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2011 draft.....

I know a lot of people don't like bleacher report but here it is nonetheless

The Utah Jazz are my current favorite to end up with the best draft.

The Jazz have the New Jersey Nets first round pick and a lottery pick of their own. They also have Devin Harris, who may be a valuable trade piece, and Mehmet Okur's expiring contract.

The Jazz auditioned last year's first round pick, Gordon Hayward, toward the end of the season and he actually played pretty well. They have their starting frontcourt filled with Al Jefferson and Paul Milsap, but could use another post presence to come in with the improving Derrick Favors.

With their two picks, the Jazz should take a point guard/shooting guard and find a backup big man. Here's the top 5 fits for Utah.

1. Kyrie Irving- If they land the No. 1 spot, they should definitely take Irving. Start Irving and trade away Harris to get a backup big man and some money.

2. Enes Kanter- If the Jazz end up at No. 3, which is a realistic possibility, Kanter would give them one of the more dangerous four men frontcourts in the league.

3. Brandon Knight- Same idea as Irving. Knight takes precedence over Harris.

4. Donatas Motiejunas- I would love this pick for the Jazz. It's going to take a few years for the 7'0'' Motiejunas to click, but he wouldn't have to be an impact player immediately with Jefferson, Millsap and Favors in front of him.

5. Alec Burks- The Utah Jazz have not had a high level, scoring shooting guard since...Pete Maravich? In the Jerry Sloan years the Jazz always had great point guards and good post play, but shooting guard tended to be more defensive focused. Burks could be a new look for the Jazz.
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https://bleacherreport.com/articles/698542-nba-draft-lottery-2011-order-odds-predictions-and-updates-on-the-prospects/entry/81230-nba-draft-lottery-utah-jazz-could-have-two-picks-fall-in-the-top-10
 
Cousinsfan11 said:
I agree, this draft is SO weak, I can definitely see the Jazz drafting Kawhi Leonard at #6. The Jazz need a small forward, since Gordon Hayward is going to be playing shooting guard next season (if there is one). Leonard is a Jazz type of player, he comes from a winning tradition at San Diego St. with a great coach and those are the type of players that KOC likes. Huge hands, long arms, and Chad Ford has been watching him workout in Las Vegas (which is probably why he has moved up to #5) saying he is shooting lights-out, also that he can improve on things very easily which is great as well. One of his great strengths is a his defense, he was the one who was put on Jimmer. His wingspan and large hands help him out a lot on the defensive side of the ball. I am starting to like the thought of a Hayward and Leonard tandem for the SG and SF positions.

Kawhi Leonard is 6'7 and weighs 225 lbs, he averaged 15.5 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.4 SPG and shot 29% from three this year, I know that is not very good, but compared to 20% in his freshman season 29% is a great improvement. Leonard is only a sophmore so there is room for improvement, he seems like a small forward in the mold of Shawn Marion and Gerald Wallace in the NBA.
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Wasn't that the game jimmer went for 43?
 
Xthren said:
I would rather have singleton over Leonard
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I think I would too. Although I'm intrigued to hear more about Leonard's impressive play the past two days in Vegas, with trainer Joe Abunassar of Impact Basketball. My heart is set on NO ONE. I have not been interested in Leonard at all yet, but Chad Ford's raving has piqued my interest. I'd be ok drafting Leonard if he really will turn out to be a Gerald Wallace-like stud.
 
Chad Ford on Kawhi Leonard in Las Vegas:

I spent the last two days with trainer Joe Abunassar, of Impact Basketball in Vegas, looking at a number of first-round prospects.

Abunassar has a great track record with clients like Kevin Garnett, Chauncey Billups, Danny Granger, Rudy Gay and many others. Once again this year he has a whopping 20-plus prospects in his gym preparing for the draft.

Kawhi Leonard is a big-time prospect

I was blown away by Leonard at the workouts. Not only is his physical profile impressive (huge hands, long wing span, NBA body), but also he's much more skilled than your typical high-energy forward.

Leonard has been working on his jump shot since the season ended and was stroking it from NBA 3-point range the two days I was in the gym. And he demonstrated excellent ball-handling skills for a player his size -- both are prerequisites for an NBA small forward. He also has the ability to guard the 2, 3 and 4 at the next level.

Leonard proved to be a real gym rat as well. He was the first guy in the gym and the last one to leave both days I was there. On Tuesday I arrived at 9 a.m. and left at 5:30 -- Leonard was there the whole time working on various things; he must have shot 1,000 jumpers.

