It’s been a few years since I added to our reDraft series. I like the ten-year mark to look back at a draft class and assess the talents. I used to do them after six or seven years, but if you go back and read some of those, they feel dated now due to some players peaking early. 

In 2011, Kyrie Irving was drafted first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was arguably the consensus best player in the draft at the time. The drop-off after Irving was steep and few people thought anyone else should have been the top pick in that draft.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had two picks in the top-five. They selected Irving and power forward Tristan Thompson. Things could have been much different had they selected the players we pick in our reDraft.

We look back at the 2011 NBA Draft and reDraft based on their careers so far.

1. Kawhi Leonard – SF – San Diego State (Leonard was drafted #15) – I don’t think this pick is controversial, but I’m sure some people would take Kyrie Irving here. Leonard is a winner and just brings more intangibles than any other player in this draft class. San Diego State had one of the best defenses in the country, but Leonard was an under-the-radar talent. They played low-level opponents and not many people tuned into those games, especially on the East Coast. It would be interesting to see how Leonard’s career would have been different had he started his career in Cleveland, which owned this pick in 2011. 

2. Kyrie Irving – PG – Duke (Irving was drafted #1) – Irving was a no-brainer pick for the first overall pick back in 2011. The gap between him and #2 Derrick Williams was steep. The Dallas Mavericks owned the second pick and they were coming off an NBA Championship win over the Miami Heat. Irving would have been a nice duo with Dirk Nowitzki. He would have found success with any of the teams that selected high in this draft.

3. Jimmy Butler – SF/SG – Marquette (Butler was drafted #30) – Jimmy Butler had a very good college career as a four-year player. It’s hard to gauge how much more a 22-year-old will improve and many very good players that age will drop out of the Lottery. Butler fell to the 30th pick and made the league regret it by his second season in the NBA. The Jazz had the 3rd pick in 2011 and Butler would have been a nice addition to their backcourt. Utah had some beasts in the paint back then (Derrick Favors & Paul Millsap) and Butler could have pushed them to the next level.

4. Klay Thompson – SG – Washington State (Thompson was drafted #11) – We all knew Thompson was an elite shooter coming out of college, but all the other stuff was a huge question mark. He landed with the Warriors at #11 and they were the perfect team for his skill-set. Had he went here at #4, the Cavs could have ended up with Kawhi Leonard and Klay Thompson. That would have been a very good young duo to build a team around.

5. Jonas Valanciunas – C – Lithuania (Valenciunas was drafted #5) – Some may think I have Valanciunas higher than he belongs, but just look at his body of work. He has 63.5 Win Shares, which ranks fourth in his draft class. He has been a key player since his rookie season and has been a walking double-double for most of his career. He has also developed a nice stroke from deep in recent years.

6. Kemba Walker – PG – UConn (Walker was drafted #9) – Walker won a championship at UConn and had an amazing NCAA Tournament, but he fell to #9 in the draft. Teams were worried about his size and he wasn’t a lights-out shooter in school. Walker didn’t come out of the gates hot in the NBA, but he was good over his first couple seasons, but it wasn’t until 2016-17 when he made his first All-Star team. That was when his career took off with four-straight All-Star apperances. The Wizards originally had the #6 pick in 2011, who had point guard John Wall at that time, so it wouldn’t have been a great fit.

7. Tobias Harris – SF – Tennessee (Harris was drafted #19) – Harris is another player that many might think is higher than he should be, but dive a little deeper on him. He hasn’t been a consistent #1 option on any team in his career, but he’s been a great #2 or #3. He may have more clout with fans if he stayed on a team more than a couple years. He’s finally settled into a role in Philly and has been there since 2018-19. The Kings originally had this pick in 2011 and his career may have went south if he had been there. The team was at their peak of dysfunctionality in 2011.  

8. Nikola Vucevic – C – USC – (Vucevic was drafted #16) – After Vucevic was traded to the Magic after his rookie season in Philadelphia, he turned into a rebounding machine. He has averaged a double-double in eight of eleven NBA seasons. He’s a great offensive threat, but advanced stats have dogged his defensive metrics. He will need to play next to a defensive-focused player in the paint. The Pistons had the #8 pick in 2011 and he wouldn’t have been a great fit there.

