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2011 NBA Draft Grades Says the Spurs Made the Most Out Draft Night Trades

A lot of trades went down here and there during draft night, including one major move before the draft, but nobody played it quite as good as the San Antonio Spurs.

The Western Conference's top team started the night with the No. 29 pick overall; they ended up landed a lottery prospect and three other talents.

Kawhi Leonard, arguably the best defensive prospect in this draft, slid out of the top 10 and down to Indiana at No. 15. The Pacers added him rather quickly, but then used the opportunity to land a point guard for their future.

They wanted Jimmer Fredette, but instead they get local product George Hill, a three-year pro from IUPUI. The Pacers got exactly what they were looking for, possibly even more, and the Spurs made a necessary move to keep them competitive.

Tony Parker will continue to be the point guard for the Spurs and they won't have to worry about extending or parting ways with Hill in a year. Meanwhile Kawhi Leonard will be on a rookie contract for the next four years and should be a instant producer on the glass, on defense and in transition. He'll continue to develop as a shooter, but his youth and energy are the two most important factors of his game and for this team.

Other products of the Spurs' trade include Davis Bertans (42nd overall) and the rights to European Erazem Lorbek. Bertans was a possible target in the late first round as he is a gifted scoring option, but he slid because it will take some time before he comes over.

Even so, the Spurs got exactly what they needed out of this trade, and it should keep them near the top of the West for another few years at best.

- Wes O'Donnell

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2011 NBA Draft Results Saw the Sacramento Kings Make Major Head-Scratching Decisions

The Kings couldn't wait until the draft started to make a bad decision and they opted to trade away Beno Udrih and take on Jon Salmons' salary and drop down three spots in the draft.

While both Milwaukee and Charlotte used the trade to get better, Sacramento only got worse.

It was long rumored that the Kings' owners, the Maloof brothers, were extremely high on the BYU product. The problem was that not all of the basketball personnel was on board with the decision.

But by trading out of No. 7, the Kings narrowly avoided an ugly decision on a point guard with the pick.

Both Brandon Knight of Kentucky and Kemba Walker of UConn were still on the board at No. 7, but by the time the Kings were on the clock at No. 10 both players had come off the board.

The Kings bosses got who they wanted, an undersized point guard with defensive limitations (and a gifted scorer), and didn't have to make a tough decision.

The remainder of their draft was actually solid with the additions of Tyler Honeycutt and Isaiah Thomas, but the trade leaves us wondering what the Kings are truly committed to.

Jimmer won't single-handedly bring this franchise back to prominence, they can only hope he helps, but they're not doing themselves many favors in the cause.

- Wes O'Donnell

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2011 NBA Draft Results Says the Houston Rockets Failed with Two Top 20 Draft Picks

The Houston Rockets tried to move up in the draft but they couldn't seem to find a willing partner.

With four first round picks over the next two years it should have been easy for general manager Daryl Morey to make something happen, but instead he moved up three spots from No. 23 to No. 20 after already selecting at No. 14.

And at No. 14 the Rockets drafted Marcus Morris, the better of the two Morris twins who happened to go one pick after his older brother was selected. It was a good value for a player who could have been a top 10 pick, but it doesn't help the Rockets very much right now.

The Kansas Jayhawk claims he can play the three and obviously the Rockets must agree with him, but they won't survive if they is truly the case.

Morris will end having to play the four and the Rockets already have that position covered.

So, naturally, they went ahead and did the same thing with pick No. 20, which they traded up for, by drafting Donatas Motiejunas of Lithuania.

He's got big time scoring potential, but won't be of any use to the team if he's buried behind a number of other forwards.

And to make matters worse, the Rockets left a legitimately talented defensive talent in Kahwi Leonard on the board and saw San Antonio get their hands on him instead.

A combination of bad decision making when on the clock, and false hope in a player's future position, will ultimately put this draft class at the very bottom of this year's scores.

Oh, and then they took Florida forward Chandler Parsons in the second round and he also plays forward.

- Wes O'Donnell

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2011 NBA Draft Results Says Kawhi Leonard is the Steal of the Draft

The San Antonio Spurs were buys on draft night and ultimately made four picks, none more important than Kawhi Leonard though.

The Indiana Pacers selected Leonard at No. 15 after he fell out of the lottery but they then used him to acquire George Hill.

