2011 NBA Draft Results: Klay Thompson and the Draft's 5 Biggest Head-Scratchers

Tom Kinslow@@TomKinslowFeatured ColumnistJune 24, 2011

2011 NBA Draft Results: Klay Thompson and the Draft's 5 Biggest Head-Scratchers

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    2011 NBA Draft results are here, and we are looking at the picks that made you sit up from the couch and wonder what in the world these teams were thinking.

    There were a few of them last night, and fans around the country are probably a little disgruntled after everything that went down. Inside are the top five most confusing picks, with a little bit about each selection and why it was a bad idea.

    Last night gave fans a lot of room for debate, so if you have anything to say about last night's draft, make sure to leave it in the comments below.

    Which picks frustrated you last night, and who did you want your team to take in the first round?

Kemba Walker, Charlotte Bobcats

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    Charlotte had two picks in the top 10 last night, but they didn't think too hard about the last one.

    After taking Bismack Biyombo with the seventh pick, the Bobcats got back on the clock and ended up taking Kemba Walker out of UConn.

    Walker has a great clutch gene and can create his own shot, but it creates a logjam on the Charlotte roster.

    D.J. Augustin is already there, and he didn't have a terrible season. He isn't a franchise point guard, but he is a more than serviceable player at that position. It seems like Charlotte decided to take Walker, one of the top talents in the draft, and figure out how to make it work later.

    That isn't exactly a recipe for success, but with the transition the Bobcats are going through, we'll see how it all pans out. 

Nolan Smith, Portland Trail Blazers

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    It couldn't have been set up better for the Portland Trail Blazers.

    The Blazers needed a little more toughness and were on the clock with Morehead State's Kenneth Faried still on the board. Faried is a player who had been mocked to Portland rather consistently in the late stages of the first round, and it seemed like at this point, destiny was calling.

    That is when David Stern stepped to the podium and announced Nolan Smith's name.

    It was a puzzling selection, seeing as how Smith's first-round stock was shaky at best, and Faried seemed like such a good fit for what Nate McMillian is running there in Portland.

    Smith is a good player, but not a great one, and I don't see how he makes an impact for the Blazers next season. Faried would have done that.

Jimmer Fredette, Sacramento Kings

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    I like Jimmer Fredette, but I hate where he's heading.

    Fredette, the sharpshooting BYU star, ended up going to the Sacramento Kings with the 10th pick in the first round.

    While he will put people in the seats in Sacramento, want I want to know is where he fits in.

    Tyreke Evans is entrenched on that roster, and both players love to play with the ball in their hands, creating a problem for the coaching staff. Sacramento was rumored to be looking at Fredette coming into the draft, but when you think about how it will work in reality, the pick seems less sound.

    Fredette would have been a much better fit on a team that already didn't have a dominant ball-handler on the roster.

Jonas Valanciunas, Toronto Raptors

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    Just want Toronto needs, another big man who will be worthless to the team next season.

    As if it wasn't bad enough for the Raptors to have Andrea Bargnani,—a center who is allergic to the post—now Toronto has taken Jonas Valanciunas, who may end up having a high ceiling, but won't even be with the team next season because of issues with his buyout. 

    That is exactly what you want if you're a mediocre franchise like the Raptors, with no real franchise player—someone who won't even see the floor.

    Players like Bismack Biyombo and Jan Vesely were on the board, talents who could be marketed to fans next season, yet the Raptors took a project who won't play on an NBA roster in 2011.

    Smooth.

Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors

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    Who needs defense anyway?

    Golden State already has Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry, two pure shooters who don't play a lick of defense, so the Warriors went out and added Klay Thompson, a guard/forward who shoots and doesn't factor in on the other end of the floor.

    Brilliant.

    Either the Warriors are going to shop Ellis hard in the offseason (something the team has denied), or this is a stupid pick, because Golden State eventually has to stop someone to start winning ball games on a consistent basis.

    When Mark Jackson took the head coaching job with the Warriors, he stressed defensive intensity, but their draft pick screams anything but.

    If Golden State sticks with this roster next season, it will be right back to the lottery in 2012.

    For more 2011 NBA draft coverage, stay tuned to Bleacher Report for B/R's Big Board of RecruitsNBA draft rumorsNBA draft results and NBA draft grades.

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