9. Enes Freedom – C – Kentucky (Freedom was drafted #3) – Freedom enrolled at Kentucky, but he was soon found to be ineligible due to benefits he received when he played in Turkey. He had a lot of hype and intrigue and was drafted by the Jazz at #3. He has developed into a good player and his best role is the first big man off the bench. He isn’t a great rebounder for his size, but his offensive per 48 numbers are impressive.

10. Tristan Thompson – C/PF – Texas (Thompson was drafted #4) – I think we’ve hit a wall in the reDraft. The rest of the players have a glaring weakness or flamed out faster than the players listed above. In 2011, Thompson was seen as the best young big man in the draft. He showed promise over his first few seasons and appeared in all 82 games in four years in-a-row…but he did not excel during the LeBron James years. He signed a big money extension, but the fanbase turned on him. He is now more known for his off-the-court controversies with one of the Kardashian sisters.

11. Isaiah Thomas – PG – Washington (Thomas was drafted #60) – If I made this reDraft a couple years ago, Thomas may have been a top-five pick. He was a sixth-man early in his career, but he peaked during the 2016-17 season. He was a MVP candidate in Boston, but he injured his hip in the postseason that year. He has never been the same since that injury. He’s had trouble catching on with a team and has spent time in the G League trying to get a 10-day contract. He’s still an offensive weapon, but he’s a defensive liability at his size.

12. Kenneth Faried – PF – Morehead State (Faried was drafted #22) – Faried is another player who peaked early in his NBA career. He came into the league as an undersized power forward from a small school. He overachieved out of the gate, but his production took a nosedive after the 2016-17 season. If he would have been a couple inches taller, he could have been another Dwight Howard, but his position is hard to play at 6’8. If he was 22 years old in 2022, he would be a great small-ball center, but that wasn’t an option early in his career. He played in the Summer League in hopes of landing an NBA contract, but that didn’t happen.

13. Bojan Bogdanovic – SF/PF – Croatia (Bogdanovic was drafted #31) – Bogdanovic played overseas for three years after he was drafted in 2011. He was a role player early in his NBA career, but he has slowly improved just about every season. He has been great for Utah the last three seasons. I love his shooting form and watched him a lot when he was in Indiana. He could have been a top-ten pick in my reDraft if he had made the jump to the NBA sooner.

14. Reggie Jackson – PG – Boston College (Jackson was drafted #24) – Jackson is another player best-suited as a sixth man role. He was Russell Westbrook’s backup for the first couple seasons of his career and that is honestly his best role. He had a starting role with the Pistons for a handful of years, but Detroit was a bad team during that stretch. He is still going strong and is a key player for the Clippers, a potential playoff team this season.

15. Marcus Morris – PF – Kansas (Marc. Morris was drafted #14) – Marcus Morris was drafted one spot behind his brother Markieff in the 2011 NBA Draft. The twins have had similar pro careers, but I’d give the small nod to Marcus in this reDraft. He’s the better shooter and has played more minutes over his career. 

16. Markieff Morris (Mark. Morris was drafted #13)
17. Chandler Parsons (Parsons was drafted #38)
18. Bismack Biyombo (Biyombo was drafted #7)
19. Cory Joseph (Joseph was drafted #29)
20. Alec Burks (Burks was drafted #12)
21. Nikola Mirotic (Mirotic was drafted #23)
22. Davis Bertans (Bertans was drafted #42)
23. Justin Holiday (Holiday went undrafted)
24. Iman Shumpert (Shumpert was drafted #17)
25. E’Twaun Moore (Moore was drafted #55)
26. Derrick Williams (Williams was drafted #2)
27. Lavoy Allen (Allen was drafteed #50)
28. Brandon Knight (Knight was drafted #8)
29. Jon Leuer (Leuer was drafted #40)
30. Shelvin Mack (Mack was drafted #34)

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About the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.