Earlier on in the draft week the talk out of San Antonio was that Tony Parker was actively being shopped. The Frenchman, still only 29-years old, had a lot to offer a number of teams looking for a veteran starting point guard, but the Pacers had their sights set on Hill.

Hill is a very good addition to the team, but nobody makes out better than the Spurs here.

Not only did the Spurs land a lottery pick, but they did so after starting the draft at No. 29 and moved up by trading a backup player to make it happen.

San Antonio retains Parker and adds a legitimately talented defensive prospect that can rebound. He's still developing an offensive game, but the Spurs will be able to get the most out of him early on.

Hayes Davenport of Celtics Hub gave the best rationalization of Leonard's impact though writing:

The Pacers flipped the 15th pick in a supposedly weak draft for a young, useful, hometown player with a great contract at a need position. That actually happened. Leonard will be a solid addition in San Antonio, but he's really a steal because he made two teams better Thursday night.

Indiana couldn't be happier with what they got and the Spurs landed a 6'7" wing with a ton of upside.

Both teams are happy, both teams are better and Kawhi Leonard made it all possible.

- Wes O'Donnell

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2011 NBA Draft Grades Says the Dallas Mavericks Won Draft By Not Drafting

The Mavericks did draft at No. 26 but Texas' Jordan Hamilton will not be playing in Dallas any time soon.

Instead, the Mavericks used his rights to acquire a young veteran that has yet to reach his full potential.

Rudy Fernandez, a guard from Portland and former first round pick of the Phoenix Suns, will now be helping the Mavericks defend their title instead of chasing one with the Trail Blazers.

Fernandez averages only nine points for his career, but what the Mavericks did, rather than taking a chance on player who fell far down the board, was assure themselves of some form of production off the bench for the near future.

Mark Haubner of The Painted Area brings up a great point about Fernandez's future in Dallas writing:

Mark Cuban claims he hired Rick Carlisle because analysis showed that players produced much better for him than for other coaches. Fernandez should be a good test case of this phenomenon because he has looked like an entirely different player when playing for Spain -- he played with a more attacking style and crashed the boards -- rather than Portland. If Carlisle can extract more of Fernandez's talent, this could be a sneaky little move for the champs.

Sneaky indeed.

Fernandez is a consistently better player with his native Spain and many wonder what the problem has been for him in the NBA.

Carlisle proved that he can get the most of players regardless of the situation and this may actually be the best scenario for Fernandez. He'll find playing time if he deserves it and the Mavericks take on very little risk by adding him over any other rookie.

The rest of the summer will be an interesting one for the reigning champs, but they at least know they'll get another proven player to add to their stable entering next season (if there is a next season).

A lot of teams added big time potential in this draft, the Mavericks did so with little risk.

- Wes O'Donnell

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2011 NBA Draft Results Says the Nuggets Made the Most of Their Night at the NBA Draft

The Denver Nuggets came into the night with the No. 22 pick, a number of free agent concerns and a backup point guard that wanted to be a starter.

By night's end the Nuggets took care of almost every one of those problems.

At No. 22 they selected Kenneth Faried, a rebounding machine with an abundance of energy and flare.

He's a bit smaller than teams would have liked, 6'6", but he'll never stop working to make things happen. He's going to hustle on both ends of the floor, will continue to develop as an all around player and even he never becomes a starter he will play quality minutes.

Then, after a draft day free fall, Jordan Hamilton was taken by the Dallas Mavericks at No. 26 and promptly traded away.

The 6'9" forward has the potential to be a big-time scorer in the league and if Wilson Chandler leaves in free agency they'll have a replacement for the future.

Also involved with trade was the Nuggets sending Raymond Felton to Portland and taking back Andre Miller in return.

Felton only had one more year on his contract, wanted an opportunity to start and now the Nuggets can work with Ty Lawson and Andre Miller rather than worrying about what Felton was going to do. He would have walked for free at the end of the summer and getting something now was the best possible move.

Factoring in all the implications of what the Nuggets did on draft night, trade included, Denver has to be considered one of the big winners of the draft.

- Wes O'Donnell

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Derrick Williams Forced into Bizarre Situation With Minnesota Timberwolves in 2011 NBA Draft

The Minnesota Timberwolves are the most dysfunctional franchise in the NBA right now.

