The “green room” at the 2012 NBA Draft is not a room.  It is a cordoned off section of a giant indoor arena to the front and the right of the stage.  14 men, selected by NBA Commissioner David Stern, sit there with their families and friends and agents at small black tables of 6.  When the draft begins, the lights in the entire arena will dim, including this area.  The stage will be lit, and in what has become tribute from fans of the league, Stern will emerge to a reliable chorus of boos from the crowd in attendance. 

The 14 young men will wait to be called to the stage and selected by teams as NBA players.   There are other prospective NBA players present, seated in the lower bowl further off to the right side of Stern’s stage beside spectators, agents and an overflow of eager families and friends.

Few of the men in the “green room” know when and by which team they will be drafted.   Anthony Davis from the University of Kentucky, the consensus best NBA prospect in the country, is expected to go first.  Beyond that, it is conjecture.  The press corps sits to the left of the stage behind tables and lap top computers that resemble pens and furious caged animals.  Each writer has his suspicions, prognostications for which man will be taken by which team, trades that may occur or have been discussed between teams. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers draft process has been saturated with wild rumors for the two seasons that General Manager Chris Grant has run the organization.  This draft is no different.  The Cavaliers have 4 selections to make this evening.  Two first round picks: their own at #4 and a pick acquired for Ramon Sessions from the Lakers near the trade deadline which had been highly criticized at the time by the national media, but which netted Cleveland the Lakers #24^th pick overall in the draft.   Two second round picks, their own at #33, and the New Orleans Hornets at #34, a pick acquired from the Miami Heat as the result of the sign and trade transaction in 2010 that allowed the Heat to obtain the rights to LeBron James.

The media has been reporting for weeks that it is unlikely that the Cavaliers will obtain four new players.  The consistent report is that this is too many rookies at one time for the team to add.  Further, that picks will be used as trade currency, either to move up in the draft or exchanged for future draft picks in another draft or for a player already on another team.   These rumors culminate on draft day, when the final rumor reported is that Chris Grant has offered all the Cavaliers four selections to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for the first pick overall.

But when the lights in the house finally go down and the stage lights up for the first pick to be announced, Anthony Davis, a franchise forward with otherworldly defensive abilities as well as a signature eyebrow conspiracy in the middle of his face, is selected by New Orleans.   And the clock begins on the rest of the draft and uncertainty for the remaining 13 in the green room.

Dion Waiters, who will be selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers, has some measure of certainty. He has reportedly been given “an assurance” by some team, and perhaps multiple teams that they will select him.   The most popular rumors are that the Phoenix Suns, who will select at #13 or the Toronto Raptors, who will select at #8 have told Waiters that they will draft him.   The Raptors rumor is based at least in part on the fact that Waiters has shut down his workouts early, an indicator that he was given a reliable promise by someone in some organization.   He knows he will be drafted.  He knows it will be in the lottery.

Waiters leans back in his chair in a three piece suit at a table next to the Zeller family.   Dion Waiters always sits with confidence.   He is a bench player from Syracuse University whose explosiveness coming into games catapulted him up draft charts into the lottery and into the 4^th overall pick.   He is selected 4^th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers, where many expected them to draft Harrison Barnes, a North Carolina player they had reportedly coveted in the 2011 Draft, but who had elected to stay in college.

In October, I wrote about the unique opportunity that Dion Waiters had to contend for NBA Rookie of the Year in 2012-13. The award obviously went to Damian Lillard in a landslide, but Waiters still finished the season in good company.

Along with Lillard, Bradley Beal, Anthony Davis and Harrison Barnes, Dion Waiters was named NBA All-Rookie First team on Tuesday. 
 

2012-13 NBA All-Rookie First Team: @dame_lillard @realdealbeal23 @antdavis23 @dionwaiters3 & @hbarnes.

— NBA (@NBA) May 14, 2013

According to the release issued by the Cavaliers, Waiters received 21 first-team votes and eight second team votes for a total of 50 points.

This after finishing the season at 14.7 points, 3.0 assists and 2.4 rebounds. In the event you were wondering, below is what I initially predicted in terms of Waiters' statistical production this season in that October article I was talking about. 

Which brings me to my prediction for Dion Waiters' final stat line this season: 16.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.

