The consensus No. 1 pick, or closest thing to it in the 2013 NBA draft was Nerlens Noel, followed by Otto Porter and Ben McLemore. Apparently, Cleveland doesn't give a damn about the media's assumptions. They took Anthony Bennett, who grew up in Canada and played one season at UNLV. In this year's draft, his small sample size of talent was enough for Cleveland to roll the dice.
One exec who's team passed on Noel says don't blame injury: "He's actually healthier than Len or Bennett.''
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) June 27, 2013
Historic! Anthony Bennett is the first Canadian to be drafted #1 overall @espn now
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) June 27, 2013
Anthony Bennett joins Larry Johnson (Charlotte, 1991) as the only UNLV players in history to be picked No.1 overall.
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 27, 2013
Anthony Bennett at No. 1 is a SHOCKER, per @basketballtalk : http://t.co/1Yfi9NIXiP
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) June 27, 2013
UNLV's Anthony Bennett picked #1 by the Cavs. He made headlines in #CollegeKOC this past season -> http://t.co/ErTCwWj2hl
— Nice Kicks (@nicekicks) June 27, 2013
Cleveland's decision to take Bennett was simple per Cavs: "Best talent."
— Andy Katz (@ESPNAndyKatz) June 27, 2013
Don't know much about 2013's No. 1 pick, Anthony Bennett? Here's @SeanDeveney's rundown: http://t.co/VVH30y1RsQ
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) June 27, 2013
Anthony Bennett: “I’m just as surprised as everybody else." Ha!
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) June 28, 2013
Bennett's high school coach, Mike Peck, to me on his reaction: "“Literally, Wow: that just happened."
— Eric Koreen (@ekoreen) June 28, 2013