2011 NBA Mock Draft: Best and Worst Case Scenarios for All 30 Teams
The NBA Playoffs are under way, and that can only mean one thing, the NBA draft is just around the corner.
It never comes with as much fanfare as the NFL draft, which is something I am thankful for, because if I had to hear two guys yap for six months about who the 13th pick in the draft would be, I think I would go become a monk in the Himalayas.
The draft is always interesting, because it seems the teams that have been lucky stay lucky, like Oklahoma City or Portland, and the teams that haven't been lucky in a decade stay unlucky, like Minnesota.
Some teams help themselves by making smart decisions, like San Antonio, while others just make the public feel sorry for them with their GM's baffling decisions, like Minnesota.
Each team is hoping for the best, but some teams are going to come out of the draft with their worst possible scenario.
So, to help you know what each team's best and worst case scenarios are, I compiled a neat little list for them all.
Atlanta Hawks
1 of 30
Best case scenario: Someone good falls to the second round...really far.
Atlanta has no first-round picks, so their first pick in this draft will come as the 18th pick in the second round.
They could really pick anyone with this pick, so they might as well reach out for someone that was good in college but might not be held in the highest regard in the NBA or an unproven foreign prospect.
Worst case scenario: Begin rebuilding.
Atlanta has to blow up their nucleus at some point, as they have made little to no improvement over the past three years and are no closer to a championship.
The draft, so long as there is no lockout on the table, would be the best place for them to start rebuilding, as they could pretty easily jump into a top spot in this year's draft.
This would probably be best for the franchise, but it is going to hurt for their fans.
Boston Celtics
2 of 30
Best case scenario: A big physical guy.
Three guys should be available at this point in the draft that could fill this role.
Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris or Kenneth Faried are all guys that could fill their obvious need for a big man to replace Kendrick Perkins.
Worst case scenario: Danny Ainge does something else dumb.
The biggest need for the Celtics is a big man, but Danny Ainge has shown that he can be ignorant of team needs after trading away Perkins, so he could very well do something else dumb.
There are some players that could be available that low, like Nolan Smith or Tyler Honeycutt that could be tempting, but the urge should be resisted.
Charlotte Bobcats
3 of 30
Best case scenario: Number one pick.
Chicago landed the No. 1 pick from the ninth spot in 2008, and they got a franchise point guard here. Charlotte could do the same.
Kyrie Irving could end up being their Derrick Rose, although that seems like a bit of a stretch at this point.
Worst case scenario: Michael Jordan does something stupid.
A high pick might be their worst nightmare here, because MJ does not have a good track record. Do the names Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison ring a bell?
I think the sketchiest pick here could be Kemba Walker, but I wouldn't put it past MJ to pick Jimmer Fredette if they are somewhere below ninth in the draft.
Chicago Bulls
4 of 30
Best case scenario: Good bench scorer.
They have defense on the bench nailed down pretty well with Kurt Thomas and the two backup guards, so a good bench scorer would do them good.
Some good options with the 26th and 30th picks would be Tyler Honeycutt, Reggie Jackson, Justin Harper or possibly Jeff Taylor.
Worst case scenario: Actually...nothing.
I really don't think that there is a wrong thing Chicago could do with these picks.
They could trade them away, they could trade them both to improve their spot, they could make complete stretches on European players that won't play for three years or they could just throw darts at a list, and they would be fine.
When it all comes down to it, they were the best team in the NBA this year, and two picks in the draft can only help.
Cleveland Cavaliers
5 of 30
Best case scenario: Good things happen in the lottery.
There really is no best case scenario of a certain player becoming available for them to draft, as they are planning on taking the best option, not the best player at a certain position. This makes sense, because every position on their team could be upgraded.
So, the best thing that could happen for Cleveland would be for them to win the draft lottery, allowing them to pick whoever it is that they may think is the best player out there, I would assume this to be either Kyrie Irving or Derrick Williams.
Secondly, the best pick they could realistically get out of the pick they received from the Clippers, which has a 2.8 percent chance of winning the lottery, is somewhere between fifth and eighth.