For those keeping score at home, I was off by 1.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists. And while he was never really close for ROY--outside of being named Rookie of the Month once--I've remained proud of that prediction.

As was Waiters proud to be named All-Rookie First Team according to the press release.

“I’m honored to receive an award like this and it makes me hungry to keep working hard and focus on taking the next steps to improve my game,” said Waiters. “I can’t wait to get back to work with my teammates and Coach Brown, though, because I’m excited about what our potential can be as a group.”

Humble and hungry as always.

The other young Cavalier recognized on Tuesday was Tyler Zeller who was named to the All-Rookie Second Team.

How much of an impact is it reasonable to expect Mike Brown could make in year one for a Cleveland Cavaliers team that finished with the NBA's third-worst record in 2012-13?

While asking myself this question over the weekend, I thought back to the last time Brown was in his first season as head coach of the Cavs. 

Flipping through the online pages of Basketball-Reference.com, I remembered the 42-40 finish that concluded the 2004-05 campaign.

I also remembered a youthfully ignorant time in my life when I considered Jeff McInnis to be a good player as well, but that's besides the point.

That team, led by Coach Paul Silas, went  34-30 until old man Silas was canned in favor of interim coach Brendan Malone--the father of former Cavs assistant and current head coaching candidate Mike Malone of the Golden State Warriors--who went 8-10 down the stretch to finish at 42-40.

The same finish that was percentage points away from affording LeBron James a trip to the playoffs in only his second NBA season. 

It was James, obviously, who led those Cavaliers in scoring at 27.2 points per game that year before Brown arrived.

Zydrunas Ilagauskas scored 16.9, Drew Gooden 14.4, McInnis 12.8 and Ira Newble 5.9. The late Robert Traylor averaged 5.5 points as well while Anderson Varejao scored 4.9.

Gooden also collected 9.2 rebounds to lead the Cavs on the glass, Z grabbed 8.6 boards and LeBron collected 7.4. James also led in assists at 7.2 followed by McInnis at 5.1--who really wasn't good actually, I've since learned.

I am naming all of these players, in case you are wondering, in an attempt to compare the roster that preceded Brown with the one he took over in 2005-06.

Aside from LeBron James being a year older, stronger and better, they weren't really that different.

In Olmsted Township, Ohio, just about half an hour drive from downtown Cleveland, the brutally murdered body of a 20 year old transgendered woman was found tied to a concrete block and left in a pond to rot.  The body was naked from the waist down, clad only in brassiere, a tank top and a small black jacket, motionless, looking, as one observer explained, more like a mannequin than a human being.   A mannequin punctured repeatedly with stab wounds.

The body was actually discovered on April 17, 2013, but it wasn’t until Monday that the police were able to identify Carl Acoff as the person tied to that concrete block.   The media didn’t do Acoff any favors, either.  When a local reporter wrote about the story, Acoff’s murder read more like a study of the victim’s criminal history and an author’s confusion about gender pronouns than answers to the real questions.  What happened, how did it happen, how were other’s lives effected. 

It’s still dangerous for people to find out that you are a homosexual.   There is a danger of physical violence.  There is a danger of losing your job, your livelihood, your friends, your family.

Monday was the announcement by Jason Collins via a Sports Illustrated piece written by him that he was a homosexual athlete who had been competing in the NBA for over a decade.   That he had been forced to hide his sexual identity.   That he had been living a lie, maintaining that lie by hiding that identity.

Collins embodied a challenge to the misperception that gay equates to weakness or subdued femininity.  Jason Collins is far from the best player in the NBA, but he is respected in his profession.  He has played against the highest levels of basketball competition in the world.  The world, basketball included, turned its eyes to Collins.

Collins told us what we should have been watching, with a jersey he had worn all season.  Number 98 for the Celtics, honoring hate crime victim Matthew Shephard, the gay student at the University of Wyoming who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered in 1998.  Who lived for 5 days after he was discovered, tethered to a fence, dying.

Monday’s announcement of Jason Collins that he was a homosexual athlete competing in the NBA and even the almost unanimously positive reaction from his peers and from the media are far from the end of a road.  This is not even the beginning.  These civil rights are all still tied to that concrete block, still in prehistoric cro-magnon times.   1998 was the blink of an eye ago and Acoff was literally the same day as Collins announcement.

