ABOUT THE CAVS ...

Most fans know I have some doubts about the Cavs taking Dion Waiters at No. 4, and I wrote that. I also wanted you to know how the Cavs came to draft Waiters:

1.The Cavs entered the draft determined to find an athletic, creative player. And, yes, a scorer. He could be a small forward or a shooting guard. They made two lists. The first was one name -- Anthony Davis. Yes, he's a big man, but the only player the Cavs believed is a certain star. He naturally went No. 1 to New Orleans.

2. Then came a list of eight more names. I don't know all of them, but I'm sure Waiters was on the list. Others were Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Bradley Beal, Harrison Barnes and Thomas Robinson. I'm guessing the other three came from this list: Damian Lillard, Andre Drummond, Jeremy Lamb and Terrence Ross.

3. The point is, the Cavs not only had Waiters on their original list of eight possibilities for the No. 4 pick, he was in the top five. This was right after the college season. They believe he was the best guard in the country running the pick-and-roll play, a key in the NBA game. At 6-4 and 210 pounds, they liked his power driving to the basket.

4. Byron Scott was absolutely in love with Waiters' game and potential. The Cavs coach has said Waiters was "No. 2 on my draft board." He was not that high on the Cavs' board, but the fact Scott wanted Waiters (over someone such as Barnes) was a factor. The Cavs haven't said it, but they backed off Barnes because they thought he had trouble on the dribble, finding openings for his shot. They believe Waiters has more athleticism.

5. After they failed to trade for the No. 2 pick -- and they tried hard -- they watched Kidd-Gilchrist and Beal get drafted in front of them. Suddenly, the Cavs had a choice of Robinson, Barnes or Waiters. In their mind, Waiters was the clear pick. They think Robinson is a solid, blue-collar power forward -- but not what they needed at No. 4. They didn't see Barnes as a "dynamic player," a phrase used by Scott and others in the Cavs' draft room.

6. Nor did the Cavs care that Waiters was the sixth man at Syracuse, because they knew he played the key moments. They considered it a positive that he was willing to come off the bench, paying respect to starting senior guard Scoop Jardine, who also is from Philadelphia. The other starting guard was junior Brandon Triche.

7. During his freshman season, Waiters played little and considered transferring. At one point, coach Jim Boeheim even thought Waiters would leave school. Waiters had been the No. 23 high school prospect in the country and a Philadelphia high school legend. He committed to Syracuse at the age of 14. Yes, he was that good to be offered a scholarship from a top-10 program when he was that young.

8. Instead of leaving Syracuse, Waiters worked hard on his game in the summer and agreed to be the sixth man on a team that was 34-3 and was ranked No. 5 in the country. The Cavs considered Waiters' willingness to accept Boeheim's coaching and coming off the bench as a major positive.

9. The 6-4 Waiters often took the spot of Jardine, a 6-2 point guard. An issue will be if Waiters can share the ball with point guard Kyrie Irving. Scott admitted that in several of the game films he watched, Waiters had the ball "about 75 percent of time." With the Cavs, it will be Irving who will have the ball that often.

10. Scott said he did pay special attention to what Waiters did when the other guard had the ball. "He didn't just stand around," Scott said. "I saw him run off picks. He's a basketball player . . . very unselfish." In the end, the Cavs didn't care Waiters averaged only 12.6 points and shot 47 percent in his 24 minutes on the court at Syracuse. They project him as a scorer capable of starting at shooting guard and playing some point in the NBA.

11. The Cavs were so enamored with Waiters, they dealt with the fact that his agent -- Rob Pelinka -- made the decision to prevent Waiters from interviewing with or visiting any teams. Other prospects such as Beal, Barnes, Kidd-Gilchrist, Robinson and others came to the Cavs to work out. Supposedly, Waiters' agent secured a promise from a lottery team (not the Cavs) that they'd draft him.

12. The Cavs believed they had enough information on Waiters to draft him anyway. Pelinka's gamble paid off. He represents Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, James Harden and several others, including Carlos Boozer when he had his contract problems with the Cavs.

ABOUT WAITERS AND COMPARISONS

Some scouts have compared Waiters to Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook. Scott put Waiters in the same sentence as Dwyane Wade and former Detroit Pistons star Joe Dumars.

After Friday's news conference, I asked the Cavs coach about comparing Waiters to All-Stars.

"I never compared him to Westbrook," he said.

"But you did to Dumars and Wade," I said. "Don't you think that creates high expectations for a guy who played only two years at Syracuse?"

"I think he relishes the expectations," said Scott. "Our expectations are high as well. . . . He'll be something special. . . . The sky is the limit."

I dropped the subject at that point, but I still think it's wiser to tone down the hype over Waiters.

ABOUT THE BROWNS' UNHERALDED YOUNG PLAYERS . . .

Most fans know the Browns will count on their rookies to step forward, and you will read and hear a lot about Trent Richardson, Brandon Weeden, Mitchell Schwartz and the rest. But if the Browns are right when saying they believe they will be greatly improved this season -- then some of General Manager Tom Heckert's previous draft picks and unheralded acquisitions (who didn't play much in the past) need to make an impact.

Here's are some names on the list:

1. Eric Hagg: Hagg was the seventh-round pick in 2011 and might start at free safety, replacing Michael Adams at that spot. The Browns believe Hagg can be the pass-coverage safety they need next to hard-hitting T.J. Ward. Hagg had five interceptions as a senior at Nebraska.

