Not a draft-bust, Anthony Bennett is the NBA's first draft-ghost
Maybe we've just been spoiled by the incredible run of first-overall picks in the NBA this last half-decade. Starting with the Bulls taking Derrick Rose in 2008, up until the then-Hornets plucking Anthony Davis in 2012, we've had five no-doubters taken first overall, with barely any controversy to their selections, and since they've been selected, all five of them have already turned their respective franchises around, or are currently in the process of doing so.
All three who have been eligible for max extensions have received them ahead of schedule. Three of them have already been selected to All-Star teams. One of them - the youngest, somewhat ironically - has already represented his country at the Olympics, and even though three of them play the same position, it wouldn't be terribly surprising if all of them one day represented the United States in one form of international play or another. Much was expected of these players, and much has been delivered.
And then there's Anthony Bennett, this year's top overall pick, and a pretty sure bet to bring this streak to an end.
That's not to call Bennett a bust before he even plays his first regular-season game (though unsurprisingly, some are already raising that question) and it's not to prematurely dump on the Cavs for taking the wrong guy with the top overall pick. But when you look at the guys who came immediately before him - the storied college careers they had, the overwhelming hype that greeted their declarations for the league, the amazing buzz generated by their first Summer League and pre-season games in the NBA - and then you look at Bennett, there's an obvious and jarring disconnect. This guy just isn't one of those guys.
And that disconnect isn't so much due to the type of player Bennett is going to be in the league as it is how little people seem to care right now about finding out what type of player he's going to be. Not only is Bennett not expected to be any kind of savior for the Cleveland Cavaliers, it seems like people sometimes even forget that he's on the roster, totally neglecting his presence when evaluating the Cavs' pre-season projections. I know I do, anyway.
Bennett's Forgotten Man quality was on full display Tuesday night in the Cavs' pre-season opener at Quicken Loans Arena. When he checked in for the first time towards the end of the first quarter - 25-year-old journeyman Earl Clark is expected to start ahead of Bennett, and everyone seems cool with this - his debut was greeted with mild applause that was barely perceptible on the telecast.
During his first possession as a Cavalier, Cleveland announcer Fred McLeod casually mentioned "Anthony Bennett checks in," as if he was introducing Alonzo Gee or DeSagana Diop, before launching right back into the play-by-play. No mention of his draft status, that he missed all of Summer League, nothing. Just Anthony Bennett, here he is, enjoy.
Now, there's an obvious partial explanation for this, and that's that this most-recent draft was widely considered the worst in over a decade, with no clear number-one pick presenting himself. Up until draft night, Bennett was still being ranked in the mid-lottery on many draft boards, with ESPN draft guru Chad Ford having him going No. 8 to the Pistons. The Cavs surprised just about everyone by taking Bennett first overall, and the draft only got weirder from there. You could say you can't judge this year's rookie class by normal standards, and you'd probably be right.
Still, it's not like there aren't rookies out there who have had considerable expectations foisted upon them for their premiere seasons. The Orlando Magic certainly haven't shied away from making #2 overall pick Victor Oladipo the new face of their franchise, even rebranding their home city in the man's name. Michael Carter-Williams and Trey Burke are both being written in as the unquestioned starters for their respective teams, at point guard, probably the most challenging position for a first-year player. MCW's teammate Nerlens Noel might not even make it back healthy this year, but when and if he does, he'll have a lot to live up to in Philly, having been the primary trade return for Sixers first-time All-Star Jrue Holiday on draft night.
Somehow, Bennett has missed out on all of this, slipping through the cracks of the off-season despite being taken higher than anyone. And even more than the class he was a part of, this is probably mostly attributable to the team he's going to. The Cleveland Cavaliers already got their franchise savior with the No. 1 pick two drafts earlier in point guard Kyrie Irving, and if that wasn't enough, they've also landed two other top five picks in the two drafts before this one, power forward Tristan Thompson (No. 4, '11) and combo guard Dion Waiters (No. 3, '12). You can only keep track of high expectations for so many players at once, perhaps.
What's more, the Cavaliers are already so flooded with storylines for this upcoming season that there might just not be room for Bennett to get a subplot in edgewise. There are the health concerns of Irving and center Anderson Varejao, both of whom have missed considerable time each of the last two seasons. There's the continued development of Waiters and Thompson, both of whom have shown flashes of true potential but frustrated at other times. There's the big-name free agency arrivals of Jarrett Jack and Andrew Bynum, the latter of whom could be the biggest X-Factor in the East if he stays healthy. There's the return of coach Mike Brown, the most successful coach in franchise history. There's even Thompson learning to shoot with his freakin' right hand for the first time. No wonder nobody in Cleveland has breath to spare for Bennett's debut.
Of course, with an electrifying pre-season performance, Bennett could probably change all of this. A lot of the reason his pro premiere is being so underplayed is because a lot of people don't know that much about him yet. He wasn't one of those guys who got SI covers while he was in high school, he didn't play on a particularly hyped college team (and didn't get far in the NCAA tournament), and he missed all of Summer League with a shoulder injury. If you were a Cavs fan watching him on Tuesday against the Bucks, chances are pretty good it was the first you'd seen of him.
However, chances are also pretty good that you weren't all that impressed with what you saw. Bennett's first outing as a Cavalier was an unimpressive one, as he went 2-for-12 for seven points, with five fouls, four turnovers and zero assists, though he did grab 10 boards. He looked out of shape throughout, and clearly got winded toward the end of his runs. He looked decently athletic in spots, but had his shot blocked several times, usually a sign of a player who's going to have to work to adjust to the athleticism of the pro level.
His outside shot looked awful, as he airballed one three and had another miss the rim entirely. He also made careless mistakes, turning the ball over on a handoff and lazily permitting blow-bys on defense. After the game, if you had to guess which player on the court had just been taken first overall in the NBA draft, there are probably at least seven others you would've picked before Bennett--including the Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo, taken 14 picks later that round.
Again, this is a rookie in his first game after sitting most of the summer with injury, so it's still way too early to make any judgments in totality about Anthony Bennett as a player. But it's pretty clear that he's not going to step in to the Cavs lineup and set the NBA on fire from day one. More likely, he's going to be brought along very slowly by this team, who might not even need his contributions at all to make a serious playoff push, given limited rotation minutes at first and possibly given gradually more responsibility over the course of the season as he adapts to the pro game. And Cleveland fans will probably be OK with that, as they focus their energy on gawking over Kyrie Irving layups and willing Andrew Bynum's knee cartilage back into existence.
Maybe it's for the best for Bennett. If John Wall and Blake Griffin could have played their rookie seasons with low expectations and virtually no media attention, perhaps they would have preferred it that way. Surely it's easier to acclimate to a whole new level of basketball at your own pace, without fans and reporters breathing down your neck about why you haven't made an All-Star team or averaged 20 a game or led your team to the playoffs yet, all pressures that Anthony Bennett will probably never know as he plays in virtual anonymity in Cleveland.
It's still an unusual feeling, though, to be entering a new season without the number-one pick being someone that everyone can't wait to see, that's affecting League Pass decisions and visiting-team ticket purchases and all that. Regardless of how he turns out as a pro, Anthony Bennett is already something much rarer than a draft bust - he's a draft ghost, virtually invisible and already mostly forgotten.