2011 NBA Draft Results: Kemba Walker Was Right Choice for Bobcats

The 2011 NBA Draft featured a number of bad moves, especially in the early going (Tristan Thompson at No. 4; really?). But one of the more pleasant surprises occurred when the Charlotte Bobcats drafted Kemba Walker with the No. 9 pick.

Michael Jordan, who owns the team, has built a reputation over the last 10 years as one of the worst judges of talent in the NBA. When your best draft pick is Kwame Brown, you know that there is trouble in River City.

But when Walker was announced as the pick for the Bobcats, the first thing that went through my mind was how he is a perfect fit for this team.

Sure, there are questions about his size and his position. But he is a tremendous leader, scorer and winner. He is exactly the kind of player that this team needs right now.

He proved that he can carry a team on his back and have great success with them. He was the best player in college basketball in March and April when the pressure is at its greatest. Teams constantly lined up their best defenders to stop him, but he still took them to task en route to becoming the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA tournament.

He is a Michael Jordan kind of player. He wants to have all the pressure heaped upon his shoulders because that always brings out the best in him.

The size issue is being overplayed because he has the speed and athleticism to drive around defenders in the NBA. It's hard to stop someone that you can't stay in front of.

The one area of his game that he needs to get more consistent with is getting his teammates involved in the offense. He knows how good he is, and that confidence causes him to try and do everything on his own.

He is an underrated defender. His on-ball defensive skills aren't great, but he can hold his own against better point guards. He has terrific instincts, which will allow him to get a lot of steals. He isn't afraid to bang on the boards and grab some rebounds.

He brings a strong will, determination and personality to this team that desperately needs some direction. He brings an instantly recognizable face to a franchise that has been faceless since its inception seven years ago.

The Bobcats are not as good as their 34-48 record last season would indicate. This team is on the decline, and it needs to focus on the future, not the present. It needs to tear the whole thing down and build it back up again.

D.J. Augustin, the team's starting point guard last year, is a nice backup, but he is not a starter on a championship team or even a playoff team (He wasn't the starter when the team made the playoffs in 2010.). According to ESPN's Chad Ford, this team has never been sold on him as a player, which makes the selection of him with the No. 9 pick three years ago puzzling.

Walker will be a great, not good, player for this franchise for a long time. He will not lead this franchise to the promised land on his own, like he was able to do with Connecticut last season, but he is the first big piece of the puzzle for this franchise.

He is not just another undersized point guard like Augustin. Walker is an infinitely better athlete and basketball player than Augustin was coming out of college. He is a better shooter than Augustin has ever been.

This was the first and most important step for the Bobcats to begin the next chapter in the history of the franchise.