2013 NBA Draft: Cleveland Cavaliers select Anthony Bennett with first-overall pick

The Cleveland Cavaliers have selected  UNLV forward Anthony Bennett with the first-overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

Bennett averaged 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game with the Running Rebels in 2012-13. He was said to have a fan in Cleveland’s head coach Mike Brown, but how the front office felt was unknown. Bennett is a skilled power forward who was the top scoring and rebounding freshman per-40 minutes in the NBA Draft, and was one of the few players who were considered to potentially be the best to come out of the 2013 Draft.

There is no doubt that the kid can play, being unguardable at times, but Bennett’s weakness is undoubtedly on the defensive end. He is an extreme athlete who has a desire to work hard and will have a solid teacher in Brown. Where he fits on the Cavaliers remains to be seen given the presence of Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao already splitting time at the power forward slot. Bennett will, however, provide offensive skill and balance for the plus-defenders in Thompson and Varejao.

“When you walked out of the gym when you saw (Bennett) play, you kind of went ‘Wow,'” said Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant following the draft. “He just does things you don’t see other people do.”

[Related: WFNY Roundtable: Talking Cavs and the 2013 NBA Draft]