NBA Draft 2011: Why Kemba Walker Will Slide to New York Knicks at No. 17

Kemba Walker proved last season during the Big East and NCAA tournaments that he was the best player in the entire country.  

The way he put UConn on his back was Greg Jennings-like.  

Walker averaged 24.6 points a game during the Huskies magical championship run.

In the 2011 NBA Draft, though, none of that matters.  

Potential is far more valuable to NBA teams than production.  Walker outperformed Kyrie Irving, Brandon Knight and Enes Kanter combined in college, but because they have more potential, they'll all be selected in front of him.

With the Jazz now rumored to be leaning toward selecting Kanter over Knight, all of a sudden Walker could find himself on a draft-day free fall.  

Knight will fall to Toronto, which will choose the one-and-done, raw point guard without a second thought.  Washington isn't an option with John Wall running the nation's capitol.  Charlotte is going to come out of the draft with D.J. Augustin starting at point guard because they have huge holes to fill on the wing and at center.

The Pistons best player right now is Rodney Stuckey.  That's not a good thing, but they won't take Walker with the center position being such a huge need.  Sacramento's ownership favors Jimmer Fredette over all.  

Golden State has Stephen Curry so they're out of the question as well.  Utah doesn't have a need at point guard, either.  They need someone who can play alongside Devin Harris.  Jimmer could've done that. Walker can't.

Phoenix could consider Walker as Steve Nash's replacement, but they already have Aaron Brooks.  Looking determined to keep Nash, the Suns are they're trying to make one last push with the future Hall of Famer.  Adding his backup would be a turn-off for Nash, who would most likely want out of the desert.

The Houston Rockets have Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic with huge holes at center and small forward: pass.  Indiana has Darren Collison while Larry Bird has a ton of options at the positions they have holes in, at shooting guard and power forward.  They won't take Kemba over the Morris twins, Alec Burks or Bismack Biyombo.

Philadelphia is set at point guard with Jrue Holiday and Lou Williams and, boom, the New York Knicks are on the clock.

It may seem improbable, but all it will take for Walker to slide all the way to NY is if the Jazz take Enes Kanter at No. 3 and Sactown passes at No. 10.  If just those two moves occur, Mike D'Antoni will be the first person there to catch the falling Kemba.

David Daniels is an NFL Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and a Syndicated Writer. Follow him on Twitter.