Mock NBA Draft - Knight Third To Utah

NBA mock draft

Posted: Saturday, Jun. 18, 2011
Observer NBA writer Rick Bonnell's mock draft:

Pick, Team

Player, Pos., From

Comment

1. Cleveland

Kyrie Irving,

PG, Duke

The best player, at the toughest position to fill. What's not to like?

2. Minnesota

Derrick Williams,

PF/SF, Arizona

He's redundant to Michael Beasley, so someone eventually will have to go.

3. Utah

Brandon Knight,

PG, Kentucky

He's not Deron Williams physically, but a solid shooter and a high-IQ playmaker.

4. Cleveland

Enes Kanter,

C, Turkey

A skilled, physical guy; a great complement to Anderson Varejao's and J.J. Hickson's skill sets.

5. Toronto

Jan Vesely,

SF/PF,

Czech Republic

The Raptors love Euros, taking advantage of Toronto's ethnic melting pot.

6. Washington

Jonas Valanciunas,

PF/C, Lithuania

With patience, he could be the best big man - and overall player - in this draft.

7. Sacramento

Kemba Walker,

PG, Connecticut

Tyreke Evans can play either guard spot, inviting them to draft Kemba.

8. Detroit

Kawhi Leonard,

SF, San Diego State

He succeeds Tayshaun Prince as this team's all-around defensive stopper.

9. Charlotte

Chris Singleton,

SF, Florida State

A premier defender is a great understudy to Stephen Jackson.

10. Milwaukee

Alec Burks,

SG, Colorado

With Michael Redd aging out, they need a creative scorer in the backcourt.

11. Golden State

Klay Thompson,

SG, Washington State

Insurance, should the Warriors trade Monta Ellis to free up Stephen Curry.

12. Utah

Donatas Motiejunas,

PF/C, Lithuania

Big men are always at a premium, and this defines a value pick.

13. Phoenix

Jimmer Fredette,

PG/SF, Brigham Young

The Suns like the unorthodox. Fredette is a high-risk/high-reward pick.

14. Houston

Tristan Thompson,

PF, Texas

What an easy selection - a great athlete with a high ceiling, with Texas roots.

15. Indiana

Marshon Brooks,

SG, Providence

Larry Bird has been looking to fix the Pacers' hole at shooting guard.

16. Philadelphia

Marcus Morris,

PF/SF, Kansas

This is too easy to be true. A local kid with two-position potential. Done deal.

17. New York

Jordan Hamilton,

SG/SF, Texas

Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni loves up-tempo scorers regardless of defense.

18. Washington

Markieff Morris,

PF, Kansas

Not as talented, but might be the more productive, of these twins.

19. Charlotte

Nikola Vucevic,

C, Southern Cal

He has classic center size with low-post moves and a hunger to rebound.

20. Minnesota

Kyle Singler,

F, Duke

Can stretch defenses with his shooting range. This is an experiment.

21. Portland

Bismack Biyombo,

PF/C, Congo

A luxury, but wouldn't you love to have Ben Wallace or Dikembe Mutombo?

22. Denver

Justin Harper,

PF, Richmond

The classic stretch power forward - he makes bigs guard far from the lane.

23. Houston

Tobias Harris,

SF, Tennessee

He went on a crash diet to trim down his body fat after his one college season.

24. Okla. City

Davis Bertans,

SF, Latvia

A huge talent with contract issues; Thunder has the talent to wait.

25. Boston

Trey Thompkins,

C, Georgia

A fat boy, but they need big bodies to make up for the loss of Kendrick Perkins.

26. Dallas

Kenneth Faried,

PF, Morehead State

Needs to be ferocious -think Tyler Hansbrough - to overcome his lack of height.

27. New Jersey

Tyler Honeycutt,

SG/SF, UCLA

A swingman with a defensive profile, in the mold of Josh Childress.

28. Chicago

Shelvin Mack,

PG/SG, Butler

They need a perimeter shooter and Mack has a proven ability to score.

29. San Antonio

Darius Morris,

PG, Michigan

They need an understudy as Tony Parker begins to age out.

30. Chicago

Chandler Parsons,

PF, Florida



Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/06/18/2390051/nba-mock-draft.html#ixzz1PkDVQjl4

Looks like they decided to get themselves a big Enis instead. :-)