selected in the NBA Draft.

“We’re pleased with how tonight went because we were able to select the players we identified as priorities in addition to some that we didn’t think would be available given our original draft range,” said General Manager Neil Olshey. “Now we’ll get into Summer League, see what we have on the floor with our young guys and add high-caliber veterans as we work to create a more competitive team for next season.”

The Trail Blazers selected Withey, 23, out of Kansas with the 39th overall pick. The two-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year is the Big 12’s career leader with 312 blocks. Withey (7-0, 235) averaged 8.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.67 blocks and 19.8 minutes in 117 games over four seasons.

Portland drafted Todorovic, 21, with the 45th overall selection. The Podgorica, Montenegro, native made his Spanish ACB league debut with DKV Joventut Badalona at the age of 18. Todorovic (6-10, 243) spent the 2012-13 season with F.C. Barcelona, averaging 2.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 6.0 minutes in 20 games.

Crabbe (6-6, 210) played three seasons at California, averaging 15.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 34.7 minutes in 98 games. He was named Pac-12 Player of the Year by coaches in 2013 when he garnered All-Pac-12 honors for the third consecutive season. Crabbe, 21, led all Pac-12 players as a junior last season with 607 points scored.

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have acquired the draft rights to guard/forward James Ennis (50th overall) from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for a future second round pick.

“We were happy to get into the draft,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “We feel that James Ennis, with his size and athleticism, has a huge upside and someone we hope can develop into a high-quality NBA player.”

Ennis appeared in 67 collegiate games for Long Beach State during his junior and senior seasons and averaged 13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.67 steals, 1.03 blocks and 31.0 minutes while shooting 49.3 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from three-point range and 78.8 percent from the foul line. Despite playing just two seasons for the 49ers, he finished fifth all-time in free throw percentage, fifth in total blocks (69) and ninth in total rebounds (582). Prior to his stint at LBSU, he played two junior college seasons, first at Oxnard College and then at Ventura College, where he totaled 1,053 points, including scoring in double-figures in 48-of-52 games.

During his senior season at Long Beach State, Ennis appeared in 33 games (32 starts) averaging 16.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.76 steals, 1.30 blocks and 33.1 minutes while shooting 49.1 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from three-point range and 83.4 percent from the foul line. He ranked first on the team in scoring average and rebounds per game. He scored in double-figures in each of his 33 games, including a 29-point, 15-rebound double-double vs. BYU-Hawaii on December 15. He capped his senior year as the Big West Conference Player of the Year.

The Milwaukee Bucks have acquired the draft rights to South Dakota State guard Nate Wolters from the Philadelphia 76ers, General Manager John Hammond announced today. Wolters was originally selected by the Washington Wizards with the 38th overall pick in last night’s draft. His rights were subsequently acquired by Philadelphia before being moved to Milwaukee. In exchange for the draft rights to Wolters, the Bucks sent the draft rights to Ricky Ledo, the 43rd overall pick in the draft, and a future second round pick to the Sixers.

Wolters (6-4, 190) played four years of college basketball at South Dakota State University (2009-13), where he left holding school records for scoring (2,353 points), assists (663) and free throws made (644) over his career. He is one of only four players in Division I history to leave school with 2,000 points, 600 rebounds and 600 assists, and the only player in South Dakota State history to surpass the 2,000-point mark.

As a senior in 2012-13, Wolters averaged 22.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game, earning Third Team All-American and First Team All-Summit League honors in addition to being named the 2013 Summit League Player of the Year. He was selected to the First Team All-Summit League his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. Wolters scored in double figures in all but 13 of his 128 games as a Jackrabbit.

The Phoenix Suns chose Ukrainian center Alex Len with the fifth overall pick in the NBA draft, passing on Nerlens Noel and Ben McLemore.

The 7-foot-1 Len, who just turned 20, played two seasons at Maryland. Last year he averaged 11.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Len came to Phoenix but did not work out because he is recovering from a stress fracture in his foot.

Because of a couple of surprise picks ahead of them, the Suns found that Noel, the big center from Kentucky, and McLemore, the sharpshooting guard from Kansas, were still available.

Reported by Bob Baum of the Associated Press

The Charlotte Bobcats have selected Indiana center Cody Zeller with the No. 4 pick in the NBA draft.

Bobcats general manager Rich Cho said earlier in the week the Bobcats needed a big man and the 7-foot, 240-pound Zeller should provide help on the boards.

Zeller averaged 16.5 points and 8.1 rebounds last season as a sophomore for the Hoosiers. He finished as Indiana’s career record holder in field goal percentage, shooting 59.1 percent from the floor.

Two Hoosiers were picked in the top four in the draft. Victor Oladipo was selected second overall by Orlando.

Reported by Steve Reed of the Associated Press

The Washington Wizards have selected Georgetown sophomore Otto Porter, Jr. with the third pick in the NBA draft.

The 6-foot-8 Porter provides the Wizards a small forward to go with a backcourt of former first-round picks John Wall and Bradley Beal.

Porter - the Big East Player of the Year - is very familiar with the Wizards’ home floor because he played on it the past two seasons with the Hoyas.

The pick came after Cleveland took UNLV forward Anthony Bennett with the first overall pick and Orlando selected center Victor Oladipo of Indiana.

Reported by the Associated Press

The Orlando Magic have selected Indiana guard Victor Oladipo with the second pick in the NBA draft.