If he keeps shooting the ball like he did Tuesday and Wednesday, I believe he could end up being a top-5 pick in the draft. We've moved him up to No. 5 on our Big Board after seeing what he brings to the table.
 
Cousinsfan11 said:
Chad Ford on Kawhi Leonard in Las Vegas:

I spent the last two days with trainer Joe Abunassar, of Impact Basketball in Vegas, looking at a number of first-round prospects.

Abunassar has a great track record with clients like Kevin Garnett, Chauncey Billups, Danny Granger, Rudy Gay and many others. Once again this year he has a whopping 20-plus prospects in his gym preparing for the draft.

Kawhi Leonard is a big-time prospect

I was blown away by Leonard at the workouts. Not only is his physical profile impressive (huge hands, long wing span, NBA body), but also he's much more skilled than your typical high-energy forward.

Leonard has been working on his jump shot since the season ended and was stroking it from NBA 3-point range the two days I was in the gym. And he demonstrated excellent ball-handling skills for a player his size -- both are prerequisites for an NBA small forward. He also has the ability to guard the 2, 3 and 4 at the next level.

Leonard proved to be a real gym rat as well. He was the first guy in the gym and the last one to leave both days I was there. On Tuesday I arrived at 9 a.m. and left at 5:30 -- Leonard was there the whole time working on various things; he must have shot 1,000 jumpers.

If he keeps shooting the ball like he did Tuesday and Wednesday, I believe he could end up being a top-5 pick in the draft. We've moved him up to No. 5 on our Big Board after seeing what he brings to the table.
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If the Jazz draft Jan friggin Vesely over Leonard it will be a sad day.
 
Chris Singleton offense > Kawhi Leonard's offense. And I wont even get started on defense.
 
I'd be fine with Leonard at 6. He would bring some much needed athleticism and intensity. I don't see him scoring a ton in the NBA. Maybe 15 ppg at his peak. He doesn't remind me of Marion or Wallace at all. For some reason I picture him being close to a Ron Artest. He has that same awkward athleticism that artest does. Plus the huge hands.
 
Wow this draft is going to be so different from last year. I could tell you the top 8 guys in pretty much the order they would go. Now a guy that we have been talking about "maybe" taking at 12 is being talked about at #6. I just hope the Jazz end up with 2 guys that help and can be contributers on this team in the next couple of years.
 
Cousinsfan11 said:
Don't look now, but Kawhi Leonard has moved up to #5 on ESPN's Draft Big Board...
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the other mocks won't be far behind.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink

Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within groups of people. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without critical evaluation of alternative ideas or viewpoints. Antecedent factors such as group cohesiveness, structural faults, and situational context play into the likelihood of whether or not groupthink will impact the decision-making process.
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I have a prediction.

The Jazz will draft one of the Morris twins ahead of Leonard. They're fundamental players that can be counted on to run the system. ala Jarron Collins.

Gerald Wallace or Leonard are just too hopper for this franchise to handle.
 
Cousinsfan11 said:
Chad Ford on Kawhi Leonard in Las Vegas:

We've moved him up to No. 5 on our Big Board after seeing what he brings to the table.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herd_behavior#Herd_behavior_in_animals

A group of animals fleeing a predator shows the nature of herd behavior. In 1971, in the oft cited article "Geometry For The Selfish Herd," evolutionary biologist W. D. Hamilton asserted that each individual group member reduces the danger to itself by moving as close as possible to the center of the fleeing group.
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the center of the group appears to be shifting. the other mocks will move with it.
 
dalamon said:
Chris Singleton offense > Kawhi Leonard's offense. And I wont even get started on defense.
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I don't like him better than Leonard but do think Singleton is our likely pick at 12. According to Colton's latest mock compilation it would basically be between Singleton, Fredette, or a Morris twin as BPA at 12.
 
The Thriller said:
I have a prediction.

The Jazz will draft one of the Morris twins ahead of Leonard. They're fundamental players that can be counted on to run the system. ala Jarron Collins.

Gerald Wallace or Leonard are just too hopper for this franchise to handle.
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Jarron Collins was drafted in the second round.
 
The Thriller said:
I have a prediction.

The Jazz will draft one of the Morris twins ahead of Leonard. They're fundamental players that can be counted on to run the system. ala Jarron Collins.

Gerald Wallace or Leonard are just too hopper for this franchise to handle.
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I sure hope not. One of the biggest reasons I wasn't too sad to see Jerry go, was the chance to actually get some athleticism on this team. Let's keep the Humphries over the sucky Cougar's. Let's draft a Leonard or Knight, over a sucky Cougar.
 
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