2011 NBA Draft: Kyrie Irving Picked No. 1 By Cavs; Heavy Trading Completes Night

“When I say ‘try to emulate their journey,’ [I mean] just the way they transitioned themselved,” Irving said to the assembled media. “LeBron coming from high school to the NBA and Chris Paul coming from college to the NBA -- the way they conducted themselves on and off the court is truly as a professional should. A lot of community service and taking care of their family. That’s kind of how I envision myself.”

Irving has really been preparing for this day for a long time. He was smooth, handling each question with the grace of a face of a franchise. Those expecting to find an overjoyed player overwhelmed by the moment instead found someone who seemed like he had been in the league for years.

According to Hamilton, his own head coach, Rick Barnes, may have played a role. After the draft ended, Hamilton cleared the air, and told reporters he had reason to believe Barnes was telling NBA teams he was “uncoachable.” (via Chris Tomasson)

Harsh words. For a draft pick, and especially an underclassman, coachability is an important factor, though it tends to be ignored the more elite a prospect’s skills are. Considering how far Hamilton fell, one has to wonder if the alleged statements Barnes made ahead of the draft played a role.

The 2011 NBA Draft finished on a high note with very interesting players going late in the second round.

The Lakers took another mystery, former UConn big man Ater Majok of the Sudan, at No. 58. The telecast showed a completely bored or confused Lakers fan wearing a Duke ballcap. He was hoping Kyle Singler would slip.

Who is Targuy/Tanguy Ngombo? Well, he played in Qatar and nobody, outside of few a savvy Internet people, knew who he was. The ESPN broadcasters shrugged and laughed while Jeff Goodman tweeted this:

↵

The second round of the 2011 NBA Draft moved on without interruption on Thursday night.

The 2011 NBA Draft rolls on through Thursday night. Stay with this StoryStream for all of the 2011 NBA Draft results, check out our 2011 NBA Draft rumors and trades StoryStream for all the latest news from the NBA’s craziest day, and hit our 2011 NBA Draft hub for full coverage of the draft, trades and the aftermath on Friday.

Jackson is notable because he hid from all NBA teams for two months, as the Thunder had apparently promised to make him the No. 24 pick. Jackson even snaked his way out of the NBA Draft Combine, claiming an injury. He worked out for no teams according to public knowledge, and measurements were never taken and distributed. Sam Presti got sneaky.

For more on the Thunder, visit SB Nation’s Thunder blog, Welcome To Loud City.

With the No. 23 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Houston Rockets selected Nikola Mirotic, a prospect from Montenegro who has played for Real Madrid in Spain.

Mirotic was seen as one of the best talents in the NBA Draft, at 6’10” with a face-up game. But Mirotic was also seen as a risk, because his contract with Real Madrid has an enormous buyout clause, and isn’t a great fit with the Rockets, who are looking to win sooner rather than later.

Faried could be moved to the Portland Trail Blazers in a rumored trade involving Andre Miller and Raymond Felton. Faried is an amazing rebounder and perhaps the most energetic defender in college basketball last season. He’s undersized at the NBA level, but figures to follow in the path of doppelgangers Kevin Love and Kris Humphries and make a great per-minute impact in the pros.

For more on the Nuggets, visit SB Nation’s Nuggets blog, Denver Stiffs.

Smith played four years as a scoring guard at Duke, helping the Blue Devils win the 2010 NCAA Championship. His teammate Kyrie Irving -- a player who took over point guard duties as a freshman until a toe injury put Irving on the shelf for much of the season -- went No. 1 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Smith could be headed to the Denver Nuggets, as a rumor has suggested the Blazers and Nuggets will swap Raymond Felton, Andre Miller and the first-round draft picks.

Motiejunas is a stretch power forward, a deft shooter who doesn’t rebound well and has plenty of work to do on the defensive end. It’s unclear whether Minnesota -- loaded at power forward with Kevin Love and No. 2 pick Derrick Williams, and nominal small forward Michael Beasley -- will keep Motiejunas or hope he stokes his value in Europe in preparation of a trade.

For more on the Wolves, visit SB Nation’s Wolves blog, Canis Hoopus.

With the 19th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Bobcats have selected Tobias Harris, who will be shipped to the Milwaukee Bucks as a result of a trade that happened Thursday afternoon.

Harris, a 6’8” forward who played well for Tennessee in college for one year, has a well-rounded game that could translate on both the offensive and defensive ends in the NBA, making him a solid, if unspectacular, contributor. He’s also very young, just 18 years old, which makes concerns about his ability to put on weight and bang against larger NBA forwards premature at best.

For more on the Wizards, visit SB Nation’s Wizards blog, Bullets Forever.

The 2011 NBA Draft rolls on through Thursday night. Stay with this StoryStream for all of the 2011 NBA Draft results, check out our 2011 NBA Draft rumors and trades StoryStream for all the latest news from the NBA’s craziest day, and hit our 2011 NBA Draft hub for full coverage of the draft, trades and the aftermath on Friday.

With the 17th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks selected Georgia Tech point guard Iman Shumpert.

Shumpert has great size and athleticism for a point guard, but is not known as a scoring guard, partly because of poor shooting. His vertical leap, tacked onto a long-limbed 6’5” frame, makes him a potent defender, and his stellar work in workouts in the pre-Draft process sent his stock skyward in May and June. Shumpert has been compared to Rajon Rondo and other large pass-first point guards, but is slightly more selfish than Rondo; it remains to be seen how well he will handle Mike D’Antoni’s system on offense.

