The 2011 NBA Draft class was regarding by many scouts the weakest one in years. There was also a debate on whether who the Cleveland Cavaliers would select with the No.1 pick in the draft — Kyrie Irving from Duke and Derrick Williams from Arizona.
There was obvious question marks surrounding Irving who played only 11 games at Duke and whether how serious his toe injury was. Many scouts also said there was a big drop off of talent after Irving and Williams go. Fact of the matter is, a couple years later, there are multiple stars/superstars from this draft class, also with many busts. So, should we really believe it what scouts say?
Here is the first and second round of the 2011 NBA Draft.
Round One:
1.) Cleveland Cavaliers – Kyrie Irving (Guard – Duke)*
2.) Minnesota Timberwolves – Derrick Williams (Forward – Arizona)
3.) Utah Jazz – Enes Kanter (Forward – Kentucky)
4.) Cleveland Cavaliers – Tristan Thompson (Forward – Texas)
5.) Toronto Raptors – Jonas Valanciunas (Center – Lithuania)
6.) Washington Wizards – Jan Vesely (Adriatic League)
7.) Sacramento Kings – Bismack Biyombo (Forward – Spain — traded to Charlotte)
8.) Detroit Pistons – Brandon Knight (Guard – Kentucky)
9.) Charlotte Hornets – Kemba Walker (Guard – Connecticut)*
10.) Milwaukee Bucks – Jimmer Fredette (Guard – BYU)
11.) Golden State Warriors – Klay Thompson (Guard – Washington State)*
12.) Utah Jazz – Alec Burks (Guard – Colorado)
13.) Phoenix Suns – Markieff Morris (Forward – Kansas)
14.) Houston Rockets – Marcus Morris (Forward – Kansas)
15.) Indiana Pacers – Kawhi Leonard (Forward – San Diego State — traded to San Antonio)*
16.) Philadelphia 76ers – Nikola Vucevic (Center – USC)*
17.) New York Knicks – Iman Shumpert (Shooting guard – Georgia)
18.) Washington Wizards – Chris Singleton (Small forward – Florida State —
19.) Charlotte Hornets – Tobias Harris (Forward – Tennessee — traded to Orlando)
20.) Minnesota Timberwolves – Donatas Motiejunas (Forward – Lithuania — traded to Houston)
21.) Portland Trail Blazers – Nolan Smith (Guard – Duke)
22.) Denver Nuggets – Kenneth Faried (Forward – Morehead State)*
23.) Houston Rockets – Nikola Mirotic (Forward – Montenegro — traded to Minnesota)*
24.) OKC Thunder – Reggie Jackson (Guard – Boston College)
25.) Boston Celtics – MarShon Brooks (Guard – Providence College — traded to Brooklyn)
26.) Dallas Mavericks – Jordan Hamilton (Forward – Texas — traded to Denver)
27.) Brooklyn Nets – JaJuan Johnson (Forward – Purdue)
28.) Chicago Bulls – Norris Cole (Guard – Cleveland State — traded to Milwaukee, then Miami)
29.) San Antonio – Cory Joseph (Guard – Texas)
30.) Chicago Bulls – Jimmy Butler (Guard – Marquette)*
Round 2:
31.) Miami Heat – Bogan Bogdanovic (Guard – Bosnia — traded to Minnesota)
32.) Cleveland Cavaliers – Justin Harper (Forward – Richmond — traded to Orlando)
33.) Detroit Pistons – Kyle Singler (Guard/Forward – Duke)
34.) Washington Wizards – Shelvin Mack (Guard – Butler)
35.) Sacramento Kings – Tyler Honeycutt (Forward – UCLA)
36.) Brooklyn Nets – Jordan Williams (Forward – Maryland)
37.) L.A. Clippers – Trey Thompkins (Forward – Georgia)
38.) Houston Rockets – Chandler Parson (Forward – Florida — traded to Minnesota)*
39.) Charlotte Hornets – Jeremy Tyler (Center – Japan — traded to Golden State)
40.) Milwaukee Bucks – Jon Leuer (Forward – Wisconsin)
41.) L.A. Lakers – Darius Morris (Guard – Michigan)
42.) Indiana Pacers – Davis Bertans (Forward – Slovenia — traded to San Antonio)
43.) Chicago Bulls – Malcolm Lee (Forward – UCLA)
44.) Golden State – Charles Jenkins (Guard – Hofstra)
45.) New Orleans – Josh Harrellson (Forward – Kentucky — traded to New York)
46.) L.A. Lakers – Andrew Goudelock (Guard – College of Charleston)
47.) L.A. Clippers – Travis Leslie (Guard – Georgia)
48.) Keith Benson (Center – Oakland)
49.) Memphis Grizzlies – Josh Selby (Guard – Kansas)
50.) Philadelphia 76ers – Lavoy Allen (Forward – Temple)
51.) Portland Trail Blazers – Jon Diebler (Forward – Ohio State)
52.) Detroit Pistons – Vernon Macklin (Forward – Florida)
53.) Orlando Magic – DeAndre Liggins (Guard – Kentucky)
54.) Cleveland Cavaliers – Milan Macvan (Forward – Israel)
55.) Boston Celtics – E’Twaun Moore (Guard – Purdue)
56.) L.A. Lakers – Chukwudiebere Maduabum (Forward – Bakersfield Jam — traded to Denver)
57.) Dallas Mavericks – Targuy Ngombo (Forward – Qatar — traded to Portland)
58.) L.A. Lakers – Ater Majok (Forward – Australia)
59.) San Antonio – Adam Hanga (Forward – Hungary)
60.) Sacramento Kings – Isaiah Thomas (Guard – Washington)*
symbol = player(s) who turned into a star/superstar
Players who turned into a star – Kemba Walker, Nikola Vucevic, Kenneth Faried, Nikola Mirotic, Isaiah Thomas and Chandler Parsons.
Players who turned into a superstar – Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler.
This was labeled as one of the worst draft classes in years by scouts. But, at least 10 players turned in a star/superstar player in this league and are the face of their franchise for a long time. The question is, should we really believe scouts and what they say? I don’t think so. No one would of thought 10 players out of this draft would likely become the face of a franchise. The only sure thing was Irving and even he had a question mark on him due to his foot injury. Many NBA players take years to develop and turn into something special. It took a couple of years for these players to be where they are today. Almost all have been to the playoffs.
One has won an NBA Championship and a Final MVP and also defensive player of the year — Kawhi Leonard.
One has won the NBA All-Star MVP — Kyrie Irving.
Also, only two players have signed a long-term contract extension with their respective franchise — Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker.
The fact of the matter is that this was a strong draft class that came out with stars/superstars and also very decent role players as well. These players are vital to the franchise success. Each of these players almost certainly have been to the playoffs at least once in their careers.
So, it is safe to say this was a very strong draft class that had loads of potential and some players that came out of the nowhere. This also proves, while that it is there job to discuss how weak or un-weak this draft class is, it shows that scouts also have no clue what they are talking about in regards too players and their development, as like I said before, for some players, it takes a while to develop and play up to their potential. All of these players will one day become an MVP in this league.
Whether or not they will win a championship in their respective careers (one has), they will still be regarded has one of the top players in this league when their career is all set and done.
All of this goes to show you that you can’t really trust scouts now-a-days and how they determine a draft class or how the player will develop.
You just got to let it play out and watch the player blossom.
