The NBA Draft is officially less than 18 hours away, which means the crazy back-and-forth rumors are only now just kicking into hyperspeed. Late Wednesday night, we got the latest of murmurs possibly affecting the Cavaliers’ plans at the No. 4 pick, courtesy of ESPN’s Andy Katz:

Syracuse’s Dion Waiters could be in play at No. 4 to Cleveland, according to those close to Waiters. That would shake up lottery a bit.

There’s a lot going on in that tweet, starting with the fact that the source is Waiters’ camp. I’m not sure exactly how I should respond to that as an informed fan, considering that initially seems like pure posturing on Waiters’ part, and no one elses.

However, Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski added more validity to the report with his post moments ago:

The Cavaliers haven’t been able to get Waiters to visit Cleveland for a workout and meeting with officials, but it hasn’t extinguished management’s ever-evolving fascination with choosing Waiters at No. 4 – especially if the Cavaliers are unable to secure Florida guard Bradley Beal.

Syracuse’s Dion Waiters has quickly climbed into the top half of the draft lottery. (Getty Images)
Cleveland has intensified its background checks on Walters, and sources in direct contact with Cavs officials believe Waiters would be the franchise’s choice over Kansas’ Thomas Robinson should the Charlotte Bobcats select Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at No. 2, and the Washington Wizards take Beal at No. 3.

Twitter has been on fire late at night here with rumors about Cleveland’s possible new interest in the Syracuse scorer. With his name and Washington’s Terrance Ross’ bursting onto the NE Ohio spotlight over the last moments, this likely is just a sign of things to come by the time the draft finally is here at 7 p.m.

[Related: 2012 NBA Draft: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Harrison Barnes and Growing Debates]