Heading into Thursday night, I couldn’t remember being this excited for a draft in probably over a decade. You would have to go all the way back to the 2003 Draft—you know, the one with LeBron, Darko, Carmelo, Bosh, and Wade—to find one with as many highly regarded prospects and storylines.

The 2014 Draft has long been touted as one of the deepest drafts. Along the way, some prospects rocketed up the charts, others fell, and an unknown emerged. When it comes to the NBA Draft, this is old hat. The talent available alone made it feel like an event, but there was also intrigue as to how it would all play out, especially after Joel Embiid’s foot surgery threatened to create utter chaos in the first round.

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And then there was the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are the opposite of the saying “you have to be good to be lucky.” After a season in which they tried and failed miserably at making the playoffs in a conference where 38 wins was enough to make it, the Cavs parlayed 1.7 percent of the lottery ball combinations into another first overall pick, their third since LeBron’s escape. All signs pointed to uncertainty in the Cavs camp just hours before they were set to make their selection, which made the entire build up to Adam Silver announcing the first pick all the more exciting.

The draft didn’t end up being as crazy as I expected, but there were still moments to remember. From Andrew Wiggins’ outfit to the beautiful moment when Adam Silver announced Isaiah Austin’s name, Thursday night did not disappoint. Before the draft, I jotted down four things I expected to happen. Here they are, and a look at what actually transpired.

The Cavs will either make a surprising selection with the first overall pick, trade the pick, or let the clock run out from indecision.

After shocking everyone with their first overall selection of Anthony Bennett last year, it felt like there was nothing the Cavs could do that would shock anyone. How would they find a way to screw this up and leave everyone speechless again? In general, I don’t trust any decisions being made when Dan Gilbert is the one with the final say.

If the Cavs didn’t want to make the pick, there was still an option of trading down. Prior to the draft, the most commonly reported rumor was the 76ers—who had the 3rd and 10th picks—wanted to move up in order to secure Wiggins. Because this is the time of year when smokescreens and rumors are commonplace, it turns out there weren’t even any discussions between the two teams!

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In the end, the Cavaliers made the right move and selected Wiggins. Outside of Embiid, he has the highest upside of any player available last night. If Wiggins can even come close to reaching his potential, a core with him and Kyrie Irving is the start of something the Cavs can build around.

Four years after LeBron’s departure, it feels like they’re starting over again and lucking into the first overall pick was yet another do-over for the team. The Cavs didn’t over-complicate the situation and made the choice that most felt was logical. That was enough to make the night a success for the embattled franchise.

The smart teams will continue to be smart. The not-so-smart teams will remind you why they’re where they are.

The smarter teams always seem to use the draft to their advantage, using it as an evening to set forth their future plans. The Philadelphia 76ers stood out in this regard on Thursday

With the third overall pick, they selected Joel Embiid, who’s drawn comparisons to Hakeem Olajuwon and if healthy, could turn out to be a cornerstone for the franchise. After surgery to repair a stress fracture in his foot, Embiid is expected to be out at least four months, and could end up sitting out his entire rookie season.

But for general manager Sam Hinkie—who worked previously as an assistant general manager with Daryl Morey in Houston—it’s a risk worth taking when you are in the asset accumulation phase of your rebuilding plan.

Hinkie wasn’t done there. The 76ers swapped first round picks with the Orlando Magic, trading Elfrid Payton for Dario Saric, the Croatian prospect who just recently signed to play in the Turkish Basketball League and won’t be eligible to come to the NBA for at least two years.

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In the second round, the 76ers selected Louisville guard Russ Smith and immediately traded him to New Orleans for Pierre Jackson. Jackson, who is just 22 years old, toiled overseas and in the D-League last year, but is a capable shooter and scorer. He’s only 5’10” and his scoring ability may not translate at the NBA level, but again, for the price of a second round pick—which according to one study, translates into a useful piece only 24 percent of the time—Jackson’s upside is worth gambling on.

The 76ers will not be very good next season, which means they could very well end up with another top five pick in next year’s draft. They have Michael Carter-Williams, Nerlens Noel, Embiid, Saric, Jackson, and a general manager who is patiently building the team from the ground up. This core group, along with whatever additions are made in the next few seasons, will be downright frightening in a few years if things pan out.

There will be more maneuvering from teams trying to enter the LeBron and Carmelo sweepstakes.

The Houston Rockets—who just opened up additional cap space by trading Omer Asik to the Pelicans on Wednesday—continued to create room to make a run at both LeBron and Carmelo by selecting Clint Capela of Switzerland with the 25th overall pick. He will likely be stashed overseas.

The bigger move was the Heat trading up to nab Shabazz Napier, which got LeBron’s immediate approval on Twitter. LeBron has made it known he wants to see the Heat improve their supporting cast, and Pat Riley seems to be complying. I understand that, beyond just making a point to LeBron, the Heat actually filled a need at point guard with the acquisition of Napier, but does anyone else find it hilarious that Riley is catering to LeBron in this way, especially after he essentially told LeBron to nut up last week?

It’s still likely LeBron will return to Miami, but one would hope a scathing Comic Sans letter from Riley is in play (BTW, why is that letter still up on the Cavs site? Actually, don’t tell Dan Gilbert).

There will be one surprising move that no one saw coming.

My favorite part of the draft: When something happens that makes you go “What the fuck?” 

There’s so much scrutiny and analysis that goes into the draft that it’s a breath of fresh air when something completely unexpected happens.

This year, we had the Toronto Raptors selecting Bruno Caboclo with the 20th pick. Where was this guy on all the mock drafts you made me read, Chad Ford? The reaction from the ESPN panel was even better, as Fran Fraschilla said the Brazilian prospect was “two years away from being two years away,” which sounds like something Jay Z kept saying to people about Memphis Bleek’s career, which is not a good sign.

Even better, he was called the Brazilian Kevin Durant. The best highlight footage of this guy doesn’t even seem coherent.

The Raptors held a press conference to discuss the pick later in the night, and head coach Dwane Casey said when he asked Caboclo who his favorite player was; he replied Durant. Casey then asked Caboclo if he could guard Durant, to which he naturally responded yes. So let the legend of Bruno Caboclo begin. 

According to the team, he’s expected to play in the summer league and join the team in training camp, so we’re not two years from being two years away from seeing him play. A whole new player and story to follow coming out of this draft that we hadn’t yet prepped for. That’s kind of refreshing.

Now, bring on the crazy off-season.