The 2011 Draft is looking better and better in retrospect

[RedBlackAttack]

It was considered incredibly "weak" at the time. Looking back on it, there are a hell of a lot of impact players in today's league that came from the 2011 draft.

There are four guys who are considered elite at their respective positions and then a slew of good to serviceable players.

Top Tier
Kyrie Irving
Kawhi Leonard
Klay Thompson
Jimmy Butler

Solid Tier
Chandler Parsons
Enes Kanter
Nikola Vucevic
Nikola Mirotic
Tristan Thompson
Kenneth Faried
Jonas Valanciunas
Markieff Morris
Reggie Jackson
Isaiah Thomas
Kemba Walker
Iman Shumpert
Tobias Harris
Donatas Motiejunas
Brandon Knight

Serviceable Tier
Alec Burks
Marcus Morris
Bojan Bogdanovic
Norris Cole
Jon Leuer
Cory Joseph


Turned out to be a pretty deep draft.

[Imtheman]

Brandon Knight should be a tier higher

[RightTwoCensor]

Every draft has 20 guys that'll stick around for 5-10 years, that's the way the league works. People overrate recent drafts that when they consists of multiple NBA Players. The drafts that deserve praise are the one's that feature multiple Hall of Famers/Transcendent Players within 5 years of the time they were drafted.

1984
1996
2003

[SugarHill]

it's actually really good

the only drafts since 2000 that are better are 03, 07-09

[RedBlackAttack]

Brandon Knight should be a tier higher
I can see that. It just felt weird putting Knight on the same level as Parsons and the others at the better end of that group. I probably should have split it into four but that was too much work.


Every draft has 20 guys that'll stick around for 5-10 years, that's the way the league works. People overrate recent drafts that when they consists of multiple NBA Players. The drafts that deserve praise are the one's that feature multiple Hall of Famers/Transcendent Players within 5 years of the time they were drafted.

1984
1996
2003

There aren't just great drafts and good drafts. Some drafts are horrendous -- like 2013 -- and some drafts are expected to be really bad (like 2011), but turn out to be far better than expectations.

That's what we're beginning to see here. When you have four guys at the top that are legitimately key pieces on four of the best teams in the league and then 20 other guys who are either good or contributing, that's a solid draft.

It stacks up pretty well against other drafts from the last decade or so, and that is just as some of these guys are beginning to show their worth.

[hawksdogsbraves]

I agree that Knight should be a tier higher but yeah, it's not too bad a draft. A lot of the better players took a while to develop.

[FreezingTsmoove]

Why only one Morris

[RedBlackAttack]

Alright, I moved Knight up a group. Also, I forgot about Mirotic who was drafted that year.


Why only one Morris
Added Marcus.

[hawksdogsbraves]

Man whatever happened to MarShon Brooks? People loved that kid his first season on the Nets.

I still can't figure out how Derrick Williams busted so hard either, dude had (has?) all the tools.

[outbreak]

I can see that. It just felt weird putting Knight on the same level as Parsons and the others at the better end of that group. I probably should have split it into four but that was too much work.



There aren't just great drafts and good drafts. Some drafts are horrendous -- like 2013 -- and some drafts are expected to be really bad (like 2011), but turn out to be far better than expectations.

That's what we're beginning to see here. When you have four guys at the top that are legitimately key pieces on four of the best teams in the league and then 20 other guys who are either good or contributing, that's a solid draft.

It stacks up pretty well against other drafts from the last decade or so, and that is just as some of these guys are beginning to show their worth.

I agree with most of what you said but I think if you judged the 2011 2 years ago (same time period you are using on the 2013) you wouldn't have nearly as many good players on your list. Another 2 years and I think we see some of the medicore players from the 2013 draft improve more. I agree it doesn't look like it's been a great draft but I don't think it will go down as horrendous given more time.

[beastee]

Vucevic should be top tier...20/10 and young. come on!

[Ariza4three]

Vucevic should be top tier...20/10 and young. come on!
he dont play no defense

[bobopenguin]

Nikola Vucevic should be a top tier. he has a bright future. already multiple games of 20/20..

[Ariza4three]

Nikola Vucevic should be a top tier. he has a bright future. already multiple games of 20/20..
no defense

[DonDadda59]

You usually have to give drafts 3 years or so before you can make real judgments about them. Some drafts are loaded with top tier talent that are immediately impactful, like someone pointed out 84, 96 (even though Kobe took 3 years to develop), 2003. '11 was a solid class from top to bottom.