I would say their best case scenario would be either Irving and a guy like Jan Vesely or Brandon Knight. Williams and Kemba Walker would also be a top-notch option.
Worst case scenario: Bad things happen in the lottery.
Cleveland has bad luck, we all know that, so the worst thing that could happen would be for them to get utterly screwed in the lottery.
With their luck, they really could end up with their No. 2 pick ending up fifth and their No. 8 spot falling to 11th, the worst possible combination of picks that they could get
Those picks would probably land them Kemba Walker or Jonas Valanciunas with their first pick and someone like Kawhi Leonard with their second.
Dallas Mavericks
6 of 30
Best case scenario: Point Guard Depth
Right now, the two options that Dallas has at point are Jason Kidd who is getting older every day and JJ Barea, who is definitely on the short side for an NBA point guard.
They could improve their depth at the point with Josh Selby or even Nolan Smith if he were to somehow fall that far in the draft.
Worst case scenario: Another two-guard.
The shooting guard spot for the Mavs has been extremely crowded all year long.
They have five players listed in their depth chart as a two-guard including DeShawn Stevenson, Jason Terry, Rodrigue Beaubois, Corey Brewer and Dominique Jones.
All they need would be to make it even more muddled than it already is.
Denver Nuggets
7 of 30
Best case scenario: Small forward depth
The Nuggets made out pretty well in the Carmelo Anthony deal, and now, the only glaring hole in their lineup is at small forward, where, after Danilo Gallinari, they have few options.
Good options here would be someone like Tobias Harris or Jeff Taylor, both of whom can provide solid defense and scoring off the bench.
Worst case scenario: Another Center
The Nuggets currently have Nene, Chris Anderson and Timofey Mozgov listed at center (they have Kosta Koufos too, but who counts them?)
Another center would almost never see playing time and would be a dumb pick for this team unless it was someone like Enes Kanter falling to the bottom third of the draft, which would mean every team from No. 3 to No. 20 would have to have a serious brain injury before the draft.
Detroit Pistons
8 of 30
Best case scenario: No. 1 pick.
The best thing Detroit could do would be to explode their team and trade it all away, but they seem to be very stubborn at this point, so the No. 1 pick would be the best for them.
They have Will Bynum, who is a decent point guard, so I think they would go for Derrick Williams with the No. 1 pick for them here.
Worst case scenario: No. 10 pick.
The worst things for Pistons fans would be for them to draft Jimmer Fredette here; I think they would have to absolutely lose it.
Golden State Warriors
9 of 30
Best case scenario: No. 1 pick.
The lowest spot in the lottery to grab the No. 1 pick was the Magic back in 1993 at 11th, so Golden State getting the No. 1 pick here wouldn't be impossible.
Derrick Williams would be their best choice here, as they already have Monta Ellis and Stephon Curry as high scoring guards.
This would be an amazingly athletic backcourt, and if anything it would make them even more exciting.
Worst case scenario: Number 14 pick (this would be insanely impossible, but the person they could pick in this area of the draft would be available potentially at 11th or 14th).
This seems to be coming up a lot, but Jimmer Fredette would be a terrible but possible pick for them.
Fredette would add to their shoot a lot and play no defense mentality.
Houston Rockets
10 of 30
Best case scenario: Big man, defensive forward.
Houston has the last lottery spot, which has very little chance of becoming something more than the 14th pick, as the six times there has been a 14th spot, they have had the 14th pick.
Here they could take a chance on someone like Donatus Montiejunas or Nikola Mirotic and see if they amount to anything in the NBA.
At 23rd, they could have a chance at some very good big men, potentially having their choice between the Morris twins or Kenneth Faried.
Worst case scenario: Jimmer Fredette
I feel like Fredette as a lottery pick is the worst possible thing that a team could do, so I'll beat this horse to death.
Indiana Pacers
11 of 30
Best case scenario: Go out on a limb.
The biggest thing the Pacers are missing is a play-making All-Star. With none of those exactly hanging around at the 15th pick, they might as well make a stretch.
