2011 NBA Draft Results: Marcus Morris to Houston Rockets and 5 Biggest Surprises

The 2011 NBA draft is now in the books, and though some parts, like Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams going No. 1 and 2, were completely expected, there were other picks that left a lot of people wondering. 

While some surprises, like Utah taking Enes Kanter at No. 3 instead of Brandon Knight, were expected in the days leading up to the draft, others came completely out of nowhere.

Some of the surprises came from trades, like Sacramento trading down three picks to get Jimmer Fredette when no one was stopping them from taking him at No. 7, and then they ended up missing out on Knight.

Since Sacramento was talking about how many tickets Jimmer would sell Thursday, that trade and subsequent pick wasn't a shock come draft time, but there were plenty more surprises to go around.  

Let's take a look at the five biggest surprises of the 2011 NBA draft. 

5. Charlotte Bobcats Take Kemba Walker at No. 9

Kemba Walker's reaction when he heard his named called at No. 9 to the Charlotte Bobcats was the best part of the draft. 

Why was it a surprise? Because Kemba was falling down the draft boards on Thursday morning, and if Sacramento wasn't going to take him at No. 7, he was supposed to fall all the way to middle- or late-first round.

Kemba is very lucky Charlotte decided to go with him and equally lucky Detroit drafted Brandon Knight purely because he was the best player left on the board and not necessarily what they needed.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers Take Tristan Thompson at No. 4

Cleveland was reportedly very high on Texas' Tristan Thompson in the days leading up to the draft, and news that Jonas Valanciunas may not be playing in the NBA right away must've turned them off the Lithuanian. 

But Cleveland, you aren't going to be winning right away either.

Dan Gilbert seems to think his Cavaliers are right on the cusp of being one of the top teams in the East, so he drafted based on who he thought could catapult the team right away instead of thinking more about the future. 

Taking Thompson at No. 4 isn't a bad pick at all but it was a reach, and it's also the pick that sent Brandon Knight all the way down to No. 8. 

3. Houston Rockets Take Marcus Morris at No. 14

It was pretty cool to see twin brothers get drafted one right after the other, but it was a little surprising that the more talented brother went second. 

And even more surprising given the teams that picked them.

Marcus Morris was the best player left on the board when Houston picked at No. 14, so it's natural that they grabbed him when they could. Houston, however, is pretty set at the power forward spot with Luis Scola and Patrick Patterson, who was only drafted last year at, wouldn't you know, No. 14.

Phoenix took Marcus' brother Markieff with the 13th pick because they're banking on his defense, but in the end, the more-talented Marcus, though he's a little confused about his position, will likely end up the better player. 

This is the second time the Suns have drafted the wrong twin, but in their defense, Brook Lopez was already off the board in 2008 when they selected his brother Robin. 

2. Ney York Knicks Take Iman Shumpert at No. 17

The New York Knicks made a pretty big reach with their first-round pick.

They needed defense, and that's what they got, but with Chris Singleton still on the board (and going to the extremely grateful Washington Wizards one pick later), Iman Shumpert came as a surprise.

Shumpert is a good defensive point guard, but Knicks fans better hope he can learn the offensive game from Chauncey Billups. And speaking of Billups, if he has injuries and Shumpert gets thrown into the fame too early, this could turn out to be an ugly pick.

Singleton, meanwhile, joins the Wizards, who had a great draft, and should really help John Wall transform Washington along with No. 6 Jan Vesely. 

1. Portland Trailblazers Take Nolan Smith at No. 21

Portland needed to strengthen their frontcourt, and they drafted Duke point guard Nolan Smith, with the 21st pick. Possibly the biggest reach of the draft and definitely the biggest surprise. 

Kenneth Faried was still on the board and much like the Iman Shumpert/Chris Singleton scenario, was grabbed by Denver right after Portland passed on him.

Smith is capable, but he is not exciting. He likely won't amount to much more than a solid backup point guard.

For a team that will certainly be hoping to compete in the youthful West, and they have every chance to do so, this was a very surprising pick.