NBA Mock Draft 2011: SB Nation Collaborative Mock Completed

Over the last three days, the blogs of SB Nation executed a network-wide 2011 NBA Mock Draft, with each blog choosing their prospect at their team’s allotted slot based on the who was left on the board. There were a number of surprises -- including our Wolves blog Canis Hoopus choosing Turkish center Enes Kanter before rumors suggested that was a legit possibility -- and some absurdly thorough explanations. I’d advise you to read through the whole mock to get a sense of why teams’ most dedicated fans love some of these prospects.

For quick reference, here are the full results:

Jon Leuer has been one of the most productive big men in the entire country for two years running. As a junior, he put up a 30.2 PER and as a senior, he put up another very solid season with an 28.7 PER. He also shoots the three very well, 39 percent and 37 percent in his last two seasons on three and six attempts per 40 minutes pace adjusted, respectively. His ability to increase the volume of his three point shooting without suffering much of a drop off in percentages suggests that he is a top level shooter. Additionally, Leuer is 6’10” without shoes and 6’11.5” with shoes making him quite able to shoot over just about any defender from that distance. He’s got a strong upper body (17 bench press reps) and very good leaping ability for a 7-footer (36-inch vertical).

Leuer could stand to gain some strength in his lower body to help in his post defense, but he’s an interested, active help defender which would serve him well in Tom Thibodeau’s rotating, attacking defensive scheme. Additionally, it’d be nice if his rebounding were a little bit better, as that tends to translate, but given how often Leuer played offensively on the perimeter, it’s hard to say that it’s totally surprising. Fortunately, the Bulls are flush with a very strong rebounding frontcourt, so they should be able to mask whatever deficiency Leuer might have there.

I first became intrigued with Jenkins because he put up crazy efficiency numbers just about anyway you could measure it. According to the always great Ken Pomeroy’s statistical database, among players who used 28 percent of their team’s possessions or more, Jenkins was tops in the country with a sparkling 123.5 ORtg. That sparked my interest and after that, it was to DraftExpress to examine what their always excellent staff had to say about him. The reviews were sparkling. Statistically, Jenkins looks great, posting a 31.0 PER. Additionally, his situational statistics (courtesy of Synergy Sports and DraftExpress) are pretty breathtaking. He can score in isolation or out of the catch and shoot. He’s elite in both categories. Luke Winn of Sports Illustrated broke this down in great detail.

Jenkins also has a great NBA body. He’s not terribly tall at 6’1.5” without shoes according to DX’s combine measurements, but he’s got a 6’7.5” wingspan which allows him to play much bigger than his size would suggest. He’s also incredibly strong. All of this is not to say that Jenkins doesn’t come without questions. He played in a small conference, so it’s unclear to what extent his numbers were helped by that (though it’s worth noting that the CAA did place three teams in the tournament and Jenkins’ Hofstra squad won 21 games with Charles not having a whole lot of help). Against North Carolina, early in the season, he scored 24 points, had four assists and three steals.

One of the Nets’ biggest needs is a small forward, as well as someone who can penetrate and get to the rim.

Travis Leslie also fit the bill, but Butler has maturity and readiness to play over Leslie, who is a little bit of a project. We also like Tyler Honeycutt’s defensive potential, but we’re choosing to go with the polished offensive player in order to help convince Deron Williams to stick around.

If the Mavericks do still view Beaubois as a PG, then senior Justin Harper would also be a valuable choice to bolster the forward position. However, if they finally admit Roddy B’s future seems more and more likely to be at shooting guard, then Nolan Smith could immediately step into the backup point guard position, and perhaps take Jason Kidd’s position in a couple of years.

There’s no such thing as a sure thing this late in a weak draft, so why not swing for the fences with a big man that has top 10 talent? Will he contribute to a title contender right away? Well, under normal circumstances I’d say “doubtul,” but we have exactly 2 bigs on the roster and injuries are pretty much a given with this team. So if he’s on the roster, he’ll probably play.