Some guys they could try to make into a solid NBAer could be Nikola Mirotic, Chris Singleton or even...Jimmer Fredette.
For as much hate as I have for Jimmer as a lottery pick, I think he could do good for the Pacers.
Another white dude in their lineup would fit in well, and I think he will fall into place on any team and not try to outshine anyone, plus there is a slight chance that he turns into something good.
Worst case scenario: Drafting someone shot-happy.
Indiana has two guys that fancy themselves to be the leaders of this team in Danny Granger and Darren Collison. The two have done quite well together this year, so a guy who wants to shoot too much would cause trouble on this team.
The main guy that this would be referring to at this point would be Josh Selby.
Los Angeles Clippers
12 of 30
Best case scenario: Not much...not much at all.
The only picks that the Clippers have in this year's draft are two middle-of-the-road second-round picks from the Pistons and Rockets.
They should go to fill their three-spot, as they have Jamario Moon, Ryan Gomes and Al-Farouq Aminu filling their small forward role.
Throwing both picks at small forwards would the best they could do to fill that hole.
Worst case scenario: Still...not much.
The Clippers may well have done good getting out of this draft, as there isn't much talent depth in this year's draft.
By trading their first-round pick, they got a good point guard, cleared cap space and no longer have to deal with trying too hard in this draft.
Nothing they do will really upset people much.
Los Angeles Lakers
13 of 30
Best case scenario: Trade up, grab a point guard.
The Lakers have four second-round picks in this year's draft, so they could either throw everything at the wall and see what sticks or try to trade up and grab a point guard that has more potential than some of the second-rounders.
If they can work their way into the first round, they could end up with Josh Selby, who could turn into something good for them.
Worst case scenario: Stay put
There isn't usually much that comes out of the second round, but from time to time, you do get someone good, so this isn't a horrible option.
They could use all of their second-rounders on whoever they think is the best guy available and just see what happens.
Memphis Grizzlies
14 of 30
Best case scenario: People in Memphis get stoked for basketball.
Memphis only has one pick in this draft, and it's a second-rounder, so not much can happen through this draft in terms of Memphis.
One thing that can happen by the time the draft rolls around is that the people in Memphis get back into basketball in a big way.
Memphis was 24th in home attendance this season, due mostly to their terrible past, so the best they could hope for would be for the people of Memphis to get back into the game.
Worst case scenario: The lockout looks bad.
The absolute worst thing that could happen to the Grizzlies at this point, who are nearly rebuilt, would be for a lockout to come around and have them lose a full season of games.
The people would become more disinterested and who knows what would happen to the team.
Miami Heat
15 of 30
Best case scenario: Wait...they have a pick?
Miami traded roughly 347 draft picks over the summer, but they do have a second-rounder this year, so there's that.
Miami won't have many opportunities to improve through the draft in the next few seasons, so hey, enjoy having something to watch Miami fans.
Worst case scenario: They trade the pick.
This might actually be a best case, but if Miami fans are looking for some kind of entertainment value out of the draft, then this is a worst case scenario.
Milwaukee Bucks
16 of 30
Best case scenario: No. 1 pick.
The Magic got the No. 1 pick from the 11th spot back in 1993, so a No. 1 pick from the 10th spot isn't impossible.
They drafted four dozen guards in the past five years, so Derrick Williams would be a better choice than Kyrie Irving for them.
Worst case scenario: 13th pick
The worst pick they could end up with would be the 13th pick, and the worst thing they could do with it would be drafting a point guard.
So, yet again, I'm putting Jimmer Fredette as the worst pick they could make at this point.
Minnesota Timberwolves
17 of 30
Best case scenario: The biggest need for the Timberwolves would be a guard who can really lead the team.
So, it goes that their best-case scenario would be to get Kyrie Irving.
Worst case scenario: Losing out on the No. 1 pick would be the worst case for the T-Wolves.
