The 2011 NBA Draft is constantly chided by experts and pundits as a weak draft with a paucity of talent. However, these critiques don’t discourage Nets’ GM Billy King in his optimism over New Jersey’s current situation.
“You can get a player,” King said. “Generally when you’re picking down there, you’re generally going to get four-year guys who are more ready to play, maybe not in a starting role, but as a part of the piece of the puzzle. You’re getting guys that understand that … they may not start right away.”
King has a decent track record of drafting late, although not stellar: while he found some decent players in the rough such as Samuel Dalembert (26th, 2001), Louis Williams (45th, 2005), and Todd MacCulloch (47th, 1999), he’s also drafted more than a few players who never did anything in the NBA – or even reached it. As much as I’d like to believe that the Nets can get some high-quality talent at 27, it just seems too unlikely in this draft.
On a side note, does anyone else notice that the player King describes as an ideal pick exactly fits Duke’s Kyle Singler? Personally, I’m a fan of Singler’s game and I think he could be a stronger version of Kyle Korver – another guy King essentially drafted (bought from NJ) in 2003. Let’s hope that he knows something that the other 29 teams don’t and he picks up an impact player.