This is – hopefully – the last Draft Lottery piece I’ll be writing that provokes a strong interest from us Cavs fans. I wanna be done with it, I’m sick of waiting for the numbers to be drawn and finding out where the Cavaliers are picking.

I’ve had enough, it’s over with now. Send the memo to Kyrie, Coach Brown and co. that this is the last year I want to be in the lottery before Kyrie actually turns into Uncle Drew for real. But seeing as we do have a keen interest in this draft – spots 1-5 could be real good real fast – it’s time for me to dust off my keyboard and crack out my usual three or four pieces on the draft.

We’ll hold off on the Mock Draft until we find out who's picking where and when; today we’ll focus strictly on certain types of players. I’ve broken it down into five sections:

1) Absolutely, positively no regrets in taking this guy.
2) Not our first choice, but I’m happy with this pick
3) I’ve got concerns, so I’ll take him late lottery
4) Red Flag Alert, call the Pentagon

And my own personal favorite section, “If we don’t pick him, he’s going to turn around and bite us in the ass down the line”, otherwise known as the Andre Drummond section.

Before we start, let’s get it clear here by clarifying that this draft isn’t as weak as people are saying it is. Sure there isn’t an out-and-out franchise player here – we need to wait for 2014 for those guys – but there are at least 8 guys who will come in straight away and play, and play well.

And besides, in the last five drafts, how many true franchise-level guys have we unearthed? I think there is anything from 2 to 5 All-Stars in this draft and I really believe that. Anyways, let’s get the ball rolling…

“Section One – Absolutely, positively no regrets in taking this guy”

Nerlens Noel

Let’s start with what he can’t do–it’ll be easier. He can’t make free throws, he can’t shoot and he’s pretty raw in the post. Now, as for what he can do, well…he’s a monster inside as a shot blocker/rim protector. His leaping ability and intuitiveness for snuffing out shots is already at a very high NBA level, and with seasoning he’ll only get better.

He doesn’t bite on pump fakes as much as you’d think, and he’s got very quick hands that helped him to rack up two steals per game in college. He will get called a lot for reaching in when he’s starting out in the pros, but again, with seasoning and the steep learning curve he’ll face he will learn and will improve. If you’re a team in need of defense, athleticism, intensity on the boards and a leader in the middle he’s your guy.

I’d argue that there are only five NBA centers right now I’d rather have than Noel for the next 3-6 years. And even then, five might be pushing it. He’s an absolute stud, and I’m going to go as far as saying he’s a “can’t miss” prospect. He’ll be the number one pick, that’s for sure. I’d love for the Cavs to luck out (again) and end up choosing first, but it’s probably going to be Orlando. So start looking for suitors for Nikola Vucevic cause Noel should be let loose from day one, and by day one I mean when he’s ready to roll after the ACL injury. I said I’d keep that bit til last.

Ben McLemore

As a freshman on a national title contender, McLemore was, at times, jaw-droppingly good at Kansas. Remember his 30-point game against rivals Kansas State? Or his whichever-you-want-I-don’t-care-I’m-scoring-anyway performance against West Virginia? The kid can flat out score the crap out of the basketball–and has a tendency to do so at an efficient rate.

He has next-level athletic ability and will be a monster in the open court from day one as a pro. His gaudy college shooting percentages will naturally drop his rookie year, but when he fully figures himself – and his game – out, this guy could be pretty good.

Player A – 32 minutes a game, 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and a 50-42-87 shooting line

Player B – 34 minutes a game, 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and a 45-34-77 shooting line

Player A is Ben McLemore, Player B is Bradley Beal. The same Bradley Beal scouts were enamored with in the buildup to last years draft and the same Bradley Beal who had pro executives drooling over his potential when he played this season without John Wall by his side. Bradley Beal is a damn good rookie and will have a very good NBA career – but Ben McLemore could be special, real special. That’s the difference.

So the season officially ended with the firing of the old coach Byron Scott and the rehiring of the older coach Mike Brown.  There’s a lot to look back on in one of the most disappointing seasons in the history of the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise.   Records were broken through the Byron Scott Era, all of which are the kind of records you wouldn’t want your favorite team to be responsible for. 