For more on the Sixers, visit SB Nation’s Sixers blog, Liberty Ballers.

The 2011 NBA Draft rolls on through Thursday night. Stay with this StoryStream for all of the 2011 NBA Draft results, check out our 2011 NBA Draft rumors and trades StoryStream for all the latest news from the NBA’s craziest day, and hit our 2011 NBA Draft hub for full coverage of the draft, trades and the aftermath on Friday.

Leonard, 6’7 with a long reach and massive hands, figures to bounce between the forward positions, though his height might dictate his role as a small forward in the early going. The problem there is his lack of range -- he shot 29 percent on three-pointers for the Aztecs in 2010-11 -- and ball skills. He allayed many concerns about his offense during workout sessions, drawing positive remarks.

Whether that will hold up against NBA competition is a real question mark. Defensively, his length and quickness indicate good things, but the strength of NBA forwards -- think LeBron James, Shawn Marion and Carmelo Anthony -- will test him on many nights.

For more on the Rockets, visit SB Nation’s Houston blog, The Dream Shake.

The 2011 NBA Draft rolls on through Thursday night. Stay with this StoryStream for all of the 2011 NBA Draft results, check out our 2011 NBA Draft rumors and trades StoryStream for all the latest news from the NBA’s craziest day, and hit our 2011 NBA Draft hub for full coverage of the draft, trades and the aftermath on Friday.

Biyombo was 2011’s prospect almost no one had heard of in 2010. Hailing from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Biyombo zipped from the Yemeni pro leagues to Spain’s top division (the ACB) in just months, knocking down every hurdle in his way with what’s reported as uncanny maturity, leadership and -- of course -- outrageous athleticism and length. In April, Biyombo became the first player to ever register a triple-double at the Nike Hoop Summit, as the big man rejected 10 shots attempted by American high schoolers.

For more on the Bobcats, visit SB Nation’s Charlotte blog, Rufus On Fire.

With the No. 6 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Washington Wizards selected high-flying Czech Jan Vesely.

Vesely is a long, 6’11 small forward hailing from Ostrava in the Czech Republic. He has spent the past three season with Serbian powerhouse Partizan Belgrade, helping the team advance to the Euroleague Final Four in 2010. In that season, he won FIBA’s “Young Men’s Player of the Year” award recognized as the best up-and-coming European talent. His offense is considered a work in progress (to put it nicely); he shot just 54 percent on free throws in the Adriatic League last season. DraftExpress compares him to Andrei Kirilenko. Vesely is considered a good fit for an up-tempo attack and a strong prospect on the defensive side of the ball.

For more on the Raptors, visit SB Nation’s Toronto blog, Raptors HQ.

The 2011 NBA Draft rolls on through Thursday night. Stay with this StoryStream for all of the 2011 NBA Draft results, check out our 2011 NBA Draft rumors and trades StoryStream for all the latest news from the NBA’s craziest day, and hit our 2011 NBA Draft hub for full coverage of the draft, trades and the aftermath on Friday.

Thompson played one season at Texas under Rick Barnes, excelling on the defense end and becoming one of the best big men in the nation in drawing fouls. He blocked 2.4 shots a game in about 30 minutes. He wowed Cleveland in a workout earlier this week, and became the Cavs’ pick over Lithuanian center Jonas Valanciunas. Sam Amick of SI.com was the first reporter to put Thompson at No. 4 in a major mock draft this week.

For more on the Cavs, visit SB Nation’s Cleveland blog, Fear The Sword.

Kanter, a 19-year-old who didn’t play competitively in the 2010-11 season due to collegiate ineligibility, is considered a legit option at center at 6’11. Despite the lack of a competitive track record, the reports on Kanter as a prospect have been good. He made his largest American splash when he dominated the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland to the tune of a Summit-record 34 points and 13 rebounds.

He was recruited to play at Kentucky under John Calipari, but the NCAA ruled him ineligible after discovering $33,000 in benefits afforded him while playing with Turkish squad Fenerbahce Ulker as a 16-year-old. His other notable experience came in FIBA play, where was the MVP for the European Under-18 championship in 2009, outclassing rival Jonas Valanciunas of Lithuania, a top-10 prospect in this draft class.

Williams, a 6’9 forward, was the 2010 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, and rose his game to another level in 2011. He became the nation’s most efficient scorer, scoring 19 points per game on .690 True Shooting percentage. He was named Pac-10 Player of the Year and made the All-American team. He led Arizona through defending national champion Duke in the Sweet 16 -- gaining a metric ton of notoriety in the process -- before the Wildcats fell to eventual national champion UConn in the Elite 8.

Williams almost immediately declared for the 2011 draft and was slotted as a top-five pick. The decision of fellow forwards Harrison Barnes, Jared Sullinger, John Henson and Perry Jones to remain in college shot Williams up to No. 2 on most mock drafts in short order.

Television coverage of the 2011 NBA Draft begins at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN3.com. The actual draft begins at 7:30 p.m., with the first pick expected to be announced at 7:35 p.m. Each team has five minutes to make their selection, beginning at the point when NBA commissioner David Stern announces the previous selection.

The first round is 30 picks deep, and the second round -- which is also aired on ESPN and ESPN3 -- should begin around 10 p.m. ET. Adam Silver, the league’s deputy commissioner and someone much better with foreign names than Stern, takes over for the second round.

The 2011 NBA Draft begins Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Follow this StoryStream for full draft results and visit our 2011 NBA Draft hub for full coverages of the rumors, trades and storylines from this year’s event.