As expected, Kyrie Irving went #1 overall to the Cavs, and Derrick Williams went #2 to Minnesota, a sign that the T-Wolves could not swing a satisfying trade for the Arizona forward. If he’s not moved in the next few days, he’ll be asked to play small forward alongside Kevin Love and Darko Milicic on the front line.
Conventional wisdom had Brandon Knight headed to Utah, but the Jazz went with Turkish big man Enes Kanter instead, which is odd considering the presence of Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson on the Utah front line. The Cavs went with Texas freshman Tristan Thompson at #4. Apparently, he played Williams to a standstill in a recent workout and that won over the Cleveland brass. He plays the same position as J.J. Hickson, so I’m not exactly sure how the two are going to develop together. (For what it’s worth, John Hollinger’s Draft Rater had Thompson ranked #3.)
The Raptors surprised no one at #5 by going international with Lithuanian big man Jonas Valanciunas, who has the potential to provide some rebounding alongside softy Andrea Bargnani. At #6, the Wizards went with Jan Vesely, a Czech swingman with a penchant for dunking…hard…on people.
At #7, the Kings took Bismack Biyombo (of Congo) but it appears that he’s part of a three-team trade with the Bobcats and the Bucks. Biyombo is probably headed to Charlotte, while the Bucks’ pick at #10, Jimmer Fredette, is headed to Sacramento. For their part, the Bucks acquired Stephen Jackson to replace John Salmons (on his way to Sacramento) and Corey Maggette (on his way to Charlotte). Milwaukee needs scoring and Jackson brings that while also playing good defense on the other end of the floor. The Bucks are also expected to acquire #19 pick Tobias Harris (of Tennessee) in the deal.
