Bennett, Cavs get acquainted

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Anthony Bennett wasn’t really all that interested in playing basketball. Yeah, it was cool dunking on guys, and a great way to make new friends after moving from Toronto to the city’s suburbs.

Then, he decided to get serious about six or seven years ago.

His future was calling.

“I just started growing,” Bennett said, flashing a smile while talking about his unique path to the NBA. “And everyone said, ‘You should probably play basketball.’ So I said, ‘All right. I’ll give it a shot.’ Look where it got me now.”

Look indeed. Bennett was formally introduced Friday by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who shocked the draft by selecting the UNLV power forward with the No. 1 overall pick Thursday night.

Although he wasn’t regarded by many draft experts as the best player available, Bennett was always at the top of Cleveland’s board. They scouted the 6-foot-7-inch, 240-pounder extensively all season, fell in love with his game, and after getting rave reviews about his character, chose him over Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, Kansas guard Ben McLemore and Georgetown forward Otto Porter Jr. in a flawed draft.

“As we did our evaluations throughout the entire year, we just kept coming back to his ability and his talent and how it fit with our guys,” Cavs general manager Chris Grant said. “A lot of times, like last year, it’s just clear-cut. But for us, through the year, we always had him very high in our rankings, and as we went back and reviewed the film and went on campus and visited everybody, we came away saying he’s a great kid. He’s willing to work and do the right things, and he’s got a bunch of talent.”

From almost the moment they won the lottery until they had to call the league with their pick, the Cavs listened to multiple trade offers before taking Bennett, who averaged 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds in his one season with UNLV.

Bennett didn’t find basketball as much as the sport discovered him.

After his family moved from the rough Jane and Finch area of inner Toronto to Brampton, Ontario, Bennett enjoyed playing hoops, but it wasn’t his passion.

“I was just playing around and just wasting time,” he said.

His mother, Edith, was encouraged to get him on an organized team, but as she watched her boy clumsily run up and down the floor, she never dreamed it would one day become his profession.

“At first, people were saying, ‘Oh, he can’t play,’ ” she said. “But a few of the coaches stuck with him and gave him a chance. See what a chance will get you?”

Bennett’s arrival didn’t come without risks for the Cavs. He recently had shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and reportedly has struggled with his weight while recovering.

Grant, though, sees him as the next piece — along with Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters — to help turn around a franchise that has gone 64-166 in the three seasons since LeBron James left.

“You put him in a pick and roll with Dion or Kyrie, he’s going to be pretty difficult to guard because he can shoot the ball and is athletic and can handle the ball and get to the rim,” Grant said.

There’s a strong possibility Bennett won’t start as a rookie. He could wind up as a backup to Thompson, a fellow Canadian, who was taken by the Cavs in the first round in 2011. Like Bennett, Thompson grew up in Brampton and attended Findlay Prep.

“I feel like me and Tristan will become best friends,” Bennett said.

Coach Mike Brown said he isn’t concerned about having two potential starting power forwards and is confident playing time will begin to get sorted out in training camp.

“They have to go out and compete,” Brown said. “It’s great to have depth in all areas. Anthony is definitely a guy that has added that to us. He is versatile. He’s different than the bigs we have.

“He can be used in a lot of different ways.”