ESPN's David Thorpe is a great coach and a great scout. He's magnanimous and friendly online in chats, on twitter, and in person (I'm assuming). He had an ESPN Insider article go up today where he attempts to re-do the Top 20 picks of the last draft. I thought he made a lot of good points, and I'm not going to let the cat out of the bag here, I'm just going to list the Top 15 guys without commentary. You really should check out his article, which you can view here (if you are an ESPN Insider).
The 2011 NBA Draft and David Thorpe's Re-do:
| Actual | Thorpe | |
| #1 - Cavs | Kyrie Irving | Kyrie Irving |
| #2 - Twolves | Derrick Williams | Tristan Thompson |
| #3 - Jazz | Enes Kanter | Enes Kanter |
| #4 - Cavs | Tristan Thompson | Derrick Williams |
| #5 - Raptors | Jonas Valanciunas | Jonas Valanciunas |
| #6 - Wizards | Jan Vesely | Kawhi Leonard |
| #7 - Bobcats | Bismack Biyombo | Bismack Biyombo |
| #8 - Pistons | Brandon Knight | Marshon Brooks |
| #9 - Bobcats | Kemba Walker | Nikola Vucevic |
| #10 - Kings | Jimmer Fredette | Kenneth Faried |
| #11 - Warriors | Klay Thompson | Chandler Parsons |
| #12 - Jazz | Alec Burks | Brandon Knight |
| #13 - Suns | Markieff Morris | Kemba Walker |
| #14 - Rockets | Marcus Morris | Jan Vesely |
| #15 - Spurs | Kawhi Leonard | Alec Burks |
I find it interesting that Enes Kanter is still the guy we needed to pick. I guess this is somewhat in hindsight that Mehmet Okur isn't a rotation guy this season, and we trade him away. At that point in time (last June) I don't think many of us knew how bad Memo would turn out this year. Also of interest (to me) are the placements of MarShon Brooks, Brandon Knight, and Alec Burks. With nearly 70% of this season over, and after all their college stats, their NBA stats, their pre-draft measurements, and game film analyzed -- I would now pick Burks 100 times out of a 100 chances. By this time next year he'll be getting MIP looks (if used right).
Again, for the full analysis check out David Thorpe's article. It's really good. The last 5 picks (Picks #16-20) are really good. They kind of blew me away, and prove why Coach Thorpe is so good (and better than a number of NBA GMs).