2011 NBA Draft Recap

 

The Knicks Keep Piling on the Mistakes

It is unbelievable how my favorite sports franchise refuses to do anything to make the team better. This year alone, between trading half the team for Carmelo Anthony and in doing so losing Danilo Gallinari instead of Landry Fields, a decision Fields quickly made the Knicks regret as his excellent first half of the season was followed up by a nearly invisible second half and playoff performance (apparently he did not realize that a sophomore slump usually starts in the second year); not re-signing Donnie Walsh, the man who brought the team back to a respectable level after the Knicks were a punch line for half a decade; and now wasting their 17th pick in the draft. Again, that was just 2011, and we are still in June.


          Iman Shumpert is, at best, an early second round pick. Instead, he became a mid first round selection as the Knicks once again decided to draft a player way above where he should have gone. Let’s put aside the fact that the Knicks already have a Shumpert-like player in Landry Fields. Shumpert did not have a standout college career in any sense of the word at Georgia Tech. In his junior year, he averaged 17.3 ppg on 40% shooting from the field and an abysmal 29% from three. Tech had a disappointing year and their coach was eventually fired. So why did the Knicks draft him? They fell for the oldest trick in the book. Apparently Shumpert had great workouts in New York and was making shot after shot in front of them. What no executive for the team seemed to realize was that he is not going to be playing NBA games alone in a gym. Just because he did well during workouts does not mean it is going to translate to the game. A better indication of his shooting is his poor ability to make shots during the flow of a game when he is being guarded, something that can be seen in his stats in college. Why do teams think that they can ignore on court performances in college if a player works out well in an empty gym?

Now I will give Shumpert one thing, he can defend. At 6’4” he can guard both guard positions with his quickness and tenacity. If he focuses himself on becoming a lockdown defender he certainly can be a solid role player in the league for many years. But making the argument that Shumpert was drafted for defense is not good enough of a case considering that the Knicks passed on the best defender available in the draft. Chris Singleton, the player out of Florida State who I said the Knicks should pick in my article ‘2011 NBA Draft Lottery,’ is by far the best defender in the draft and eventually went to the Wizards with the very next pick. So if you are going to tell me that Shumpert was drafted for defensive purposes, then I am going to ask you ‘if the Knicks were drafting defense then why didn’t they draft the best defender available?’ Singleton is nearly four inches taller than Shumpert which means that he can defend at least one more position than Shumpert, maybe even two depending on the type of power forward he faces. Singleton also has a much better shooting touch and, for a team looking to win now, is much, much less of a project than Shumpert, who shows immaturity and low basketball IQ out on the court

Seth Davis said it best: “...[The Wizards] also aught to send a thank you note to the New York Knicks for not drafting Chris Singleton.”

The Knicks also purchased the 45th pick from the New Orleans Hornets which turned out to be Josh Harrellson out of Kentucky. I have much less of a problem with this selection because the Knicks picked the best player available at one of the positions they needed most, center. Centers were slim pickings in this draft so finding Harrellson was good work. He had a slow start to his college career but picked it up during his senior season when he got a chance to play and took full advantage of it, averaging 8.7 rebounds a game (3.7 offensive) and shot 61%. He did not shoot much on Kentucky which is perfect for the Knicks because Harrellson won’t see too many scoring opportunities with Amar’e and Carmelo on the floor, but it is nice to know that he can shoot when he needs to. In addition, he fills a huge whole the Knicks had on the boards. Harrellson is a hustle player who is never going to take a play off (something Singleton does also, but let’s not go there again). I am a little worried about his ability to guard the big man, but that is something he can learn as opposed to his instincts on both the offensive and defensive boards which cannot be taught.

I am much more excited to see the 45th pick than I am to see the 17th pick. I can’t tell if that says more about Harrellson or Shumpert.

Winners

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors are giving their new coach, Mark Jackson, quite a team to begin his coaching career with. At the 11th pick they selected Klay Thompson, a great scorer coming out of Washington State. Thompson’s draft stock rose and rose throughout the year and he became a very coveted player. His ability to get his own shot and create off the dribble is not easy to find. He is also a smart and willing passer. Although that was there only first round pick, they made a splash in the second round with their own pick and buying another. At 39 they got center Jeremy Tyler from the Bobcats and at 44 selected guard Charles Jenkins. Although Tyler started his overseas career on a low note, he eventually landed in Japan where he put up solid numbers and has shown great potential at the five spot. Charles Jenkins, for many, was a first round pick. The point guard out of Hofstra is a major scorer, averaging 22.6 ppg on 52% shooting. I cannot believe he dropped this low, but the Warriors took advantage. If they can manage to trade Monta Ellis, say for Andre Iguodala, that would give Coach Jackson a strong core of players in Thompson, Tyler, Jenkins, Stephen Curry, Iguodala, David Lee, Andris Biendrins, Ekpe Udoh, and Dorell Wright. Not too shabby.

