First Five Picks in the 2011 Draft

1.  Cleveland Cavaliers -- Kyrie Irving

Team Needs: PG, C, SF, SG (it's that bad)

I'm taking Irving here and not thinking twice.  The league is now run by PGs (minus Miami).  Cleveland has a good back-up PG as their starter, Ramon Sessions, and a veteran PG (who probably would rather be somewhere else) sitting in Baron Davis.  Neither will ever be starters for a championship team.  Their best player is J.J. Hickson.  They need someone to get him the ball.  He was great at NC State without a PG and has been great at Cleveland without a real PG.  GET THIS MAN A PG!  Draft Kyrie and watch him and J.J. run the pick and roll all night.  But as a Miami Heat fan I should add that I hope Irving signs a 7-year deal only to leave and join the Heat after a TV special.  This move would re-energize the Big 3 and carry them to their 8th, 9th, and 10th championships.  Sorry Cleveland.

2.  Minnesota Timberwolves -- Derrick Williams

Team Needs: C, SG, PG, SF (it's also that bad)

This pick is an interesting pick.  The Cavs have talked about moving up from their 4th overall pick in a three team trade involving the Pistons to obtain this pick.  This would give them a shot to draft Irving and Derrick Williams but would probably cost them (if the Pistons are smart) J.J. Hickson.  I hope the Cavs don't go through with this and hold out hope that Enes Kanter drops to them at pick 4.  And since nothing is anywhere near final, we must assume the T-Wolves keep this pick and decide between Williams and Kanter.  I watched Derrick Williams during the tournament and he did not disappoint.  He showed he is worthy of this pick but some question whether he is a one-year-wonder (the main reason Cleveland shouldn't give up a known thing like Hickson).  The T-Wolves also seem to love Williams even though he doesn't fit their biggest need.  No one has decided whether Williams is a SF or PF in this league.  Minnesota definitely doesn't need a PF and they traded for Michael Beasley last year who played the SF position for them.  I think the Wolves should go after Kanter to replace Darko Milicic but they just gave him an unreal contract last year.  It would be the best pick for them and I think would fill their biggest need but the worst financially since Darko has more years on his contract than Beasley.  They won't draft a PG because they are still waiting on Ricky Rubio to cross the Atlantic, not to mention the fans would riot if they drafted another PG after they drafted 3 in the first round two years ago.  There is also not a good enough SG to merit the 2nd overall pick even though Brandon Knight came out of high school as a SG, teams want him as a PG.  Thus the T-Wolves are left to draft Derrick Williams and hope he can play the SF position.  Unless, of course, they trade to the 4th pick along with picking up Detroit's 8th overall pick.  It should be another interesting draft for the fans in Minnesota.

3.  Utah Jazz -- Brandon Knight

Team Needs: SG, PG

It took a while but Brandon Knight eventually showed that he could be the next great PG John Calipari produces.  Kentucky's offense seemed more structured this year and Knight was the quarterback.  John Wall's offense seemed to flow more from him and what he created, same with Derrick Rose.  In football terms, Knight ran a pro-style offense while Wall and Rose ran the spread.  The Jazz are one of the few teams known for their structured offense.  Jerry Sloan ran the 1-3-1 offense and plugged in player after player to fill roles.  The structured offense still finds a home in Utah and Knight fits perfectly into a structured system.  The kid came into college with the max amount of credits allowed which he earned from AP and transfer classes.  He's pretty smart.  A structured offense fits with a smart guy (no knock on Wall or Rose).  Not to mention he is a better shooter than the other PGs Calipari has produced.  I think Knight will thrive in Utah.  They can go small while still being able to score with Knight, Devin Harris, and Gordon Hayward and it also gives them a young nucleus of Knight, Hayward, and Derrick Favors.  The Jazz looked primed to build a great team through their young talent obtained through the draft and trade.  I love this pick most of the first three picks and could talk much more about it.