Already employing forwards Kevin Love and Michael Beasley, they draft an extremely similar player in Derrick Williams at No. 2.

He has the talent worthy of such a selection, but most assumed the T-Wolves would be trading the pick to the highest bidder. Names like Steve Nash, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom were brought up in possibly going to Minnesota in exchange for Williams.

Instead, nothing happened and now Williams comes to the Twin Cities without even knowing who his coach is going to be. Rumors swirled that current coach Kurt Rambis was going to be fired as soon as the draft was over, yet GM Daivd Kahn has denied the rumors and it's left everyone confused...including Williams:

It's pretty weird, I hope (Rambis) is the coach and I want him to be the coach... Nobody wants to have a new coach. Everybody is a rookie if there is a new coach and it's going to be a disadvantage to everybody if that happens.

While most new picks are gushing about the chance to play for their new team, Williams is left very confused.

Is that the way you want the No. 2 pick to feel a mere days for the lockout hits?

-Eric Ball

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NBA Draft Grades Utah Jazz Highly For Going With Smart Pick Over Popular Pick in Alec Burks

You could hear the screams of Jazz fans all the way in Denver.

The people of Utah were all fans of a certain college player that played down the road in Provo for BYU. His names rhymed with "slimmer".

Fans were clamoring for the team to trade up from the No. 12 selection and make sure they got their man. Instead, the Sacramento Kings swooped up Jimmer Fredette as the Jazz patiently sat on their hands. They ended up selecting shooting guard Alec Burks out of Colorado University.

He is a slasher that is capable of scoring plenty of points in the NBA. Burks averaged 20.5 in his sophomore season with the Buffs in addition to 6.5 boards. At his opening press conference, you can tell he is already very hungry to prove himself:

If I don’t have the most confidence in myself then, no one will have it for me. We’re going to have to earn our right to eat, and I like that

His confidence is oozing and the potential is tantalizing. His shaky jump shot must improve, but he is going to be a hit with the Jazz as he runs the fastbreak along side point guard Devin Harris. Defensively he is stout and uses his feet very well to stay infront of the opposition.

He may not be a hometown hero, but he is the right fit for the franchise and will be a contributor instantly in Sat Lake City.

-Eric Ball

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NBA Draft Grades The Washington Wizards No.18th Pick as The Best Move of The First Round

After the Washington Wizards bottomed out a season ago in wake of the Gilbert Arenas gun saga, they began the rebuilding process by selecting point guard John Wall with the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft.

This year the focus was finding players that could play along side the game of Wall. That was certainly evident when they selected the ultra fast big man Jan Vesely at No. 6.

It was a smart pick, but it wasn't as savvy as the other first round selection they made: with pick No. 18 they grabbed Florida St. defensive guru Chris Singleton.

The New York Knicks had their chance to select him just a pick earlier at No. 17, but whiffed. This is not sitting well with ESPN New York writer Stephen A. Smith:

Once realizing they actually passed up Chris Singleton, a 6-foot-9, 230-pound forward deemed capable of defending at least three positions on the floor, who finished his last two seasons at Florida State on the All-Defensive team, forgive me for believing the Knicks actually lived up to their middle name.

Wizards guard Nick Young is a free agent and will likely be relocating to another city so the minutes will be there for him right away. Singleton has the ability to defend the quickest guards on the floor while still being able to body up the LeBron James type players in the league. He is the shutdown defender that the Wiz so desperately need.

He is fast enough to keep up with Wall on the break and is more than capable of scoring 10-12 points a game right off the bat. But with Wall and the emergence of Jordan Crawford, he won't have to.

It may have taken a bit of luck, but make no mistake about it, the Wizards will look like geniuses down the line for nabbing Singleton so late in the first round.

-Eric Ball

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NBA Draft Grades Sacramento Kings Poorly for Reaching on Jimmer Fredette

The Sacramento Kings are not in the best shape financially. The Maloof brothers are selling assets they own left and right and have run out of money to successfully run the franchise.

The team is extremely close to relocating and the future is completely up in the air. They went into the NBA Draft knowing they needed to hit a homerun with their draft pick. A trade earlier in the day landed them the 10th pick and they decided to use it on BYU living legend Jimmer Fredette.

