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2011 NBA Redraft

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tedginnjr

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Rookie Watch: Redraft!

Originally Published: March 21, 2012
By David Thorpe | Scouts Inc.

nba_2011draft_576.jpg


We all know that many variables impact each draft pick. Nonetheless, every organization has to routinely evaluate its decisions, including the ones it makes in June each year. Things happen after the draft that can impact the way a rookie performs -- free-agent signings, trades, an injury to a rotation player that opens up playing time, a coaching change, etc.

Just a few months removed from the start of this season, some good and bad draft choices already jump out. Things could change in time, but for now let's revisit how the top 20 draft picks could have gone down now that we've seen these young men play in the NBA.



No. 1 pick: The Cavaliers select Kyrie Irving
No. 1 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Kyrie Irving
Viewed by most people as the top prospect in this class back in June, Irving has not disappointed. In fact, he's probably been better than anyone expected considering his injury at Duke and the lockout. He's had a terrific rookie season by anyone's standards.

Not only is he the best player in this group, but he also has the brightest future. That's what a team hopes to get from a No. 1 overall pick -- impact now and more impact later.



No. 2 pick: The Timberwolves select Tristan Thompson
No. 2 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Derrick Williams
This is not a slight on Derrick Williams but rather a dream of featuring powerful bigs Kevin Love and Nikola Pekovic with an athletic and long phenom like Thompson. As good as Minnesota's two brutes are, they are still below-the-rim players, which is not an issue for Thompson.

Although Thompson is still a raw player on offense, he would be helped by Rick Adelman's system. He'd be bad today, amazing tomorrow.



No. 3 pick: The Jazz select Enes Kanter
No. 3 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Enes Kanter
Considering the Jazz wanted immediate help and are loaded with power forwards, Kanter still seems like the right choice. The Jazz see a Kanter-Paul Millsap-Derrick Favors rotation down the road.

Kanter's bulk and lack of fluidity concern me in terms of his future, but we need to look only at Pekovic's rise to see how much better Kanter can get quickly. He has the talent and size to be a space-eater around the rim with the hands to make teams pay if they leave him.



No. 4 pick: The Cavaliers select Derrick Williams
No. 4 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Tristan Thompson
Williams, who has the game to be a top-three scorer on a good team, is a lot more like Antawn Jamison than Thompson because of his ability to play out on the perimeter, so he would develop beautifully in Cleveland alongside Irving. The duo would become a devastating pick-and-pop tandem.

This pick would give the Cavs two core players in one draft, which is what they hope will happen with Thompson.



No. 5 pick: The Raptors select Jonas Valanciunas
No. 5 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Jonas Valanciunas
The Raptors need a franchise center, but not right away, so Valanciunas is still the perfect choice. He's developing very well in Europe, especially in learning how to defend with his size and long arms and without fouling. I love how he's learned to keep his arms up on defense, something many NBA bigs still don't do. (I'm talking to you, Samuel Dalembert.)

Valanciunas should make a positive impact next season and improve greatly in a few years. He just turned 20 this month.



No. 6 pick: The Wizards select Kawhi Leonard
No. 6 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Jan Vesely
What teams like the Wizards need more than anything else is stability -- players who can start or play a lot and do so with consistency and reliability. It's a big reason that Washington traded for Nene.

Leonard would give the Wizards their starting small forward for years to come, complementing John Wall on both ends of the court. He plays like a seasoned pro, which is exactly what the Wizards hoped to get when they drafted Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton, but have yet to see. Both of those guys may have more upside than Leonard, but they possess far greater downside, too.



No. 7 pick: The Bobcats select Bismack Biyombo
No. 7 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Bismack Biyombo
The Cats still would get their future Dikembe Mutombo, which was the right call in June and now. Biyombo will be so much better as he matures and learns the NBA game from a macro and micro level. Think of it like this: Imagine Biyombo at UConn. Think he'd be rated higher than Andre Drummond?

Biyombo is not a surefire starter -- not without fine-tuning and better coaching -- but he should always be a rotation guy even if he never gets better (which is highly unlikely).



