I watched the 2011 NBA draft yesterday and for the first hour I felt like I needed a translator. 4 of the top 7 picks were from overseas and barely spoke English. I have no problem with that if they can hoop, but I have to admit it did catch me a little off guard. This draft lacked the depth of years past as well as impact players who can come in and contribute right away. After Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams went 1 and 2 respectively it was more of a crap shoot than anything else. Nevertheless some teams did better than others so here's my list of winners and losers.
The Winners:
Golden State Warriors. Golden St. picked up a lights out shooter in Klay Thompson, a crafty point guard from Queens in Charles Jenkins, and a diamond in the rough with Jeremy Tyler. At 6-11 he could be the steal of the draft.
Washington Wizards. The Wizards added more athletic size up front with 6-11 Jan Vesely, a defensive stopper in Chris Singleton, and a proven point guard in Shelvin Mack.
Utah Jazz. Enes Kanter gets a chance to mentor under fellow countryman Mehmet Okur. Don't underestimate how important that is for his development.
The Losers:
Los Angeles Lakers. Darius Morris has an outside shot at making the team, but Chukwudiebere Maduabum, Andrew Goudelock, and Ater Tojar have no chance.
New York Knicks. The Knicks reached out on a limb and took point guard Iman Shumpert. Was Donnie Walsh sand bagging on his way out?
Philadelphia 76ers. Sure Nikola Vucevic is 7'0 tall, but he was nothing special at USC and they passed on much better talent to get him.
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