2011 NBA Draft Lottery: Luck Helps Utah Jazz Avoid Long-Term Rebuilding
Usually when you lose a Hall of Fame head coach, have more injuries than the training staff can keep track of and trade away your All-Star point guard for a rookie, it makes you wonder if things can actually get any worse.
The Utah Jazz started last season with high hopes of success, thinking they had a team that would make the playoffs and compete in the Western Conference.
As we all know, that is not what happened.
After enduring a season where it seemed that everything fell apart, Utah Jazz fans got a bit of good news Tuesday night when they were awarded the third overall pick in the upcoming 2011 NBA Draft.
Instead of falling into the black hole of losing for many years that so many teams experience, this draft can now give the Jazz the opportunity to get out of rebuilding mode before they really got into it.
Despite all of the frustrations, the Utah Jazz are in a good position to be successful next season and now have the opportunity to draft a player that will make an immediate impact.
Drafting in the third and 12th positions will leave the Jazz several options. The best case scenario depends on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will have the first selection, and will most likely select Kyrie Irving from Duke. The T-wolves pick second and many think they will take Derrick Willams who is thought to be the next best available player.
With Kevin Love and Michael Beasley, Minnesota does not really need a player at the front court position that Williams would play. If they decide to pick someone other than Williams, he would fall to the Jazz.
With the 12th pick, the Jazz would then try to select the point guard they so desperately need. Options there could include Alec Burks from Colorado, Reggie Jackson from Boston College or, the player that many Jazz fans want to see them draft, local hero Jimmer Fredette.
If the Timberwolves do select Derrick Williams, it is likely that the Jazz will fill the point guard position early by selecting either Brandon Knight or Kemba Walker. I would predict that they would take Knight, which would leave no real need for drafting Fredette.
They could then look to fill another team need.
In addition to the options they have in this year's draft, they also have a bright future in other aspects of the team. Current players Al Jefferson, Gordon Hayward, Paul Millsap and Derrick Favors will continue to improve and will have time to play together for a full season.
Hayward and Favors will both be entering their sophomore season primed for success, and the front court duo of Jefferson and Millsap have already proven themselves in the league.
Other positive factors include: head coach Tyrone Corbin having a full off season to plan for his team, the huge expiring contract of Andrei Kirilenko that may help the Jazz have flexibility in free agency, and the time over the summer for players to heal from the injuries that cost them so many games.
Even though Jazz fans endured one of the worst seasons in team history this year, the future is very bright.
With the results of the draft lottery, things in Utah got even brighter.
With the NBA Draft approaching, NBA Mock Draft season is here. Stay tuned to Bleacher Report for updated mock drafts, along with the latest NBA Draft news, analysis, rumors and predictions.