Seven times in the history of the modern-day draft has the team with the best chance at the No. 1 pick not even nabbed a top-three pick. With the luck Minnesota has had in the draft, that would be entirely possible.
Worst case for Minnesota would be the fourth pick in the draft, meaning someone like Enes Kanter at the very best.
New Jersey Nets
18 of 30
Best case scenario: Grabbing a decent two-guard.
New Jersey traded away their first-rounder this year to the Jazz, so the only one they own is the Lakers' first-round pick, which is the 27th pick.
If someone like Nolan Smith were to fall to them, they would have to take him 27th.
Worst case scenario: Deron Williams leaves.
This isn't something that is going to happen this year, but Deron Williams leaving would be the worst thing possible for this team, with this year's draft being one of the bad things that comes from it.
They gave up a lottery pick to get Williams, so they would essentially be giving up a possible top-three pick for a year-and-a-half of Williams.
New Orleans Hornets
19 of 30
Best case scenario: Chris Paul re-signs.
New Orleans only owns a mid-second-round pick in this year's draft, so the only thing that should concern them would be Chris Paul.
His deal runs out next year, so they should start the process of trying to convince him to stay now.
Worst case scenario: Chris Paul declares he's leaving.
With the NBA owning the Hornets, it's hard to say what, if anything, they will do to keep Paul.
In all likelihood, however, Paul will be out the door, and the city of New Orleans will be down in the dumps for years.
New York Knicks
20 of 30
Best case scenario: A point guard or a center, preferably a center.
Chauncey Billups is getting old, and their center position is held down by Ronnie Turiaf, who is a backup at best.
They could end up with Nolan Smith, or they could go for a Morris twin at this spot.
Worst case scenario: Drafting a head case.
They had Stephon Marbury, who was an absolute cancer to this team, so another head case would be tragic for the Knicks.
Josh Selby could be considered to be in this category, and he may be the only one, so he should be avoided at all costs.
Oklahoma City Thunder
21 of 30
Best case scenario: Strike more draft gold.
Oklahoma City has been very good in the past few drafts, striking gold with Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, so maybe they can do it once again.
Who knows, maybe they go for a Morris brother to strengthen their depth in the big man positions or go after Travis Leslie, who is an athletic freak, but a raw talent.
Worst case scenario: The draft luck runs out.
Basically the same thing as above, but instead of the player they draft ending up being good, he ends up bad.
Orlando Magic
22 of 30
Best case scenario: Dwight Howard reconsiders.
It almost seems like a foregone conclusion right now that Dwight Howard is on his way out of Orlando, and with them having no first-rounders this year, the best thing they can do between now and the draft is to convince Dwight Howard to stay.
Worst case scenario: The implosion begins.
If Howard leave the Magic, they will become a terrible team.
Aside from Howard, they are a bunch of perimeter shooters, few of which can defend much at all. Plus, they have no backup big man and no defensive anchor if Howard leaves, so fans will have that to look forward to after next season.
Philadelphia 76ers
23 of 30
Best case scenario: Go for a big man.
Whether they get someone who can play power forward or center, a big man would be the best help for the 76ers.
Their three other positions are pretty much nailed down with Andre Iguodala, Jodie Meeks, Evan Turner, Lou Williams and Jrue Holiday, so their best bet would be a big man.
A Morris twin or Kenneth Faried could fit in nicely on this team.
Worst case scenario: Another talented point guard.
You can never have too much talent, but the Sixers sure are close when it comes to their point guards.
They have Holiday and Williams in their point guard hole, both of which would be starters on many of the teams in the league.
Adding another would just be overkill.
Phoenix Suns
24 of 30
Best case scenario: Top-three pick.
Don't expect to see Phoenix with a No. 1 pick here, but a top-three pick isn't impossible.
Kyrie Irving could be a solution to replace the aging Steve Nash, Derrick Williams would never be a bad pick, and Enes Kanter has probably the most potential of anyone in the draft.
Worst case scenario: 14th pick.
They could fall a spot to the 14th pick, which wouldn't exactly kill them.
