NBA Draft 2011: Derrick Williams and the Most Likely Players to Win Every Award
By now, you've already read every mock draft possible. I won't bore you with another one of those because whatever I predict will clearly be wrong.
You know who the best fit is for your team. You know the odds of getting that best fit. And most of all, you know you probably won't be satisfied after the draft.
So I'm not here to get your hopes up with the perfect mock draft where every team comes out happy, all the general managers hug each other and everyone rejoices because every team improved.
Instead, I'm going to highlight certain strengths of certain players, and I'm going to do it high school yearbook style.
Most likely to be successful, most likely to burn out by age 20, most likely to die in a fiery car crash, you get the idea. But for this graduating class, I'm doing it with NBA awards.
Most Likely to Win the Skills Challenge
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This is, of course, assuming that the skills challenge is still around in the next few years. It seemed that all of the contestants this year were going at about half speed, and the contest might just be canned soon.
If the competition does stay around, Jimmer Fredette has all the tools to win it.
He's got the attitude that would make him go 100 percent. He's got decent enough quickness and passing. He's got the deadly jump shot, which is what it really always comes down to anyways.
If you can't make that three on your first attempt, then you're probably not going to win. Jimmer will make it.
Most Likely to Win the 3-Point Contest
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This one probably comes down to Jimmer Fredette and College of Charleston senior Andrew Goudelock.
Everyone knows what "Jimmer range" is, but "Goudelock range" might just be somewhere around half court.
Andrew showed in the NIT against Wichita State what Cougars fans knew all season long: He can hit the three from anywhere on the court.
He then proceeded to win the college basketball 3-point contest, so we know he's not just a game shooter.
Fredette vs. Goudelock would be an intriguing matchup, but I'm taking Goudelock in this type of contest every time.
Most Likely to Win the Dunk Contest
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This one comes down to Georgia's Travis Leslie and Dayton's Chris Wright. It's hard to pick either one because I can only go off of in-game dunks that I've seen, and sometimes it's hard to tell if those will translate to a contest.
Leslie has had the better in-game dunks from what I could find, including a monstrous one over former-Kentucky center DeMarcus Cousins.
Wright has had some serious in-game dunks as well, and also boasts a dunker's nickname, "Top Flight." So he's got that going for him.
Both are athletic freaks, really, and can jump out of the gym.
But Leslie is about four inches shorter than Wright, so I'm going to have to say that the former Bulldog is more likely to hold the hardware in the future.
Most Likely to Lead the League in Assists
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This isn't meant to be a slight towards Kyrie Irving and Brandon Knight. I just think Darius Morris is the best passing point guard in the draft.
Irving and Knight are both terrific scorers, but I see Knight's ceiling at about six assists per game, and Irving's being eight or nine. Neither of those numbers will lead the league.
Morris, on the other hand, is more likely to put together a Rajon Rondo statistical-like year if he gets the right players around him.
He's a big point guard that has good court vision. He's very good in the pick-and-roll, which is ideal for an NBA point guard.
Add in the fact that his scoring game still needs work, and Morris is the perfect pass-first candidate in this year's draft.
Most Likely to Lead the League in Rebounds
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Led all of NCAA in rebounding? Check.
Has an endless motor? Check.
Has hair that looks like Joakim Noah's? Check.
There's really no question that Morehead State's Kenneth Faried is the ultimate hustle player. He loves doing the dirty work. He'll be a spark no matter where he goes, and a force off the glass.
Most Likely to Lead the League in Points
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There's the obvious stars Derrick Williams and Kyrie Irving. Then there's the international players Enes Kanter and Jan Vesely. And then there are the sleepers Alec Burks, Klay Thompson and Marshon Brooks.
All of them have been able to score with ease at other levels, and all of them are candidates to lead the league in scoring some day.
Alec Burks stands out to me as the most likely to do it, however. At 6'6" with good length, he is the perfect shooting guard size.
He could add some bulk, but he knows how to effectively get the basket and finish, and he has a good enough jump shot at the moment.
Burks is still young coming off his sophomore year, and if he continues to develop, he looks like he could be the typical volume shooter and scorer.
Most Likely to Win Defensive Player of the Year
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Florida State showed during the NCAA tournament that defense can win you games as they had perhaps the stingiest defense of any team.
Even though he was battling an ankle injury that had held him out of multiple games, Chris Singleton was a catalyst of that defense.
He's long and lanky and will be able to guard multiple positions at the next level. Singleton has the terrific instincts and quickness to record multiple steals per game, and will even block a good amount of shots for his size.
Most Likely to Win Sixth Man of the Year
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Most good sixth men provide instant offense off the bench. Manu Ginobili, Jason Terry, Jamal Crawford and Lamar Odom are the last four winners, and with the exception of maybe Odom, all can score in a hurry.
Because of his size, I just don't see Kemba Walker as a starting point guard. But he's a player who feeds off of emotion and energy.
His best role might just be that of spark plug off the bench. He is insanely quick and could tear up opposing team's second units.
He's the type of player who can excel and score in bunches in the right situation. If he's asked to "go hard" for five minutes at a time or give his team a needed boost, he'll be in the right situation.
Most Likely to Win MVP
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If his jump shot stays consistent, Derrick Williams is the type of guy who can take over games.
He has the speed and athleticism to be successful as at small forward, but he also has the toughness and drive to play the 4.
He'll be able to score from inside and out, rebound the ball well and play consistent, hard-nosed defense.
Kyrie Irving will be a great player, but Derrick Williams simply has the type of game to be a game-changer. And that's what makes MVPs.
Go ahead and give him most likely to win Rookie of the Year, as well.
