What We Can Expect From The 2011 NBA Draft

Allow myself to introduce...myself. I'm Jonathan Wasserman, I'm a writer for NBADraft.net and a new blogger for DraftStreet.

Being that I'm consumed by the NBA draft and the lottery is still fresh in our minds, I want to dive right into exactly who we are looking at in the draft pool, and what we can expect from them.

In the past few weeks, I've read various articles and watched numerous broadcasts whining about how this is the worst draft class of all time, that there are no star players, it's a crapshoot, trade your picks, hide ya kids, hide ya wife... I'm going to respectively disagree. I actually like this draft class. It's like that girl that sucks in so many ways, but for whatever reason, you dig her.

This class definitely has its flaws, but it has the potential to produce plenty of serviceable reserves. For my first entry I'll just talk about lottery projections. Here are some familiar, and unfamiliar faces that make up the eligible draft bachelors.

The Known

Some guys you just know. I saw Kyrie Irving play in high school and proclaimed him the top prospect in both the 2010 and 2011 classes. He possesses that rare mix of talent, physical tools and maturity/bball IQ that allow him to glow both on and off the court. Not even the Cavs can screw this one up.

Derrick Williams is no doubt the number two prospect on the board after Irving. He's an explosive, versatile forward who poses as a difficult mismatch from the high post. Expect Williams to generate a sea of "best of" youtube montages with someone like Rick Ross playing in the background.

Kemba Walker is fascinating to watch. His 6'0 height limits his overall ceiling, but there's no question he'll have his moments as an NBA player. With lightning fast end to end speed and on-the-dime change of direction, Walker will cause motion sickness with the ball in his hands. He should be salivating at the idea of going from a methodical, half-court college game to an up and down, fast-break offense in the pros.

The Morris twins combine high class professionalism with a ferocious competitive edge, two admirable qualities GMs are attracted to.

Marcus Morris is one of the most skilled, refined offensive players in the draft pool. As a true inside/outside threat, his versatility allows him to play both the 3 and the 4. If your watching the draft and his name isn't called in the lottery, look for an undersized white guy to run on stage and steal the mic, because that will be me, screaming WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS DOING?!

Markieff is just a bully down low. There are 20 teams out there who could use depth in the front court, and all would be lucky to have this Morris in their lineup. At 6'10 with an NBA frame, Morris can stretch the floor with a beautiful stroke from deep, as well as provide an interior presence on both sides of the ball. From a fantasy standpoint, we're talking 3's, rebounds, blocks, and FG%. From a career standpoint, we're talkin 15 years of reliable production.

The Unknown

It's always difficult to project European prospects. Even more so when their stock is based off one single game. In last year's Nike Hoops Summit, we saw Enes Kanter put up 34 points and 13 rebounds, drop the microphone, throw up his hood and walk out. That was the last time we've seen Kanter in live action, as he was ruled ineligible at Kentucky while turning down multiple invitations to recruiting/showcase workouts. He's now considered a top five pick, and figuring his stock couldn't possibly get any higher, he decided there's no point to risk exposing a weakness. Kanter did however look sharp against a chair and a 5'7 guy with a polo and a broom during Thursday's NBA draft combine.

The other European guys are, well European guys. We've seen some turn out to be really effective, and some that flat out stink. Jan Vesely is a 6'11 small forward who can stroke it and finish at the rim. Jonas Valanciunas is 6'11 with a wingspan that can hug his entire front line simultaneously. Unlike Vesely, he flourishes around the rim. Donatas Motiejunas is an all-around guy that stands 7 feet tall and has a scorer's mentality. Personally, I like Davis Bertans, whose stock has risen dramatically after showing off his ridiculous shooting touch and role player potential.

At the end of the day, these guys are all high-risk, high-reward prospects. International men of mystery. You have your Dirk Nowitzkis and your Manu Ginobilis, who are franchise-changing players. And then you have your 2002 5th pick Nikoloz Tskitishvili, who looked great, until he didn't.