The Official 2011 NBA Draft Picks Pre-Draft Pick Post

Okay everyone, draft is coming very soon. Here are my picks ... be sure to post yours in the comments.

With the 3rd pick in the NBA draft, the Utah Jazz select . . .

With the 3rd pick in the NBA draft, the Utah Jazz select . . .

Brandon Knight, from the University of Kentucky. Even if all he ends up being is a younger, better shooting Devin Harris it's a step in the right direction for this team. I think he is less of a question mark than a guy who sat a whole year out (Enes Kanter). Furthermore, I'm not going to rely on the Timberwolves making a mistake. If they do, obviously the game changes. And if the Jazz (or T-wolves, or Cavs) make any trades the situation changes as well. But right now, I'm locking in my vote for Brandon Knight. If he spends the first 2 months coming off the bench and sharing time at the PG / in the back court with Harris and Earl Watson (who is a free agent) I think he'll learn our sets better than he would have if we just made him a starter "just because". Comming off the bench means that he'll have the oppurtunity to take it to other benches, and that he could focus on his game within our system -- instead of trying to fit his game in immediately into the starting role (which has different responsibilities). Also coming off the bench should add some sort of chip to his shoulder. We have a history of bringing guys off the bench at the PG spot who eventually earn (not inherit) it in John Stockton and Deron Williams.

Knight isn't perfect, but he has a lot of things going for him. He is super young, super fast, and has been touted as a very solid defender. Our dribble penetration defense was horrible last season. If he can help resolve that problem then he needs to be drafted with no hesitation.

Furthermore, he seems very bright. Which is what you want from a point guard. Behold:

With the 12th pick in the NBA draft, the Utah Jazz select . . .

Klay Thompson . . . who I think will fall to us. In that I mean he'll be higher on the Jazz draft board and they will gladly pick him. He's a shooter's shooter and a second generation NBA player. He's been around the game his entire life and has an NBA ready skill. At the 12 spot you need to have something going for you, and he does with both his basketball iq and pure shooting. Also, this guy fits the bill for being a guy the Jazz did not spend a lot of time being in love with, in the media. He's kind of out of left field, and those are KOC picks. Not many people had us taking Gordon Hayward, Kosta Koufos, or Morris Almond either. Klay is not at the top of my list for this pick, and he's definately not the guy I *want* the Jazz to take, but I think that he is the guy the Jazz would take if he makes it to #12.

I get a little too Al Davis-like and fall in love with combine / workout wonders. Sure, Klay doesn't have a 7' wingspan, a 12' max reach, or a 37" vertical. He's much slower than a bunch of other guys the Jazz worked out, as well. But you know what he is? He's a basketball player. He's Kevin Martin with much better defense and rebounding. He doesn't help us become a title contender over night -- but he can play SG/SF in the NBA and help spread the floor for our offense. He's not the defender that Andrei Kirilenko is, and he's not as athletic as Alec Burks or Chris Singleton. But he immediately makes our bench much more deep, and combined with Gordon Hayward and C.J. Miles -- gives us plenty of reasons never to play Raja Bell again.

And that's another start in the right direction for this team.

Who are your picks?

Take your time and pick two guys. No conditions. No "and then we have to trade this guy" stuff. We have two draft picks. We know the spots. We now know the players. Pick two. If we were smart enough we'd have made this a contest. I know someone who did ( @Mac_Diego ) -- and if you are on twitter you should follow him. Anyway . . . who are your two picks?