No. 8 pick: The Pistons select MarShon Brooks
No. 8 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Brandon Knight
With Rodney Stuckey and Ben Gordon on Detroit's roster, any rookie guard would have to share time. I like Knight a lot, but Brooks fills a bigger need and has just as much upside (more downside, too, though).

Brooks has the look of someone who can be a top-two scorer for his team, and he's also a willing rebounder and defender. He'd be a nice fit next to Stuckey.



No. 9 pick: The Bobcats select Nikola Vucevic
No. 9 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Kemba Walker
I know I have the Bobcats taking Biyombo, but getting two solid bigs in one draft is choice stuff. Vucevic can play next to Biyombo; in fact, they'd be ideal together in time. Vucevic loves to face up and is an agile big man who should be able to defend power forwards most nights. He's not a shot-blocker, and he needs to be more physical in the paint, but the two of them would form a future force on defense and the boards.



No. 10 pick: The Kings select Kenneth Faried
No. 10 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Jimmer Fredette
This is one of the easiest picks to make simply because of Faried's talent and the Kings' need for someone like him. Toughness, energy, explosive athleticism and a good feel for the game -- all things every team needs but none more than Sacramento.

A Faried-Cousins front line would be terrific from day one. I'm not sure anyone could have saved Paul Westphal's job, but Faried would have at least helped the Kings to a much better start.



No. 11 pick: The Warriors select Chandler Parsons
No. 11 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Klay Thompson
Mark Jackson and the management team in Oakland hope to make significant strides on defense, and Parsons is an immediate ticket toward that goal. He's been possibly the best defender on Kevin Durant I've ever seen, with the length, size, mobility and coordination to bother big wings and small power forwards for years to come.



No. 12 pick: The Jazz select Brandon Knight
No. 12 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Alec Burks
The Jazz and their fans love a focused, mature, hardworking player perhaps more than any other NBA city. Knight oozes with potential, lives to get better on the court and is a great fit into how Utah likes to play.



No. 13 pick: The Suns select Kemba Walker
No. 13 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Markieff Morris
The Suns miss Goran Dragic (traded to Houston) and Aaron Brooks (playing in China). Walker can play like those guys for a lot less money over the next four years. He's got a great midrange game, which is perfect for scoring off middle screens and in early offense when the defense collapses to the rim.



No. 14 pick: The Rockets select Jan Vesely
No. 14 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Marcus Morris
The Rockets didn't expect to need to play their No. 14 pick this season (even though they've featured their second-rounder, Parsons, all season). Vesely could have stayed in Europe for one more season, which could have helped him, then come to the NBA more ready to contribute to a good team.



No. 15 pick: The Spurs select Alec Burks
No. 15 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Kawhi Leonard
The Spurs are always in need of athletes with upside, so Burks works perfectly here. He is also unlike any of their other shooting guards and ultimately would become a fine player to replace the minutes Manu Ginobili loses each year to injury.



No. 16 pick: The Sixers select Markieff Morris
No. 16 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Nikola Vucevic
Either Morris twin would work here, simply because Philly needed perimeter shooting heading into the draft. With Elton Brand and Thaddeus Young at the power forward spot, Markieff makes more sense than Marcus. He's an excellent shooter, he's from Philly and he's the kind of guy Doug Collins would love to coach.



No. 17 pick: The Knicks select Isaiah Thomas
No. 17 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Iman Shumpert
Thomas has beaten out Jimmer Fredette in Sacramento, so he beats him out here too. Both guys seem to have a lot of Jeremy Lin in their game, but Thomas is the more electric guy with the better decision-making skills thus far. Even as a backup, he'd help the Knicks a great deal.



No. 18 pick: The Wizards select Marcus Morris
No. 18 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Chris Singleton
Morris hasn't done anything yet as a pro, but the young man is stuck with a coach who does not believe in him. In Washington he'd have been playing from day one and would be the surprise guy of this draft.

In Leonard and Morris, the Wiz would have two solid rotation players with at least one starter.