There they could take someone along the lines of Jordan Hamilton or Donatus Montiejunas, both of which would be good forwards to insert into their lineup.
Portland Trail Blazers
25 of 30
Best case scenario: Whatever they want.
Portland doesn't really need any one position specifically, as they have a player who would be considered "good" at the very least at each position, some are even two-deep.
They could take a look at Josh Selby as Andre Miller is starting to get old or just go with a nice defensive forward like Jeff Taylor.
Worst case scenario: They draft an injury-prone guy.
I'm not sure if anyone in the current draft qualifies, but if they end up drafting a guy who has some creaky knees and ends up looking good, Portland fans are going to have a heart attack every time the guy hits the ground.
Sacramento Kings
26 of 30
Best case scenario: Sacramento has the fifth-best shot at getting the No. 1 pick in the draft, and a No. 5 team has won the No. 1 pick four times since 1990, so their best case scenario would be the No. 1 pick.
Kyrie Irving would be a huge improvement over Beno Udrih at point guard. He could provide great point guard play for this team and give them a player that could show the others the way.
Worst case scenario: The worst possible pick that Sacramento could get would be the eighth pick in the draft.
The best player they could hope to end up with at that point would be someone like Brandon Knight or Terrence Jones.
San Antonio Spurs
27 of 30
Best case scenario: Have a solid San Antonio-ish draft.
San Antonio almost always has good drafts. They never do anything crazy, and they always pick players that fit into their system.
Now, with their core getting older, they need to look at players that could potentially play a big role in the future.
One guy that could be available that low would be Justin Harper from Richmond who was amazing for the Spiders but didn't get much love for playing at a mid-major.
Worst case scenario: Draft older players.
San Antonio needs to get young in the worst way, and they just need to go for the young guys.
Don't pussyfoot around and look at some European guys who are around 23 or 24, just grab a 20-year-old and get out.
Toronto Raptors
28 of 30
Best case scenario: No. 1 pick.
Toronto has the third-best chance at the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, so their best possibility is indeed grabbing the No. 1 pick.
A forward that could potentially do it all would be best thing for them to get, so Derrick Williams would be the best here.
Worst case scenario: No. 6 pick.
The worst pick Toronto could end up with in the first round would be the No. 6 pick if three teams below them were to get the top-three spots in the draft.
Brandon Knight or Jan Vesely would probably be their best bet if they were to fall this far.
Utah Jazz
29 of 30
Best case scenario: First and third pick.
Utah owns New Jersey's first-round pick and their own, which gives them the sixth and 12th best chance at getting the No. 1 pick.
A No. 6 spot has gotten the No. 1 pick once since 1990 and a bottom two-spot has garnered a top-three spot once.
With those picks, completely retooling their lineup would be the best option, probably with players like Derrick Williams and Enes Kanter, the two best teams available at those spots.
Worst case scenario: Ninth and 13th pick.
The worst picks Utah could end up with would be Nos. 9 and 13, so this is obviously their worst case opportunity.
The worst thing for them would be to pick someone like Terrence Jones and Jimmer Fredette.
While Jones would be good for them, Jimmer's defense on their team would be terrible.
Washington Wizards
30 of 30
Best case scenario: No. 1 pick.
Washington has the fourth-best chance at grabbing the No. 1 pick in the draft, and although the No. 4 team has only gotten the No. 1 pick since 1990, it is entirely possible.
They have John Wall, so Kyrie Irving would be unnecessary with this pick, so they would most likely go for Derrick Williams.
Williams would give them a starting five of Wall, Williams, JaVale McGee, Jordan Crawford and Andray Blatche, which I would call not too shabby.
They also own Atlanta's first-round pick, which is the 18th in the first round. That pick should be someone they take a gamble on, like Tyler Honeycutt or Kenneth Faried.
If they pan out then that's a good thing, if not, then oh well.
Worst case scenario: No. 7 pick.
The absolute worst pick Washington is going to walk away with after the lottery is the No. 7 pick.
That pick would end up being someone like Brandon Knight or Jan Vesely at the best.
