Draymond Green was drafted No. 35 in the 2012 NBA Draft. The Cleveland Cavaliers held picks 33 and 34 that year, and owner Dan Gilbert, like Green, graduated from Michigan State. So why isn’t Green a Cleveland Cavalier?
According to Gilbert, it’s because he didn’t follow his gut instinct.
Gilbert gave a wide-ranging interview to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne for ESPN the Magazine’s June 27 issue, and as part of it, he revealed that he still loses sleep over the fact that he passed on the Warriors star.
Gilbert revealed that Michigan State coach Tom Izzo had called him at the conclusion of the first round, telling him “You gotta take my guy.” They did not, instead agreeing to a trade with the Dallas Mavericks. They selected Florida State’s Bernard James at No. 33 and Marquette’s Jae Crowder at No. 34. Both were traded to the Mavericks on draft night in a trade that brought Kelenna Azubuike and Tyler Zeller to Cleveland.
“I still wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat that we didn’t take him,” Gilbert said of Green. “I didn’t listen to my gut.”
Hindsight is 20/20. The Cavaliers weren’t even picking for themselves and it’s disputable whether Gilbert even had the final say over the picks. Plus, there’s no guarantee Green would have turned into the monster that he has if he’s playing for Cleveland and not Golden State. Still, in some alternate universe, the Cavaliers have a core of Green, LeBron James, Andrew Wiggins, and Kyrie Irving, and it’s conceivable that they’re sitting in the driver’s seat that the Warriors currently occupy. Plus, if the Cavs had taken him, Green would have one or two less names to recall when recounting his draft night experience.