Rather than list these, we conducted the following interviews of Brendan Bowers, editor in chief of Stepien Rules, and Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers.  However, rather than interrupting Dan Gilbert to answer the questions, I took the liberty of answering them on his behalf.

So again, Brendan Bowers answered 5 questions on behalf of Stepien Rules:

1.  What is your guarantee as to when the Cavs will contend for the playoffs?

My guarantee that the Cavaliers will contend for the playoffs is the 2014-15 campaign. My hope is that they compete in 2013-14. My primary concern at this point, while I believe that Mike Brown will improve the team defensively--assuming he is eventually hired--is whether or not this new group of Cavaliers--who did not play for Mike Brown before--are able to learn and adapt to his system defensively in time to compete this season. The offense, while that is his weakness so to speak, I'm not as concerned about. Kyrie Irving, like LeBron James before him, will make the offense palatable in my opinion.

2.  Was Kyrie Irving better at anything in his second year than his first year?  What part of his game improved?

I think he was obviously better collectively, but if I had to pick one aspect of his game it was his ball-handling. Brandon Knight is among those that would agree to the fact, I believe, that Irving is the best ball handler in the ENTIRE LEAGUE. His crossover move is the UTEP Two Step of this generation, and I expect his ball handling to become universally celebrated along the same way that Vince Carter's leaping ability was celebrating during the 1990s.

3.  How will Mike Brown help this team?

He will create a defensive identity this team didn't have prior to his arrival. That much we can be assured of. The major obstacle there, however, is how well his superstar is able to play defense. Mike Brown got LeBron James to not only buy into his defensive philosophies, but also use his insane athletic abilities to play defense--the passing lanes specifically. Kyrie Irving is also a superstar, but he's not the same type of superstar that James was. I'm sure he'll be able to get Irving to buy in, but I'm not sure how effective he'll be at the point of attack. We haven't seen Kyrie play defense yet.

4.  What disappointed you the most during the 2012-13 season?

Besides the injuries, the month of April disappointed me the most. I feel like everybody gave up, not just the players on Byron Scott.

5.  How will Dan Gilbert be able to keep himself from forcing moves to get the team into the playoffs in 2014?

I'm not sure. I think hiring Mike Brown, is a move that Gilbert feels gets his team into the 2014 playoffs so maybe he's already started. Chris Grant will have to convince him why investing major dollars in an aging free agent like Paul Millsap or Andre Igoudala is the wrong idea this summer and it might be difficult. Notice I didn't say Al Jefferson there. If the white flag is waved on James in 2014, a move like that might be imminent. So to answer your question, maybe he won't be stopped from doing so.

Then I answered 5 questions on behalf of Dan Gilbert, who is the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers:

1. Why did you fire Mike Brown in 2009?

Well, according to one reporter, after Game 5 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals - while jeers and boos were hailstorming down from the Cleveland crowd on the then NBA MVP for quitting in the game, the mother of one of the players on the team at that time approached former Cavaliers Head Coach Mike Fratello and said “F**k Mike Brown!! F**k Danny Ferry!!  F**k this place!!” and offered Fratello the Cavs head coaching job.   I don’t think I need to tell you that the “**” in that answer are “uc” and by "this place", mommers meant “Cleveland, Ohio”.  Although the team contemplated making her the GM and allowing her to make the head coaching decision, unfortunately Fratello was not available because he was too busy complaining that Crostatas Pizza does not offer pepperoni as a topping.

2. What has changed about Mike Brown in 2013 that makes him the best fit for this franchise?

A policy decision was made within the organization to stop allowing personnel decisions to be made by player’s mothers.  The organization has also contemplated not inviting high school teammates of players to the organization’s Summer League team, ride on team planes, to dictate the number of days the team spends on road trips in certain cities, and providing concierge service to mothers of players who are involved in DUI arrests.

3. Does Mike Brown have to take this team to the playoffs in 2013?

No since we’re committed to a rebuild which will probably end up taking half a decade.   Also I love the guy since he is the best at job interviews of any person ever.   We’re probably going to bronze that spit cup one day.  Hang it up in the rafters, you know.

4. How do you respond to the argument that Mike Brown is the only coach in NBA history to have failed to win an NBA championship w/ LeBron James and Kobe Bryant?