Washington Wizards

I mentioned that they took Chris Singleton at 18, but they also had the 6th pick which they used to grab forward Jan Vesely out of the Czech Republic who is probably the most NBA ready player of all the international players drafted. At 6’11” he has the height of a center but can shoot and move like a small forward, something that should cause plenty of mismatches. In addition, at the 34th pick they selected guard Shelvin Mack out of Butler. After taking the mid-major Bulldog team to back-to-back Final Four appearances, Mack proved that he is a leader and a winner. He also has the ability to knock down the three pointer, which will come in handy when the defense collapses on John Wall in the paint.

Charlotte Bobcats

The Bobcats managed to get an extra lottery pick after a three team draft day deal that landed them the 7th pick and Cory Maggette in exchange for their 19th pick, Stephen Jackson, and and Shaun Livingston. This is essentially trading way up in the draft and swapping one mentally exhausting player for another (Maggette for Jackson). With the 7th pick the Bobcats got big man Bismack Biyombo out of the Congo and Kemba Walker was selected at number nine. With this, the Bobcats get a potential replacement to guard the paint after they gave up Tyson Chandler. Nobody knows much about Biyombo but say that best case scenario, he becomes Ben Wallace. Give him some time to adjust and I think he will be a good shot blocker and defender. The Bobcats lose some toughness after trading Jackson bet get it back in Kemba Walker. Walker is a quick point guard who can pull up and shoot as well as get to the rim. The Bobcats may have just given confidence back to their current point, D.J. Augustin, but I feel that they can coexist well as Augustin seems to be more of a facilitator while Walker is more of a scorer.

Jimmer Fredette

The most talked about player in the draft has a great chance to play savior. He is going to the Kings where they need to increase attendance in order to stay in Sacramento. If anyone can bring fans to the stadium, its Jimmer. He will have the opportunity to start at point guard right away and prove to everyone that he is the playmaker he says he is. He should also help Tyreke Evans out when Evans gets to the rim and kicks it out to an open Jimmer for three. The only problem is, will the highly immature DeMarcus Cousins get jealous of Jimmer and angry at his shot selection?

The Morris Family

Markieff and Marcus Morris have played together their whole lives but will have to part as they enter the NBA. However, it has to feel good that they were picked back-to-back (Markieff at 13 to Phoenix and Marcus at 14 to Houston), avoiding a very awkward situation in which one twin was sitting in the green room for much longer than the other. In addition, they are only a short plane ride away from each other so visiting each other and mom going to see both of their games will not be as difficult as it could have very well been.

Losers

Brandon Knight

For much of the year, Knight was projected to go number three to the Utah Jazz. But after they passed on him to get Enes Kanter and the Raptors let him slide has five, Knight fell to 8th where he was picked by the Detroit Pistons. Although going from three to eight is not a monumental drop, he landed on a dysfunctional Detroit team that seems to be run by the players, not the front office or coach (they need to find a new one anyway) after multiple players refused to play as a protest to former coach John Kuester. The Pistons helped fill a vacant point guard spot left after the poor play of Rodney Stuckey, but can Knight deal with all the drama?

Josh Selby

If it were not for the age minimum, Josh Selby would have gone into the draft straight out of high school in which he would have been a high lottery pick. Instead, he had to go to Kansas for one year where he missed most games because of suspension and injury. Selby’s stock plummeted and he eventually went to the Memphis Grizzlies with the 49th pick in the draft. That is a long and steep fall from grace.

The Quality of the NBA Draft

Thanks to the lockout some of the best pro prospects stayed in school instead of going into the draft. Jared Sullinger of Ohio State, Baylor’s Perry Jones, and Harrison Barnes of North Carolina were all potential top five picks this year but most likely stayed in school because of the fear of a potential NBA lockout. As a result, this is a draft of players who will not make any immediate impacts. It will be a few years until we can properly evaluate the quality of this draft.

Other than players falling or not going into the draft, I really have trouble seeing draft losers. No team had that bad of a draft.

Sleepers

Kenneth Faried

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Faried is going wreak havoc on the boards. Nobody seems to appreciate a player like him, which is why he fell to 22 and went to the Denver Nuggets. Faried is a full motor player who is never going to stop while he out there on the court. He is going to go after every board with all he has got and play as hard as he can on every possession. He does not have much of an offensive game but if the Nuggets can re-sign Nene then Faried is a good complement for him.

Norris Cole

The point guard out of Cleveland State had a game against Youngstown State in which he notched 41 points, 20 rebounds, and 9 assists. He is solid shooter and can handle the ball well. He was drafted by Chicago but was traded to the Timberwolves and then flipped to the Heat. Cole should be able to add more assurance to the Heats’ point guard problems and will eventually take the starting job from Mario Chalmers.

Isaiah Thomas

You may think I am crazy putting the last pick in the draft on this list but it seems like the biggest knock on Thomas is that he is too small, about 5’9”, but his scoring ability and quickness can help him become a solid role player on a good team. I think he is a lot better than the pick says and, based on where he was selected, a very good selection.

My pick for rookie of the year: Derrick Williams

On a side note, great to see fellow Badger Jon Leuer stay in the state of Wisconsin after he was selected 40th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks. Hopefully he will stay there.