The Cleveland Cavaliers are feeling very hopeful about the future after selecting Anthony Bennett from UNLV with the number one overall pick in the NBA draft this summer and with Kyrie Irving already in the fold, the franchised has some of the best young talent in the league.
Bennett became the first Canadian player to be taken number one overall and the pick came as somewhat of a surprise after many predicated that the Cavaliers would select wither Nerlens Noel, Otto Porter or Victor Oladipo and now he has the chance to develop with one of the best young point guards in the league in Irving. Bennett will now have some company from the draft on the roster, as the Cavaliers signed Carrick Felix after taking him in the second round.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Cavaliers have signed Felix to a deal after taking him with the number 33 overall pick in the draft after taking Bennett number one. The report says that the team signed him to a deal that will pay him $510,000 in 2013-14 and it will keep him on the roster this year and there are also guarantees on the future years in the deal. Felix comes after starring in the Vegas summer league and the report says he played some stellar defense and that will be a big boost for the Cavaliers, as they lacked in that area last season.
Mike Brown appears ready to give Felix a chance after he averaged 7.2 points a game on 40 percent shooting during the summer league and he also averaged just fewer than six rebounds per contest as well. Felix adds to the young core that the Cavaliers already have with Irving, Bennett, Tristan Thompson and Tyler Zeller and now the team is thinking playoffs for the first time since LeBron James left for the Miami Heat. Irving is a budding superstar and after signing Andrew Bynum to a deal the team is ready to rebound, literally.
Bennett previously played with other Canadian star Andrew Wiggins in 2010 at the FIBA Under-17 World Championship and averaged 13.2 points and 6.2 rebounds and if he puts up numbers anywhere close to that this season, the Cavs will be thrilled. Another thing that the team is excited about is the Canadian connection between Thompson and Bennett and the fact that they are countrymen could make things flow better for the two on the court.
