The 2011 NBA Draft is now complete and the Golden State Warriors once again are already getting less than stellar grades for their first round pick. The Warriors used the eleventh overall pick to select Klay Thompson out of Washington State in a pick that wasn't completely panned, but left some fans shaking their head when a talent like Kawhi Leonard remained on the board.
NBA Draft grades will be rolled out over the next few days and as with any draft grades, they have to be taken with a huge grain of salt. After all, a lot of players will take multiple years to really develop the talents they have. For the Warriors, a guy like Klay Thompson is tough to grade right now because as more or less a shooting guard, barring a trade anytime soon, he'll be playing behind the Monta Ellis-Stephen Curry guard combination. If the Warriors wait to deal Monta during or after the coming season, Thompson could spend a whole lot of time coming off the bench. It might be a benefit long term, but draft grades often look for more immediate tangible results.
We'll have more draft grades in the coming days, but for now, CBS Sports' Dave Del Grande gave an "instant grade" of C to the pick of Thompson:
The perennial losers had a choice between a starting forward (Kawhi Leonard) and a backup guard. Not surprisingly, they made the head-scratcher.
Del Grande was much more pleased with the Warriors second round pick of Charles Jenkins. The Warriors had a serious issue of not having a legit backup point guard in 2010-2011, so Jenkins could fill that role. Del Grande gave the Ws a B for the pick:
No doubt one of the first questions Jerry West asked after joining the organization was: Why didn't you carry a legitimate backup point guard on the roster last season? It's a question that no longer can be asked.
As for the Jeremy Tyler pick that the Warriors acquired? Well he gives the original Bobcats pick an F so I'm not sure he's much of a fan of the Warriors decision to give the Bobcats some serious coin for it. It's a long term decision and I think Ws fans are at least intrigued by it. I'd say it's probably better served as an incomplete.
Having dealt one headache (Stephen Jackson), clearly Michael Jordan decided he had roster space for another one. Only this one has less than half the talent.
For more discussion and analysis of the Warriors, head on over to Golden State of Mind to get in on the action.