NBA - Cavs win right to pick first in 2011 NBA Draft [video]

NEW JERSEY (NBA) - The Cleveland Cavaliers have their chance to accelerate the process of bringing the LeBron James era to an end after winning the  NBA Draft Lottery on Tuesday.

The Cavs lost James in last summer's free agency as he joined fellow Team USA stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.

His departure resulted in Cleveland finishing the 2010-2011 season with the NBA's second worst record of 19 wins and 63 losses.

Under new head coach Byron Scott, the Cavs also set a new league record with a 26-game losing streak.

Team owner Dan Gilbert hopes to put all of that behind and looks forward to the NBA draft on 23 June, which he sees as an opportunity for his team to transition into a new era.

"It's been a slow, long and painful process to get through it," Gilbert said of James' departure, "Maybe this will be the final straw in getting over the hump and getting to the other side."

On Tuesday, Gilbert's 14-year-old son, Nick, represented Cleveland in the Draft Lottery held in Secausus, New Jersey.

He was brought by his father as a good luck charm.

The young Gilbert was born with Neurofibromatosis (NF), a nerve disorder that causes tumors to grow anywhere in the body at any time and has endured brain surgery and the loss of vision in one of his eyes.

Cleveland last had the first overall pick in the draft in 2003, when they selected James straight out of high school.

The Minnesota Timberwolves - who had the worst record in the NBA (17-65) - have the second pick, with the Utah Jazz third and Cleveland get to choose again at fourth.

Draft experts say Cleveland will use the No 1 overall pick on Duke freshman Kyrie Irving.

Last summer, the 1.88m point guard helped the USA win the FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men in San Antonio, Texas.

A number of international young, up-and-coming international players have entered the 2011 NBA Draft.

They include Turkey big man Enes Kanter, promising Lithuanians Donatas Motiejunas and Jonas Valanciunas, Bismack Biyombo of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as France point guard Andrew Albicy - who featured at last summer's FIBA World Championship in Turkey - and Montenegrin-born Nikola Mirotic.

Check out what Gilbert had to say following the lottery results.

FIBA