Lottery center of what team aims to become

INDEPENDENCE -- On the first day of the new era in Cavaliers basketball, the team landed a point guard and a power forward.

Not a bad place to begin when you're starting over.

What's important here is to forget about the current roster for a moment. Forget about the fact the Cavs appear to have a logjam in the frontcourt. Forget about the fact they didn't make much use of their two second-round picks (nor did they really want to).

Forget about everything, actually.

All you need to remember are two names: Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson. They are the future of Cavs basketball. And if general manager Chris Grant and his staff are correct, they are the here and now. Or at least the here and very soon.

Let's start with Irving, because he led the entire NBA draft Thursday as the No. 1 overall pick .

He is a 6-foot-3 point guard who offers a lot, having drawn comparisons to everyone from Phoenix's Steve Nash to New Orleans' Chris Paul. Irving even admitted he idolized Paul and New York's Chauncey Billups, that he tries to "take bits and pieces of their games and incorporate them into mine."

Mostly, Irving is someone who the Cavs targeted all along, someone who coach Byron Scott believes is smart enough to run Scott's Princeton offense, and someone who can take over in the game's critical moments. Irving is also someone who is likely to be able to do all those things and more right from the start.

He is crafty with the ball, a shifty floor leader who has the knack for making the right play. He's a good shooter, strong defender, and talented and unselfish passer.

Irving may not possess the end-to-end speed of Washington's John Wall, last year's No. 1 overall pick. But as one league insider suggested, Irving may be the truer (and superior) point guard.

"He can help us in the future and with our foundation," Scott said.

Now, what about Thompson?

The Cavs nabbed the 6-8 power forward out of Texas with the fourth pick.

A lot of folks seem to be wondering why, given that the Cavs are already stacked at the position. This list consists of veterans Antawn Jamison and Andy Varejao, up-and-comer J.J. Hickson, and even Samardo Samuels, who just completed a surprising rookie season.

But again, try to forget about those guys for the time being.

For now, let's focus on Thompson. He's left-handed and strong underneath the basket, a throwback of sorts in that he puts the power in the forward spot. Thompson will snatch a pass and make a quick spin move toward the basket, then throw down a dunk on your head. As Grant also pointed out, Thompson is plenty capable of being a garbage-type player, blocking shots and chasing down rebounds.

Basically, he is the type of guy that made Grant's heart race a little faster.

"Early on, seeing (Thompson) play in the beginning of the season -- the motor, the athleticism, the energy, the competitiveness, the 50/50 balls, the second effort," Grant said in about five seconds flat. "You think about putting that with Kyrie, who's a playmaking facilitator and can distribute and make other guys better, we feel that that's a pretty good combination."

As for everyone else on the team … well, there is still work to be done and plenty of decisions to be made. There is still a $14.5 million trade exception that the Cavs may or may not use. (Grant indicated they will let it expire rather than add a bad contract that limits flexibility.)

And it's true the Cavs still need to figure out what to do about the abundance of big men, and lack of wing players.

But the draft was really only the beginning. Plenty more can, and will, happen.

Today, all that really matters is that Irving and Thompson are in Cleveland, and the Cavs believe they are two young talents around whom they can build. Everything else will eventually sort itself out.

That is just how things work when a new era begins.