No. 19 pick: The Bucks select Tobias Harris
No. 19 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Tobias Harris
I still think Harris can be a fine pro, even though he does a lot of things wrong right now. But there's every reason to believe that he'll figure things out in time, and I assume the Bucks expected this of him when they got him on draft night. Guys who put up numbers but have no clue how to play are the ones to watch at this age.



No. 20 pick: The Rockets select Donatas Motiejunas
No. 20 pick in actual 2011 NBA draft: Donatas Motiejunas
The big Lithuanian has made significant progress overseas and looks to be a rotation player, if not a starter, within a season or two in the NBA. He would give the Rockets the size they covet and might be able to play both big positions on each end of the floor.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/Rookies-120321/nba-rookie-watch-redraft
 
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I don't think Kanter is going to be anything more than a solid player. I would take TT, Kawhi Leonard, Faried, and Bismack all over Williams.
 
What did Klay Thompson do to get bumped out of the top 20? I thought, if anything, he'd get moved up a spot or two. He's had a nice year this far compared to the rest of the class. I'd take him over MarShon Brooks.
 
No way Biyambo stays till #7 if the draft was redone today. That's a joke.
 
At this point, he should be ahead of Kanter.

Jury is still out. Both Kanter and biyambo were big risk bigs, and either one could still flame out. But the Kanter as exceeded my expectations considering he had not played competitive basketball for a year. He is bigger than Biyambo, and has more net skill. His team and coaching situation is a lot better than Biyambo's.. Biyambo has also done better than I thought he would. So big wins for both the Jazz and the Bobcats.... Any road, I still think we did the right thing with tristan...
 
I personally would take Biyombo 12 times out of 10 over Kanter. I don't think Kanter has a high upside at all.
 
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I personally would take Biyombo 12 times out of 10 over Kanter. I don't think Kanter has a upside at all.
remember, he hasnt played basketball for a year. his per 36 numbers, along with other numbers, are much better than biyombos. hes playing behind milsap and jefferson tho so he doesnt get any time.
 
I like Kanter, he's a real center with a real size, Biyombo is a great shot blocker and defender but I certainly feel he's bit undersized, Ben Wallace esque, which is no problem while his athleticism is there, but will age horribly.

With centers like Kanter, it takes time to develop, but I can see him being top 5 center within 5 years, slightly better Marc Gasol, but having a much longer career than Biyombo.
 
I like Kanter, he's a real center with a real size, Biyombo is a great shot blocker and defender but I certainly feel he's bit undersized, Ben Wallace esque, which is no problem while his athleticism is there, but will age horribly.

With centers like Kanter, it takes time to develop, but I can see him being top 5 center within 5 years, slightly better Marc Gasol, but having a much longer career than Biyombo.

Marc Gasol is a pretty damn good player. If Kanter ends up better than him, that means he would be a top 3 center.
 
Marc Gasol is a pretty damn good player. If Kanter ends up better than him, that means he would be a top 3 center.

I'm considering emergence of Anthony Davis and couple other guys yet to be drafted, and assuming Dwight is still Dwight and Bynum stays relatively injury free, not put too much expectation on Cousins but Monroe seems very promising.
 
remember, he hasnt played basketball for a year. his per 36 numbers, along with other numbers, are much better than biyombos. hes playing behind milsap and jefferson tho so he doesnt get any time.

I hear ya. But I just see Kanter as someone that will be a great rebounder and solid scorer but never a great defender. I don't like his lack of athleticism. He has played better as of recently though. Im biased towards defensive anchors though. Both still have a long way to go, but im rolling with Biyombo.
 
I'm considering emergence of Anthony Davis and couple other guys yet to be drafted, and assuming Dwight is still Dwight and Bynum stays relatively injury free, not put too much expectation on Cousins but Monroe seems very promising.

Monroe is great, but he is someone that is going to need to playing with a stud defender in the frontcourt imo. Cousins has a ton of potential also. Just wish he would actually learn how to use the glass. They guy takes terrible angles all the time. Bynum is a monster. I love his game.
 

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