Of course he is still bloody T-bone raw on offense (the C’s main weakness) and he has, um... limited historical NBA knowledge. But give him a steady diet of Rondo alley oops and a stack of Red on Roundball DVDs and he’ll do just fine - even if we have to give Hondo and Jo Jo White nametags.

Follow this StoryStream to see our entire SB Nation mock draft play out over the next couple days. See our 2011 NBA Draft hub for full coverage.

Even though all the “power” forwards the Nuggets are hoping to draft at No. 22 (like Chris Singleton, Kenneth Faried and Tobias Harris) have been drafted before the Nuggets’ slot, my esteemed colleagues at SB Nation somehow managed to miss on Markieff Morris, the lesser talented but bigger of the two Morris twins.

Follow this StoryStream to see our entire SB Nation mock draft play out over the next couple days. See our 2011 NBA Draft hub for full coverage.

Motiejunas was once regarded as a high lottery talent, and nothing about his game has really changed, except that he’s been on the draft scene for so long that reality caught up a bit with the hype.

His overall offensive package -- highlighted by his vision and length -- make him a tough cover in any league, including the NBA eventually. If he does slide this far, the Blazers, who have scouted Motiejunas extensively for years, can’t help but pass on their desires to find a point guard or a grinding type backup forward to take a player who has no business being on the board at No. 21.

I seriously doubt the Wolves end up keeping either of their first-round picks, but if they do hold onto them, look for them to take high character guys who will work their tails off. Harris did nothing but improve all season long and he is only 18. In a draft widely viewed to be weak, it is amazing to me that a young player with as much talent has Harris is allowed to fall into the 20s.

At No. 2, Hoopus selected Enes Kanter out of Turkey, passing up Arizona forward Derrick Williams.

The Wizards employ John Wall as their star player, which means that finding shooters should be a priority. Thompson is one of the best shooters in this draft, and is adept at spotting up. He has a really efficient all-around offensive game and is adept at getting his points without monopolizing the ball. This separates him from a lot of other similar offensive wings in this draft, who can all score, but who have less developed off-ball games. Thompson is also a fairly decent creator for others, even if he may not project as an elite slasher.

I suspect Thompson will ultimately be a backup that can swing between shooting guard and small forward depending on matchups. He’s insurance in case Nick Young walks in free agency, but unless Young’s asking price is ridiculous, I doubt that happens. Instead, I see him being a 20-24 minute backup that can finish some games when the Wizards need an offensive boost.

The hope is that the Sixers will package Andre Iguodala to move up to either the Timberwolves spot at No. 2 or the Cavs’ No. 4 pick. Then they could look wing at 16 to replace him, with either Jordan Hamilton, Chris Singleton or Klay Thompson, depending on who’s still around. While Markieff Morris, Kenneth Faried, and Nikola Vucevic represent safer options for the Sixers at 16, Tristan has the highest upside and the chance to gel with Evan Turner and Jrue Holiday to continue building the young core of this team.

With the 15th pick, the Indiana Pacers are faced with a group of “yeah, but...” guys at the power forward and guard positions they need to address. Whether it’s size, athleticism, defensive deficiencies or offensive deficiencies there’s a flaw in the total package of these players keeping them from the top of the draft board.

While I would like to address the power forward situation in the draft and Markieff Morris fits the profile of an experienced player Larry Bird prefers, it just didn’t feel right, so I went with my gut to address the need for a player to help carry the scoring load with Marshon Brooks. Klay Thompson would’ve worked as well and recent reports that Thompson outplayed Brooks during their full workout gave me pause, but I love the airy swagger Brooks brings along with that sweet shooting stroke.

The Phoenix Suns are not in the position to make a risky choice at No. 13. The team is aging, in transition, and has many holes to fill. This is why the Suns will take Marcus Morris at 13. Morris provides the Suns with three vital attributes of a draft pick for the franchise:

1. He is a fairly polished player.

Jimmer. Jimmer, Jimmer, Jimmer, Jimmer. It’s as if the Precogs had predicted this move years ago when Jimmer first picked up a basketball.