Real funny question Bowers.  You read that thing I wrote before?  The one dude you referenced in your question, he quit on the team in two series, 2009 and 2010.  So Mike Brown, technically would have two rings if that hadn’t happened.   Kobe Bryant probably would have won a ring thing year, but they fired Mike Brown before he could get the job done.  Looks like the Lakers are down two games right now.  Mike Brown doesn’t let that happen, since he’s never lost a first round playoff matchup in his career.  That’s a fact, you could look it up.

5. What do you say to Cavs bloggers who defended Mike Brown throughout his entire tenure against critics who then became vindicated by the fact that you fired him, suggested that you agreed with said critics at the time?

I’ve already sent them text messages to let them know they were wrong.  

This is how the march back to the Playoffs started.   For a five year contract worth just over $20 million, the Cleveland Cavaliers added a coach with a playoff pedigree, an outstanding regular season coaching record and the demeanor to take the franchise back to the playoffs. 

His coaching ability was in demand. He was potentially fielding interest from the Philadelphia 76ers, the Atlanta Hawks, the Detroit Pistons and the Phoenix Suns.   Including the Cavaliers, a sixth of the league was interested in Mike Brown as a head coach.  The Cavaliers got him.

So the Los Angeles Lakers of 2012-13 were not what people thought they were.  So Dwight Howard’s recovery from surgery was not as complete as the Lakers hoped it would be.   So the offense did not immediately gel.  The Lakers decision to fire Mike Brown 5 games into the regular season was a short sighted mistake that became more evident through as the Lakers did not qualify for the playoffs until the final day of the regular season.

Mike Brown coming back to the Cavaliers is a complete and total coup.  Brown had a list of suitors and chose Cleveland, where he coached from 2005 until 2010.  

Cleveland was where he made the playoffs every year and was the head coach though the most successful stretch in the history of the franchise.  Mike Brown’s defensive strategies were a key to taking a talented team that lacked a second superstar from the cusp of the playoffs all the way to the NBA Finals.  When year after year the question was not of making the playoffs but whether they would win an NBA Championship. 

Mike Brown, his coaching and strategy were the second Cavalier superstar that allowed the team to make deep runs in the playoffs despite the lack of a clear second option on the floor.  Mike Brown coached a backcourt of Eric Snow and Larry Hughes to the NBA Finals.  He turned Anderson Varejao into one of the most valuable defensive players in the NBA.   He found a place for Sasha Pavlovic and Drew Gooden to succeed.  He’s a teacher, a grinder, a professor of lockdown committed defense.

In 2010 there was a business decision that sent Mike Brown out of the Cavaliers organization.  Danny Ferry, then GM, left when Brown was fired.  It was the wrong decision to fire Brown, and undoubtedly a short sighted appeasement of one player who left anyway.   The decision to Tom Izzo was famously courted to take Brown’s position certainly wasn’t made by Ferry or Chris Grant.  When Byron Scott took the wheel, even Scott didn’t know what he would be steering.

When I first spoke with Mark Price, for a Cleveland.com article published last April, he was working under Stan Van Gundy as an Assistant Coach with the Orlando Magic.

Prior to the 2011-12 campaign, Price had worked his way up the NBA coaching ranks—as Cleveland Jackson eloquently detailed yesterday—on staffs led by Mike Fratello, Mike Woodson and others. 

Based on his extensive coaching experience, as well as his success learning the professional game as a player under a long list of Hall of Fame coaches, I assumed Price would emerge as a potential candidate for future head coaching positions all over the NBA.
 

Like most up-and-coming assistants, Price was named Head Coach of the Orlando Magic's Summer League Team just after we spoke.

The Magic, however, eventually fired Stan Van Gundy's entire staff just prior to the 2012-13 season. Price elected to keep his family in Orlando and not force his son—who has since signed a letter of intent to play collegiately at TCU—to relocate during his senior year of high school while pursuing other coaching opportunities.

Knowing this, I've thought for several weeks that Mark Price should be a head coaching candidate for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the event Byron Scott was fired. 

I've discussed this possibility at length with Cleveland Jackson and others behind closed doors at Stepien Rules Headquarters throughout the month of April. Those conversations only increased in frequency and detail following Scott's firing on Thursday. 

As anyone who stopped by on Friday is now aware, there are more reasons why Mark Price should be the Cavaliers next Head Coach than most fans initially realize.

