Decision draft: Cavs make Kyrie No. 1 pick

NEWARK -- The Cleveland Cavaliers took the first step in recovering from their post-LeBron James hangover Thursday nightwhen they selected Duke point guard Kyrie Irving with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

Kyrie, whose name means "Lord" in Greek, is the Cavaliers' first No. 1 pick since 2003, when they drafted James, who had been dubbed "The Chosen One." The Duke point guard is no King James, but he is the cream of the crop of a fairly weak draft. His pick was considered a no-brainer for a team that lost 63 games this past season after James signed with the Miami Heat.

Irving, who played at nearby St. Patrick's High School in Elizabeth, was cheered loudly by a huge contingent of family and friends as he walked across the stage to shake hands with NBA commissioner David Stern. He showed no signs of the foot injury that limited his college career to 11 games. He also showed no signs of being intimidated by having to fill some awfully big shoes in Cleveland.

"I'm not looking to replace LeBron, honestly," he said. "I'm just going to try to be Kyrie Irving and contribute to Cleveland as much as I can."

The Cavs also had the No. 4 pick in the draft and took Tristan Thompson, who played one season at Texas. The unexpected pick caused many to wonder whether the Cavs were looking to make a trade, but apparently Cleveland liked what it saw from the 6-9 forward.

The Cavaliers weren't the only team looking to do some major rebuilding. Michael Jordan's Charlotte Bobcats did some big-time draft-night wheeling and dealing in order to restock their team. Hours before the draft, it was being widely reported that Charlotte agreed to send top scorer Stephen Jackson to the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-way trade that involved the Sacramento Kings. The pick gave Charlotte two of the top nine picks.

The Bobcats used their No. 7 pick on forward Bismack Biyombo, an 18-year-old Congo native. They then used Sacramento's No. 9 selection to take Kemba Walker, the point guard who led Connecticut to the national title. Walker, a standout at Rice High School in Manhattan, had tears streaming down his face as he walked across the stage for his hat and handshake.

"It's been like a movie this whole year," Walker said. "It's been magical. I just feel lucky."

The Timberwolves took Arizona forward Derrick Williams with the No. 2 pick. The Jazz took Turkish big man Enes Kanter third with the first of two lottery selections.

The specter of an NBA lockout is thought to have kept some potential top 10 picks, such as Ohio State's Jared Sullinger, from making themselves available for the draft. Stern, who could lock out his players next week if a deal for a new collective-bargaining agreement is not reached, was not a popular figure with fans at the Prudential Center, which hosted the event because Madison Square Garden is undergoing renovations. Stern was booed loudly when he came out and again when he left at the end of the first round.

The Trail Blazers acquired guard Raymond Felton from the Nuggets in exchange for guard Andre Miller. The Knicks traded Felton to the Nuggets in February in the Carmelo Anthony trade.