Iconic Night Delivers Cavaliers Hope for the Future and a New Motto

As Cavalier fans woke up across Ohio and this great nation Wednesday morning, the first question most had to ask themselves was ‘What’s not to like?’

The Cleveland Cavaliers won the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery. I don’t just mean that they won the right to make the first pick in the upcoming draft. Oh, no. I’m saying that the Cavaliers franchise won in every conceivable way Tuesday night in Secaucus, New Jersey.

They won validation of the Mo Williams trade in which they were so heavily criticized for making by the national media. They won over the hearts of Cleveland sports fans with the Nick Gilbert show. They won by being able to keep the momentum of fan interest in the team going strong. They won by being given an opportunity to get a massive head start on the rebuilding process. And yes, they won the right to take Kyrie Irving with the first pick in the draft.

Sometimes being a Cleveland sports fan feels like a bipolar existence. Just 2 months ago the Cleveland sports psyche couldn’t have been lower. The Cavs were coming off a humiliating season. There was The Decision, seeing beloved fan favorite Zydrunas Ilgauskas follow him to Miami, the December 2nd meltdown, the record losing streak, the biggest drop-off from one season in NBA history, and on and on. The Browns were coming off a season that was a major letdown and lead to the firing of a coach and the hiring of a new, unknown coach. There was a sense that the Browns were starting from scratch all over again. And the Indians? The Indians were surely headed for another lackluster season of fighting with Kansas City to avoid the cellar of the AL Central.

Fast forward to now, and Peyton Hillis is on the cover of Madden, the Browns had a draft that was almost unanimously praised, and spirits are suddenly high among fans. The Indians have the best record in baseball, are enjoying a 5 game lead in the division, and have a run differential that is 19 runs better than the next closest team. They are the story of the baseball season so far. And then the Cavaliers won the first and fourth picks in the draft and earned an iconic cult hero and a new motto (“What’s Not To Like!”) in young Nick Gilbert. The turnaround in mood among Cleveland fans has been nothing short of inspiring to see.

Of course, as always, the mood must be somewhat tempered because only time will tell if the enthusiasm receives its just payoff in the form of talent, turnaround, and Championship contending. One thing that’s clear, though, while the Cavaliers did not win the NBA Championship Tuesday night, they did announce their intention to rebuild into a winner in a big way. And more importantly, the right way.

From the start, the night had a surreal, almost magical feeling to it. From the moment we first saw young Nick Gilbert, dressed in that Cavaliers bow tie and the thick rimmed glasses, standing next to his father waiting to take his seat up front to represent the city and the franchise, I had a good feeling. Nick’s story carried a weight with it that’s impossible to ignore. This was a kid who deserved a win. I actually heard a couple people suggest he already got his win when he was born to a billionaire father, but those people are flat out idiots. Being the son of a billionaire is of little significance when a young kid is going through multiple battles with chemotherapy and a brain surgery. Dan Gilbert called Nick his “personal hero”, and no matter what the lottery results were, this kid was going to be Cleveland’s hero that night as well.

Next came the introduction of the NBA dignitaries who would be representing their teams. When it came to young Nick Gilbert, he was asked about his father calling him his personal hero, and that’s when Nick, sitting there so stoically as the question was asked, delivered the line of the night with his “What’s not to like?” retort. It absolutely brought the house down and in that moment he won over even the most hardcore skeptics of Dan Gilbert’s decision to use Nick over favorites such as Joe Tait or Austin Carr as team representative. But could Nick deliver Cavs fans the results they craved?

The results came through slowly, but exactly to plan. First up, the 14th pick. “Just get past this first one,” I told myself. I didn’t want to see a surprise kick off the night. The envelope was opened and the Rockets logo was revealed. So far so good. Next up, #13: Sun logo. Bingo. Next envelope, we see Utah. Right on schedule. Envelope #11 showed the Warriors. Suddenly, we were 2 teams away to getting to #8 without any surprises. Envelope #10 delivered and Bucks and I started to feel something was happening. Pick #9 went according to plan when we saw the Bobcats card, and here we were. Pick #8. The Clippers pick that the Cavaliers earned in the Mo Williams trade. The odds were still against Cleveland, but it felt like a good sign that there were no previous surprises.

Sure enough, the envelope was opened and out popped the Pistons logo. JACKPOT!!! The Cavaliers were going to have 2 picks in the top 5. Just like that. The dream scenario was happening to some degree. But just how good would it be? I think I may have blacked out in the excitement of the moment because I don’t remember the next few cards being drawn, I just remember being cognizant of the fact that the Jazz were skipped as well, which meant unless the Cavs also won a top 3 pick with their own odds, they would now be picking at least 4th with it.

They got to pick 5 and we knew that this would be the lowest the Cavaliers could pick. If Toronto had jumped up, this would be the Cavaliers’ logo. But it was the Raptors’ logo and the Cavaliers now had 2 of the top 4 picks. Then came envelope #4. If this was either Utah or Minnesota, then Cleveland would have 2 of the top 3 picks. But alas, they pulled out the Cavaliers’ logo. As ESPN went to commercial before revealing the top 3, I began to feel a little more subdued. I began to feel that realistically, the Cavs probably got the #3 and #4 picks. Still a great scenario, but I had to remind myself that this was still a great thing because I had my heart set on getting 2 of the top 3 picks.

They come back from commercial and begin to reveal pick #3. I braced myself for the inevitable. But Utah’s logo came out of the envelope instead. An enormous wave of relief hit me as it was now certain the Cavaliers would get either Kyrie Irving or Derrick Williams. Then came the big moment. The reveal of pick #2. Before we knew it, Minnesota’s logo was coming out of that envelope and the Clippers had delivered the #1 overall pick in the draft to the Cleveland Cavaliers! Nick Gilbert raised his hand into the air in celebration while Dan Gilbert greeted his contingent (including Bernie Kosar, Josh Cribbs, and Joe Haden) with hugs and congratulatory smiles. It was a surreal moment of joy in the wake of a season that offered so much heartbreak.

I don’t know who was the first person to post it on Twitter, but I saw several point out that Nick Gilbert was 14 years old. 14. 1-4. The Cavs motto is All 4-1 and 1-4 all. The Cavaliers got picks 1 and 4. 1-4. 14. I wrote yesterday that the Cavs’ fate was in the hands of destiny, and the way this played out, it seems almost mystical.

This may have been the Cavaliers’ destiny, but the consequences of this lottery were potentially very real and tangible. It was great to see the way the fans supported the team without LeBron last year, but my greatest fear was getting the 5th and 11th picks and with them, the hope, excitement, and momentum being sucked out of the franchise. I was scared of the Cavaliers losing their incredible local following. By gaining the 1st and 4th picks in the draft, though, the Cavaliers are now fostering a spirit of ultimate excitement and hope for the future. They will have a #1 pick that they can use to help market the team to the fans and hopefully build a contending team around.

The Cavaliers have an unbelievable grass roots fan following. Whether it be the forums like realcavsfans.com, the plethora of quality Cavs blogs, or the immense Twitter presence of an army of Cavs fans, it’s been an amazing year watching the fans deal with the losing and embarrassments together as a unified fan base. Extended periods of losing always threaten that utopic existence, but the excitement of this draft and what this now means for the rebuilding effort gives us all a rally cry. It’s a rally cry we can all believe in and say with all true meaning this morning.

Cleveland, What’s Not to Like?!

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Image Credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images