[Xiao Yao You]

underrating Burks

[RedBlackAttack]

I agree with most of what you said but I think if you judged the 2011 2 years ago (same time period you are using on the 2013) you wouldn't have nearly as many good players on your list. Another 2 years and I think we see some of the medicore players from the 2013 draft improve more. I agree it doesn't look like it's been a great draft but I don't think it will go down as horrendous given more time.
That's fair.

A guy like Otto Porter looked like a guy who'd never even play in the league last year. While he still hasn't lived up to his draft position, at least he is playing valuable minutes for a pretty good team now.

As bad as it looks, the 2013 Draft needs more than two years to make a firm judgement.


As for Alec Burks, I was surprised at his numbers in looking through this draft and how these guys are playing a few years later. I have to admit I haven't watched him much at all. I remember liking him coming out of college though.

[brooks_thompson]

I figure rookie contracts are four years, so the draft cam he realistically judged when they expire.

[tontoz]

The Wizards had the 6th pick (Vesely) and the 18th pick (Singleton) in the 2011 draft. Both guys were out of the NBA after 3 years. And the GM still has a job.

:banghead:

[RedBlackAttack]

The Wizards had the 6th pick (Vesely) and the 18th pick (Singleton) in the 2011 draft. Both guys were out of the NBA after 3 years. And the GM still has a job.

:banghead:
Ouch.

How would that team look right now if they had taken Klay Thompson and Kenneth Faried, both of whom were available and would have been logical choices at the time?

You can go back and question draft picks for virtually every team in every draft. No team is ever going to nail every pick. But, in this particular draft there were so many good players to be had throughout... missing on both hurts.

The Vesely pick can be debated away by the fact that a lot of teams were high on his potential and the guys picked immediately after him weren't exactly world-beaters either.

6. WAS - Jan Vesely
7. CHA - Bismack Biyombo
8. MIL - Brandon Knight
9. CHA - Kemba Walker
10. SAC - Jimmer Fredette


However, in hindsight, the Singleton pick hurts even more. Here's how that portion of the draft went...

15. SAS - Kawhi Leonard
16. PHI - Nikola Vucevic
17. NYK - Iman Shumpert
18. WAS - Chris Singleton
19. CHA - Tobias Harris
20. MIN - Donatas Motiejunas
21. POR - Nolan Smith
22. DEN - Kenneth Faried
23. HOU - Nikola Mirotic
24. OKC - Reggie Jackson
25. NJN - MarShon Brooks
26. DEN - Jordan Hamilton
27. BOS - JaJuan Johnson
28. MIA - Norris Cole
29. SAS - Cory Joseph
30. CHI - Jimmy Butler



Charlotte also seriously f#cked up. Coming into the draft, they had picks #10 and #19. Those were incredible spots for this particular draft... both the Klay Thompson and Butler/Mirotic/Faried range. Instead, they traded both for #7 overall... Bismack Biyombo. :facepalm

[hawksdogsbraves]

Ouch.

How would that team look right now if they had taken Klay Thompson and Kenneth Faried, both of whom were available and would have been logical choices at the time?

You can go back and question draft picks for virtually every team in every draft. No team is ever going to nail every pick. But, in this particular draft there were so many good players to be had throughout... missing on both hurts.

The Vesely pick can be debated away by the fact that a lot of teams were high on his potential and the guys picked immediately after him weren't exactly world-beaters either.

6. WAS - Jan Vesely
7. CHA - Bismack Biyombo
8. MIL - Brandon Knight
9. CHA - Kemba Walker
10. SAC - Jimmer Fredette


However, in hindsight, the Singleton pick hurts even more. Here's how that portion of the draft went...