Fans loved it. He was a recognizable name and was very exciting to watch in college and judging by his opening comments at the Kings press conference, he's ready to be very active in the community:

Hopefully people see me as a good person first of all. That’s what it’s all about, going out and being able to help the community, help the people around you.

That’s going to carry far longer than basketball ever will. But then, obviously, they see me as a good basketball player as well.

That's where things get tricky. Throwing a guy with serious defensive deficiencies onto a team that is among the worst in the league isn't exactly a brilliant idea. Jimmer is going to be exposed and it's only a matter of time before fans grow weary of watching him allow yet another guard to get by him.

Sure he will bring some offensive fireworks at times, sure he will increase ticket sales for the first few months of the season, but clearly this was a panic move and one that could end up being the dagger that forces the Kings to leave town.

Sacramento Kings Draft Grade: D+.....If it wasn't for nabbing Tyler Honeycutt and Isaiah Thomas in the second round...the grade would be even lower.

-Eric Ball

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NBA Draft Grades Has High Praise For Denver Nuggets

The buzz surrounding what the Denver Nuggets did on draft night is not very high, but sooner or later this is going to be a day to remember for fans in Colorado.

The Nuggets solidified their frontcourt by taking forward Keith Faried out of Moorehead St. with the 22nd pick, then landed the rights to forward Jordan Hamilton out of Texas in a trade that also gets them point guard Andre Miller and a future second-round pick from the Portland Trail Blazers. They only had to give up guard Raymond Felton.

Denver also traded a future second-round pick for Chukwudiebere Maduabum, the Los Angeles Lakers' 56th pick in the second round.

It was pretty clear that Felton wants to be a starter in this league and getting stuck on the depth chart behind Ty Lawson wasn't something he was thrilled about. Felton played horribly in his first taste of the postseason and was a guy that was expendable.

Acquiring Miller is a huge deal for Nuggets head coach George Karl. He has called him his favorite player to coach in the past when he was in the Mile High City for three seasons before being involved in the Allen Iverson trade back in 2006. He provides that veteran toughness required if they ever plan on getting out of the first round again.

With Kenyon Martin unlikely to re-sign as an unrestricted free agent, grabbing Faried that late was a small miracle. His 1,673 career rebounds set a modern-era NCAA record, surpassing Tim Duncan's mark of 1,570.

Hamilton has the sort of potential to average 15-20 points a night. Most experts assumed he would be selected in the lottery, certainly not at pick No. 26. He'll add an explosive scoring option off the bench for a Nuggets team that will likely be losing JR Smith to free agency.

Credit GM Masai Ujiri for pulling off the trade and credit teams like the Knicks for deciding to pass up on the rebounding machine Faried.

Denver Nuggets Grade: A

-Eric Ball

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NBA Draft Grades 2011 Say Cavaliers Should Go Different Direction if Draft Redone

The Cleveland Cavaliers held two selections in the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery. They had the No. 1 and 4 overall picks and used them on Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson, respectively. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, they failed to address their biggest need with either pick and would probably do the draft over if they could.

If the Cavaliers knew that Brandon Knight would slide past Utah, which he did when the team felt that Enes Kanter was a better prospect and took him third overall, they most likely would not have drafted Kyrie Irving first.

The Cavaliers biggest need is at the swingman position. They were left with a very big hole to fill in the wake of LeBron James’ ‘Decision’ to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat. If the Cavaliers had a redraft, they would select Derrick Williams with the No. 1 overall pick.

The hybrid forward out of the University of Arizona has just as much, if not more, pro potential than Kyrie Irving and fits in with the Cavaliers perfectly. Kyrie will be a great pro but the Cavaliers have Baron Davis and Ramon Sessions to adaquetly fill the position for the next few years at least.

Possibly the biggest head-scratcher in the entire draft was the Cavs decision to go with Tristan Thompson 4^th overall. They already have a promising young 4 on the roster named J.J. Hickson. Thompson projects to be the same type of player as Hickson and just does make sense on a team with so many needs to fill. In a redraft, the Cavaliers would have taken Brandon Knight here to be the point guard of the future.

Knight is a big guard with a ton of athleticism and All-Star potential; he could be just as good if not better than Kyrie when everything shakes out.