For this mock draft, Jimmer is the selection at 12. The Jazz were able to land Derrick Williams with the number three pick, thus allowing them to go with a point guard here. Kemba Walker and Brandon Knight are long gone at this point and the Jazz are in need of another guard; whether Jimmer would be used at the one or the two is to be decided.

We reconvene the SB Nation 2011 NBA Mock Draft at pick No. 11, where Nate Parham of Golden State Of Mind selects Chris Singleton, a wing out of Florida State. Here’s Nate’s explanation for the pick.

Washington State guard Klay Thompson has been linked to the Warriors repeatedly and, after continuing to impress in workouts, could be considered the best player available. But although there’s little question that he could become a solid contributor on an already strong defensive team, the Warriors are not that and perhaps the biggest doubt about him -- isolation defense -- also happens to be among the Warriors biggest defensive weaknesses.

Bucks fans could be forgiven for lacking the same optimism they showed this time last summer. Instead of celebrating another trip to the playoffs and dreaming of what new piece would be added to the evolving puzzle, the Bucks are picking up the pieces (and body parts) following an injury-riddled campaign that was a step backwards from their surprising 2010 season. Despite again ranking as one of the top defensive teams in the NBA, the offense was downright atrocious, and Milwaukee just couldn’t score effectively enough to win games.

In theory, Milwaukee is set at the point guard and center positions, but there isn’t a player currently on the roster who would qualify as a “star.” As such, the classic “best player available” approach would seem to make sense for the Bucks, but there are mitigating factors. Milwaukee is desperate for shot-makers, but are they willing to use a high pick on a potentially single-faceted shooter? Can they afford to draft a high-upside player whose skills overlap those currently prevalent on the team and might not be really useful for a year or two? Too often, especially this year, we hear about the lack of star power available in the draft, but the Bucks simply have to find an effective player. It can be done, and there is really nothing wrong, this year, with “just” finding a productive, capable rotation player.

Leonard isn’t the sexy pick here, especially with Kemba Walker, Jimmer and Jan Vesely still on the board. I’m of the opinion that Kawhi’s the best pick for the Kings here, though. Yes, it’s true the Kings have been on the lookout for another point guard, but what they’re really looking for at that position is another facilitator, and Walker and Jimmer are more scorers, both with question marks about their defense. At their other hole, small forward, Vesely could be an intriguing option, but he’s much too raw in my opinion, and while he has elite athleticism and length, he still can’t shoot, rebound or play defense all that well.

Leonard does have some holes in his game, particularly shooting the basketball, but from interviews and pre-draft workout reports, it seems he’s making a concerted effort to improve that part of his game. At just 19 years old, he still has plenty of room to grow.

“With the fifth pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors select Brandon Knight, from Kentucky.”

If those words are echoed by one David Stern come June 23, there are going to be lots of happy fans in Raptorland. Sure, there are those who prefer names like Kemba Walker or Enes Kanter, but Knight represents the best prospect on the board at this point, and a chance for the Raptors to get their point guard of the future.

Having Derrick Williams or Kyrie Irving fall to the Jazz somehow is what most Jazz fans are hoping for. My biggest fear for the Jazz this draft was winning the lottery and landing the third pick in a two-man draft. That’s exactly what happened. While players like Enes Kanter, Brandon Knight and others will have solid NBA careers, Williams and Irving appear to be the two that have the best chance to become All-stars or at least All-star caliber players. That’s something that the Jazz need as they rebuild.

The only issue with drafting Williams is that the Jazz already have a glut of players at the four and five positions. That’s a problem that Kevin O’Connor would like to have though. It’s possible that Williams could play some at the three (as he’s been insisting). What it would likely lead to though the trade of one of the Jazz big men for a wing.

In a draft that lacks a clear, potential superstar, the Cavaliers will take the guy who appears to be the safest bet. Despite a relatively small sample-size from college, Irving was certainly impressive when he did play. It makes sense for the Cavaliers to choose Irving and then take more of a risk with the No. 4 overall selection.

Follow this StoryStream to see our entire SB Nation mock draft play out over the next couple days. See our 2011 NBA Draft hub for full coverage.