15. SAS - Kawhi Leonard
16. PHI - Nikola Vucevic
17. NYK - Iman Shumpert
18. WAS - Chris Singleton
19. CHA - Tobias Harris
20. MIN - Donatas Motiejunas
21. POR - Nolan Smith
22. DEN - Kenneth Faried
23. HOU - Nikola Mirotic
24. OKC - Reggie Jackson
25. NJN - MarShon Brooks
26. DEN - Jordan Hamilton
27. BOS - JaJuan Johnson
28. MIA - Norris Cole
29. SAS - Cory Joseph
30. CHI - Jimmy Butler



Charlotte also seriously f#cked up. Coming into the draft, they had picks #10 and #19. Those were incredible spots for this particular draft... both the Klay Thompson and Butler/Mirotic/Faried range. Instead, they traded both for #7 overall... Bismack Biyombo. :facepalm

Damn that's rough for Charlotte, they could've thrown two darts at a board with all those 10-25 players and likely would've come up with a couple (at least) decent players.

[chocolatethunder]

he dont play no defense
ISH Translation he's white

[Jameerthefear]

ISH Translation he's white
no vooch doesn't play a lick of defense

[chocolatethunder]

no vooch doesn't play a lick of defense
I'm well aware of that but if he was a black double double machine people would be all over his nuts. That's how it is here

[LosBulls]

Every draft has 20 guys that'll stick around for 5-10 years, that's the way the league works. People overrate recent drafts that when they consists of multiple NBA Players. The drafts that deserve praise are the one's that feature multiple Hall of Famers/Transcendent Players within 5 years of the time they were drafted.

1984
1996
2003
2008

[CakeorDeath]

I think Alec Burks will really kick it up a gear this next year. He's been playing with that shoulder injury for some time until they finally shut him down in December. He had surgery right after they shut him down and he's still 3 months from being able to fully practice, so obviously it was more than just a nagging problem.

The guy is super quick and is a fantastic finisher, especially after contact. The big knock on him coming out of college was that he needed to improve his range, which he appeared to have worked on a lot before he went down.

It will be interesting to see how they use him. If he is a super sub, he definitely has sixth man potential. If he is a starter, they might do something crazy and test him out at the 1, given how well Hood has played as the starting 2 and how Exum, while he could be the PG of the future, is still a project.

[Xiao Yao You]

I think Alec Burks will really kick it up a gear this next year. He's been playing with that shoulder injury for some time until they finally shut him down in December. He had surgery right after they shut him down and he's still 3 months from being able to fully practice, so obviously it was more than just a nagging problem.

The guy is super quick and is a fantastic finisher, especially after contact. The big knock on him coming out of college was that he needed to improve his range, which he appeared to have worked on a lot before he went down.

It will be interesting to see how they use him. If he is a super sub, he definitely has sixth man potential. If he is a starter, they might do something crazy and test him out at the 1, given how well Hood has played as the starting 2 and how Exum, while he could be the PG of the future, is still a project.

They don't really need a traditional pg. The team can run through Hayward, Hood and Burks. Burks has given some pg's problems with his size defensively in the past. As the team stands now they have 5 guys that deserve big minutes. So unless they add someone like they obviously need to Alec should definitely be getting minutes as the 1.

[hawksdogsbraves]

If the Jazz hit on somebody in the draft and Exum actually develops, they will be terrifying in a couple years.

[Lensanity]

Nikola Vucevic continues to be extremely underrated

[CakeorDeath]

If the Jazz hit on somebody in the draft and Exum actually develops, they will be terrifying in a couple years.

Yeah, I like what they're doing. Crazy to think that between the core of Favors, Hayward, Gobert, Hood, Burks, Burke, and Exum, the oldest guy (Hayward) is only 25.

[Xiao Yao You]

If the Jazz hit on somebody in the draft and Exum actually develops, they will be terrifying in a couple years.

Should be terrifying next year based on the way they finished this season and the money and assets they have to fill the couple of big holes they have at pg and back-up center.


Yeah, I like what they're doing. Crazy to think that between the core of Favors, Hayward, Gobert, Hood, Burks, Burke, and Exum, the oldest guy (Hayward) is only 25.

Trey certainly isn't part of the core at the moment. I'd guess he's very available if anyone wants him. He won't be on the team past next year unless he shows big improvement especially after the way Cotton ended the year. He looked like Trey with all the shots he was taking but he was actually good. It's funny after him and the media saying he was part of their big 3 early in the year! :roll:

Exum should be part of the core eventually but right now he's nothing more than an end of the bench defensive specialist until he proves otherwise. The tanking should be officially over. They'd be in the playoffs right now if they'd had an NBA caliber pg last year. Exum and Burke are end of the bench D-league prospects until they show something.