4.  Cleveland Cavaliers -- Enes Kanter

Team Needs: PG, C, SF, SG

This is again a no-brainer for Cleveland.  Please keep this pick and keep J.J. Hickson.  Derrick Williams will be available here if Minnesota takes Kanter.  If they take Williams, Kanter is here and Cleveland will be back on the way to relevance.  It's a PG league but it's hard to win without a good front court.  The first stat I like to look at is rebounding.  Win the rebound battle and you are in a great position to win the game.  This pick would set the Cavs on the right road.  Moving up to the 2nd pick would get them Williams but probably lose them J.J.  It's not worth it.  Hold strong at the 4th pick and get a C for the future.  Ryan Hollins looked good at some points last year but a career 4 pts/2 rebs career player at starter will not win you a championship.  But put the 7-footer Hollins as your first player off the bench and you start looking like a winning team.  Cleveland also used Hickson as their C when they went small.  I don't think you can get that from Williams or you at least know that you can get it from Hickson.

5.  Toronto Raptors -- Jan Vesely

Team Needs: SF, PF, PG

ESPN has Vesely listed as a SF and at 6' 11" he would make a good fit in Toronto.  Andrea Bargnani has the C position locked down and Jose Calderon has the PG position in a good place.  DeMar DeRozan will mature as a SG and Ed Davis was drafted last year to be the Raptors' PF for the future.  Also the Raptors seem to love international players and Vesely is the best international player avaliable.  It seems like a perfect fit.  If Vesely can stretch the floor from behind the arc, it will open up the floor for Bargnani and clear the lane for DeRozan to fly down.  And, at 6' 11", Toronto should rarely lose the rebounding battle.  He seems tall for a SF but he would be the best available at this time in the draft and would again give the Raptors more international flair.

Most Likely of the Five to wear Bow Tie:
Brandon Knight -- the man is probably the smartest in the draft and I would love to see the bow-tie-with-thick-rimmed-glasses look

Most Wanted to wear Bow Tie:
Brandon Knight -- see above

BOW TIE WINS DRAFT LOTTERY!!!

In a stunning development, the Cavs won the Draft Lottery for the first time since the LeBron draft.  It wasn't with their own pick which had a 19.9% chance to win the 1st overall pick, it was the pick they got from the Clippers from the Mo Williams trade that won (maybe the best thing Mo Williams has done for the organization) though it only had a 2.8% chance of winning.  Their original pick actually dropped two spots from the 2nd pick to the 4th pick, leaving them with the 1st and 4th pick in this years draft.  They are expected to take Kyrie Irving with the 1st pick and probably take the best available with the 4th pick.  The Timberwolves fell to the 2nd pick despite having the worst record in the NBA last season.

The Cavs also kept another budding tradition alive when neither Owner Dan Gilbert nor GM Chris Grant sat on stage during the reading of the draft order.  Their celebrity seat warmer was Dan Gilbert's son, Nick.  Nick Gilbert was born with Neurofibromatosis and his father calls Nick his hero.  Some, like Wolves GM David Kahn, credit the Cavs win to the fact that Nick Gilbert was up there.  Kahn was quoted jokily saying, "This league has a habit, and I am just going to say habit, of producing some pretty incredible story lines.  Last year it was Abe Pollin's widow and this year it was a 14-year-old boy and the only thing we have in common is we have both been bar mitzvahed."  Our friend David Kahn has not always been correct when evaluating situations (see his draft and trade history) and again finds himself in the wrong here.  The writers here at Draft Day Bow Ties know the truth behind the Cavs surprising victory... Nick was sporting a bow tie.

We here at DDBT know that the Cavs owe their victory to Nick Gilbert's Bow Tie (the glasses are also pretty dope and definitely assisted in the obtaining of the 1st pick).  Rumor has it, Kevin Love has decided to wear a bow tie before every game next season and David Kahn is currently out buying his bow tie for draft day.  We wish the T-Wolves the best of luck and hope they learn from their lack of bow ties.  In a small moral victory, they will probably draft Arizona's Derrick Williams with the 2nd pick which is who they would have taken with the 1st pick had they won it.  The wait for Ricky Rubio is still on in Minnesota (and we hope he loves to wear bow ties).

First Post

Just wanted to let everyone (or no one) know what this blog was about.  This is ultimately an NBA Draft blog with a twist.  It's a laid back blog where my friends and I post what we think about players and teams in the draft.  We're just fans who want to post their thoughts and see if anyone cares.  I plan on talking about teams and players before and after the draft and even following some through their rookie season.  Most posts will be strictly opinion with maybe a story, stat, quote, or two that is mostly fiction.  Who knows where this will go.  This blog will also have a soft spot in its heart for the men who walk across the stage sporting their bow tie.  It started with Joakim Noah and we hope the tradition never stops.  I hope this interests some people and maybe it will turn into something.

--BJW