But before we got too carried away in nominating Price for the job, we decided, I should at least find out if he was even interested in it.

Mark Price is the best available head coaching candidate for the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

This is not a question of nostalgia, but rather a matter of practicality and reality.  Price, while by far the most popular Cavalier in the history of the franchise, has the playing experience and success to demand respect, the technical expertise to help mold a young team’s skills, and the background of having worked for and with some of the most accomplished head coaches in the history of the NBA.

The 2012-13 Cleveland Cavaliers were famously terrible on defense, allowing a league high 47.6% FG against, the Cavs also only managed 43.4% FG themselves, second worst in basketball. 

There is not a living man more qualified to address shooting issues than Mark Price.  To help create that 12 to 15 foot Tristan Thompson jump shot.  To improve Dion Waiters shot selection.   To help prevent prolonged Tyler Zeller shooting slumps.  To provide whatever is necessary to turn Kyrie Irving into one of the greatest shooters and point guards of all time.

Moreover, to provide immeasurable intangibiles to a team in need of direction in how to act as a team instead of a collection of individuals, to turn five fingers into a hardened fist.

The common current list in circulation for NBA head coaching jobs right now is essentially identical to the last season’s:  Michael Curry, Lindsay Hunter, Brian Shaw, and Michael Malone.  Chris Grant and Dan Gilbert can rehash this list, consider their options limited to it and the availability of former coach Mike Brown, but they should face the obvious answer.

Connection to the Cleveland community:   Mark Price cares about the Cavaliers.  He already has a legacy with the franchise and was a part of some of its greatest moments.  He still holds many of the team’s records.  He’s beloved in the town and respected as one of the classiest and best human beings in the history of Cleveland athletics. 

His character is unimpeachable.  If there’s an individual who merits a statue outside the Quicken Loans Arena, a man who personifies moral character and true loyalty, it’s Mark Price.  There are other men of high character who could fill this role, but not one who could bring more integrity and greater support of the City of Cleveland to the sidelines of the Cavaliers bench than Mark Price.

Experience with successful coaches:  Mark Price famously played on the Cavaliers for legend Lenny Wilkens and one time defensive guru Mike Fratello.  While a Golden State Warrior, Price played under the Rick Adelman.   Finishing his career on the Orlando Magic, Price played for Chuck Daly.  While a member of the gold medal winning Dream Team II, Price played under Don Nelson.

That’s a hall of fame resume of coaches.

Byron Scott compiled a record of 64-166 during his tenure as coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

That mark, for some perspective, is only a 2-14 slide away—during the lockout-shortened season of 2011-12, perhaps—from matching the 66-180 record the Cavs totaled from 1981-83 under the ownership of Ted Stepien.

Scott also set an NBA record with 26 consecutive losses in 2011 and saw his winning percentage decline from .318 to .293 in his third year on the Cavaliers' sidelines. 

With all that in mind, however—along with the personal grudge I somewhat hold against Scott for helping to run my guys Christian Eyenga and Samardo Samuels out of the league—I still woke up on Thursday morning unsure if firing Byron was actually the best move to make. 

Dan Gilbert and his brain trust elected to make that move regardless, though, and the search for a new head coach is now underway. 

But before I can engage in discussions about Mike Malone, Brian Shaw, Mike Brown (?!?!?) or whoever else, I need to first talk about the many layers of this decision that left me conflicted throughout the day.
 

1. If Kyrie Irving didn't want Byron Scott fired, why do it?

My thought process during the month of April went like this: the only way Byron Scott would / could / should be fired is if Kyrie Irving wanted him gone. 

As I watched Irving turn in the worst month of his NBA career while his "Basketball Father" sat scorching on the hot seat, I started to think that maybe he was cool with a new voice inside the huddle. 

Not necessarily calling for Byron to lose his job, mind you, but okay if the ax came down.

After standing three feet away from Kyrie while he addressed the media at Cleveland Clinic Courts, though, the kid looked to me like someone had just shot his dog.

"I feel like I lost a part of myself," he said, as depressed as I've ever seen him.

So while I walked into the presser thinking that maybe Irving did want Scott out, I left completely convinced of the opposite.

Nobody is that good of an actor, not even the guy who plays Uncle Drew.