The 6-foot-4 Oladipo was a first-team AP All-American after averaging 13.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists as a junior, leading the Hoosiers to their first outright Big Ten regular-season championship in 20 years. He set Indiana’s record for steals in a season (78) and led the Big Ten with a .599 field goal percentage.

The Magic are coming off an NBA-worst 20-62 season after six straight playoff seasons and a trip to the NBA Finals in 2009.

Reported by the Associated Press

The Cleveland Cavaliers selected UNLV freshman Anthony Bennett with the No. 1 pick Thursday night, making him the first Canadian to be the top choice and getting the NBA draft off to a surprising start.

The Cavaliers passed on big men Nerlens Noel and Alex Len, who went to Phoenix at No. 5, in favor of the forward who has starred for Canada’s junior national teams and was the Mountain West Conference player of the year.

There was suspense right until the end, either because the Cavs were unsure who they wanted or were trying to trade the pick. Most predictions had them taking one of the big men.

David Stern, booed heavily in his final draft as commissioner, added to the surprise of the moment by pausing slightly before announcing the Cavs’ pick, their first at No. 1 since taking All-Star Kyrie Irving in 2011.

Orlando passed on both of the big men, too, going with Indiana swingman Victor Oladipo with the No. 2 pick. Washington took Otto Porter Jr. with the third pick, keeping the Georgetown star local.

Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

The key question for the Nuggets in the NBA draft Thursday: Is a guaranteed three-year contract for $2.8 million — $899,000 in the first season — worth it?

That’s what the 27th pick in the draft will cost the Nuggets, should they select a player in that slot. And would that player even play?

The short answer to those questions is no, and the Nuggets are expected to try to trade out of the first round. But there are complications in doing so. They aren’t the only team drafting late in the first round looking to make a move out of it. If those teams can’t find a suitor, the Nuggets would have to make that selection.

In need of a shooter, the Nuggets could get one in the draft. Among the possibilities: California’s Allen Crabbe, Providence’s Ricky Ledo and Glen Rice Jr., who played in the D-League last season after problems at Georgia Tech got him dismissed from the team.

Reported by Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post

From owner to general manager to coach, no other NBA management team has had as little time to prepare for the draft this year as the Sacramento Kings.

The Kings have had so much turmoil and turnover since the season ended that focusing on the future has been an ever-present process of acceleration. The uncertainty that clouded the franchise for so long hit its peak May 21, when Keith Smart represented the Kings at the draft lottery at the request of the Maloof family.

Smart has since been fired as coach and replaced by Mike Malone. Pete D’Alessandro took over as general manager for Geoff Petrie last week. And new owner Vivek Ranadive has wiped away just about every memory of the Maloofs inside Sacramento’s suburban arena as part of the franchise’s ”new era.”

The Kings can begin adding to that next chapter on the court come Thursday night, when they have the seventh and 36th overall picks in the draft.

”I see real potential in this draft,” D’Alessandro said.

Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

The Portland Trail Blazers hope to strike gold for a second consecutive year during Thursday night’s draft.

A year ago, Portland used the No. 6 pick to select Weber State guard Damian Lillard, who became the NBA’s Rookie of the Year. The Blazers pick at No. 10 this year.

What Blazers management has thought about this year’s draft in recent weeks is anyone’s guess. Portland general manager Neil Olshey and coach Terry Stotts haven’t spoken to the media since the team’s first individual draft workouts in late May. But Olshey has often said the team’s preference is to take the best available player over need.

The Blazers’ needs include a defensive-oriented post player and depth. During a season in which Portland went 33-49, starters LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum and Lillard ranked among the NBA’s top 10 in minutes played because of a thin bench.

Though some have tabbed this year’s draft as weak to average, the Blazers believe there are players available who can improve their roster.

Reported by the Associated Press

The Phoenix Suns won’t have any problem drafting to meet a need. They have needs everywhere.

New general manager Ryan McDonough and new coach Jeff Hornacek brought in 74 players in preparation for their first draft.

With the exception of a few who were exempt due to injuries, the players went through strenuous workouts, usually in a 3-on-3 situation. Two of the players, shooting guard Ben McLemore and point guard Trey Burke, worked out individually at the insistence of their agents.

”You only draft 60,” McDonough said, ‘’so if nothing else, I guess we’re thorough.”

With a roster that compiled the second-worst record in franchise history, just about anybody they pick at No. 5 will help.

Reported by Bob Baum of the Associated Press

Once again, the Cavaliers are facing a major summer ”decision.”

The last one was hard to accept. This one is difficult to make.

And while it doesn’t quite stack up with LeBron James’ infamous announcement that he was bolting from home three years ago and leaving Cleveland heartbroken and short of a title, the Cavs are faced with the challenge of picking another top-flight player to get them back to respectability.

For the second time in three years and third time over the past decade, the Cavaliers hold the No. 1 overall draft pick.

This year, it’s both a blessing and burden.

With no player emerging as the consensus first choice, the Cavs, who also own the No. 19 pick and two second-round selections (Nos. 31 and 33) have spent the past month doing their due diligence by meeting with players, assessing their needs and weighing their many options.

They’ve discussed several trades to rid themselves of the top pick, move down and acquire veterans for one of the league’s youngest teams…

Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, Maryland center Alex Len, Kansas shooting guard Ben McLemore, Georgetown forward Otto Porter Jr., UNLV power forward Anthony Bennett and Indiana guard Victor Oladipo are all in the mix and under consideration by the Cavs, who went 24-58 last season, finished 25 1-2 games out of first place and haven’t sniffed the postseason since James left.

Reported by Tom Withers of the Associated Press