The Cavaliers botched the 2011 NBA Draft and will have to live with the results, but they know they could have done better. 

-Alex Kay

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Charlotte Bobcats Hit Home Run with Two Lottery Picks in 2011 NBA Draft

The Charlotte Bobcats got rid of veteran shooting guard Stephen Jackson and journeyman backup point guard Shaun Livingston in a draft day trade. What they received in return for these two players, along with their 19^{th overall} draft pick, has much more value. They parlayed those assets into Corey Maggette, a productive player in the right system, and two top ten draft picks. They drafted Bismack “B-Smack the Business” Biyombo 7^th overall and Kemba Walker 9^th.

Biyombo has ridiculous upside and may be one of the best defensive presences in the league for years to come if he pans out. He has incredible athleticism and has been drawing comparisons to fellow Congo big man, Serge Ibaka. He does not have Serge’s offensive repetoire, but posseses better rebounding and shot blocking skills and is already talking about leading the league in those categories. Biyombo has a motor that won’t quit and a drive to dominate the league; I think he will be an international success story for the Charlotte Bobcats.

Kemba Walker is another great selection for the ‘Cats. Michael Jordan is now the majority owner of the team and took a player that has a winning pedigree much like himself. Walker led his UConn Husky team through the Big East tournament and steamrolled the competition in the NCAA tournament. He is a leader on the floor and has the ability to play both guard positions at the next level.

This injection of talented youth into a beleaguered franchise should certainly help them start making a playoff push in an Eastern Conference that only goes about five teams deep right now. 

-Alex Kay

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The Phoenix Suns Did Not Address Holes in Roster and Flunked 2011 NBA Draft

The Phoenix Suns selected with the 13^th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. They competed at a high enough level last season to land at the tail end of the lottery and went 40-42 in a tough Western Conference. They Suns needed to enter a rebuilding mode with the imminent departure of Vince Carter and Steve Nash in the last year of his contract. They did not address their need to get a young point guard or shooting guard with a high ceiling in the draft and instead settled on Markieff Morris.

Markieff Morris was the lesser rated prospect between him and twin brother Marcus by most scouts and GMs prior to the draft but went one pick ahead of his brother. Markieff is an NBA ready player who can rebound, shoot, and is a ‘modern’ power forward. Markieff should be a decent player but he does not fill a need as the Suns currently have Marcin Gortat, Robin Lopez, and Channing Frye in the frontcourt.

The Suns really needed to trade out of that pick if they felt that no point guard or shooting guard prospects were worth selecting. They could have received future draft picks that would be invaluable to their rebuilding process. Instead they went with an NBA ready prospect at a position they have too many players at. Trading down to select someone like Iman Shumpert (who I don’t think will be good but was apparently high on their board), or Marshon Brooks (who could be one of the best scorers to come out of this draft) should have been a priority.

The Phoenix Suns will now spend next season as a borderline playoff team that wins between 38 and 42 games, which places them just outside the lottery again and delays the rebuilding process further. Expect Steve Nash to walk away once his contract runs out as the Suns have not found him the help he needs to compete. 

-Alex Kay

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Jan Vesely, Chris Singleton Make Up One of Best Drafts in Washington Wizards History

Washington Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld navigated his club through the 2011 NBA Draft with a great amount of skill. They landed a ferocious dunker and high energy forward in Jan Vesely with the sixth overall pick. Many expected Kawhi Leonard to go here but Vesely may be a better fit when all is said and done. John Wall, Jan Vesely, and JaVale McGee will make up an exciting, young, highflying team that the franchise will build around for years to come.

The Wizards also made a great selection to address another need when they selected again at 18^th overall. They had no hesitation in grabbing Chris Singleton, who should have been a lottery pick and definitely should have been selected by the Knicks at 17. Singleton is the best defender in the draft and will fit nicely at the swing spot, checking the other teams best offensive player. The Wizards won’t need him to contribute on offense right away and he can take time to develop that part of his game.

These two players fit perfectly with the nucleus the Wizards have already built up through the draft. They need to acquire a solid 2 guard and they will have one of the best, youngest rosters in the league. If they can deal Rashard Lewis and his albatross of a contract away, the Wizards will be in contention for a playoff spot in the East before we know it. 

-Alex Kay

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