Written by Erik Cassano

---

Danny Ferry went on the record before Thursday night's NBA Draft, stating that there were about 15 players that he liked, and that he'd like to try and either trade for or purchase a pick from someone. Not only did nothing happen, but two potential Cavaliers trade targets (Ray Allen and Zach Randolph) were also moved to new teams. Erik Cassano opines on the shutout, and also looks at what our competitors did in his latest piece for us. Danny Ferry told news outlets there were about 15 players he'd be willing to maneuver into the draft to acquire.

It looks like all 15 of them passed into the hands of other teams. For the second time in three years, the NBA Draft came and went with no activity from the Cavaliers.

Hopefully, this will be the last time for a long time that they are left pickless on draft night. This isn't a good way to start the offseason for a team that needs to build on a Finals appearance.

For the Cavs, it's time to focus on trades and free agency. The trade market got a little tighter during the draft as two potential Cavs targets -- Ray Allen and Zach Randolph -- were moved to the Celtics and Knicks, respectively.

Kevin Garnett stayed put, at least for the time being. As the Garnett rumor mill continues to churn out new trade scenarios just about every day, I get the feeling this is all one big smokescreen and Garnett is going to begin next season still in Minnesota.

The sorta-kinda good news that did come out of Thursday night is that none of the East's other contenders made a major splash. The biggest pick for a Central Division team was the Bulls taking Florida's Joakim Noah at No. 9. Noah is an energy guy who has drawn comparisons to Anderson Varejao. He's more skilled than Varejao, but doesn't project as the low-post dominator that could turn the Bulls into legit title contenders.

Detroit picked Eastern Washington guard Rodney Stuckey at 15. He could be a replacement for Chauncey Billups .... in about 2010. In other words, he has "project player" written all over him.

Of greater concern to the Cavs was Detroit taking UCLA's Arron Afflalo at 27. He's a good all-around player who will add some depth and toughness to the Pistons backcourt right away. Not a difference maker, but it's still annoying to watch one of the Cavs' rivals improve their backcourt while Cleveland still languishes with Boobie and the boobs.

For the record, the Jiri Welsch Memorial Pick that would have been the Cavs' at 24 was used by Portland to draft Spanish guard Rudy Fernandez, a European star who will probably spend at least one more year overseas. The pick was acquired from Phoenix during the draft. All told, the Blazers picked up Greg Oden, Josh McRoberts and Fernandez. Not a bad day.

Oh, well. Water under the bridge now. The NBA's free agent period begins Sunday.