Yes, Usama Young might appear as the starting safety next to Ward on the first depth chart. But they really like Hagg, who has been impressive in minicamps -- and also impressed in limited duty at the end of last season.

2. Jordan Cameron: While many fans focus on Evan Moore as being the athletic tight end who can make some plays, some of the Browns believe Cameron has even more natural ability. A former Division I basketball player at Brigham Young, the 6-5 Cameron (a fourth-round pick in 2011) really excited the coaches this spring.

"I think he's flashed out here in a way that we didn't see him flash last year in training camp," said coach Pat Shurmur. "I feel like based on what he's done here in the off-season, he's positioning himself to make an impact for us."

Yes, Ben Watson is the starting tight end and a good one, but he did have three concussions. And yes, there is Moore, veteran Alex Smith and free agent Dan Gronkowski. But the door is wide open for Cameron to become a significant part of the offense.

3. Jordan Norwood or Josh Cooper: Norwood caught 23 passes is his final eight games, before suffering a season-ending concussion. He even started four games at slot receiver. Not much is said about him because starting receivers Greg Little and Mohamed Massaquoi receive most of the attention.

While Joshua Cribbs played a lot of slot receiver, the Browns want him to concentrate more on special teams -- and not only returning kicks and punts. He's considered their top coverage man on special teams.

Rookie Travis Benjamin also will be a factor at receiver, but the coaches think Norwood (signed as an undrafted free agent in 2009) can help.

If it's not Norwood who surprises, it could be Cooper. He is an undrafted free agent from Oklahoma State who was a big-time receiver with Weeden, and he also has received praise from the coaches.

The point is between these two undrafted slot receivers, the Browns think they will find one who is a pleasant surprise.

4. Buster Skrine: The Browns really like the fifth-round pick from 2011 and believe at some point in the next few years, he could start.

The Browns have three veterans for the two starting cornerback spots: Joe Haden, Dimitri Patterson and Sheldon Brown. But this coaching staff absolutely loves cornerbacks and wants at least four who can be in the game at any time. Skrine is highly valued.

ABOUT THE TRIBE . . .

1. The Indians were 10-17 last June, a month in which the starting pitching turned shaky and they stopped hitting in the clutch. They finished this month at 12-15. They know they need a right-handed hitter, but they believe their biggest problem is starting pitching. Justin Masterson (2.06 ERA) and Ubaldo Jimenez (2.78) have been good in June. But after that, the best ERA for a starter this month is Derek Lowe at 6.49! Jeanmar Gomez (7.20) has been replaced in the rotation by Zach McAllister. Josh Tomlin is 2-3 with a 7.58 ERA this month.

2. If the Indians need another starter, they might turn to Corey Kubler. He has impressed the front office lately. On the season, he's 7-6 with a 3.55 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 83 innings at Class AAA Columbus. He has moved ahead of David Huff. The Tribe wants Gomez to remain in Columbus for a while to work on his delivery, especially from the stretch. Batters are hitting .348 with runners in scoring position against him. The decline of Gomez was especially disappointing because they thought he had figured it out. He was 5-1 in his last six starts of 2011 and then had a strong spring followed by a 2.35 ERA in April.

3. With Lonnie Chisenhall out with a broken bone in his forearm, the Indians will split third base between Jack Hannahan and Jose Lopez. Chisenhall was hitting well -- .286 with two homers and eight RBI this month. He appeared ready to stay in the big leagues, as he was splitting time at third and DH.

4. The Indians did check out Carlos Lee, who is expected to be traded by the Astros. Lee has a partial no-trade clause, and Cleveland is one of 14 teams he can refuse if a deal is proposed. The Tribe also noticed Lee's .290 average is weak in terms of power. He has five homers, all in hitter-friendly Houston. He is 8-for-56 (.143) vs. left-handed pitchers. He also is very heavy and can't play left field for long. His defense at first is poor.

5. They then looked at Casey Kotchman, who has more homers (six to five) and nearly as many RBI (27 to 29) as Lee, while being a superior defender. They know they must do something in terms of finding a right-handed bat -- but it won't be Lee.

6. Make of this what you will, but Carlos Santana is hitting .162 with no homers since coming back from his concussion. His most recent homer was May 15. He has had some other minor injuries. I'm in the minority on this, but I would like to see Santana more at first base because he seems to take a pounding behind the plate.

7. I'd like to see Lou Marson catch three to four times a week, especially if he continues to hit. On the season, he's at .284 (.696 OPS). Seeing more regular duty in June with Santana hurt, Marson was 14-for-42 (.333) last month before his big 4-for-5 performance Saturday. More Marson would allow Santana to play more first base. And the Indians always can use Kotchman as a defensive replacement for Santana.

8. This was a tough week for Manny Acta. I thought the Tribe manager should have argued the no-catch ruling in Yankee Stadium where Hannahan was ejected. I also did a first guess of not having Lowe come to the mound in the top of the sixth at Baltimore. He had a 5-4 lead, had thrown 90 pitches and the temperature was close to 100 degrees. The 39-year-old was working hard just to keep the game close and really seemed tired, regardless of what he says.

9. Tribe bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr. will be at the Wahoo Club Luncheon on July 21 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Terrace Club. Call Bob Rosen at 440-724-8350 or go to wahooclub.com for more information.

10. Joe Tait and I will be at Fairlawn Library at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. It's free, but you need to call 330-666-4888 to sign up.