2011: Jazz select Enes Kanter (3) and Alec Burks (12)
Although the 2011 NBA Draft wasn’t an outright failure for the Jazz, it still goes down as one of those “haunt you in your sleep” type drafts due largely to the players who were available following their selection.
The next pick after Kanter was Tristan Thompson, who has been an absolute beast for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the last two postseasons and has been extremely durable as he currently leads the league in consecutive games played.
Other key players taken between Kanter and Burks include Jonas Valanciunas, 2016 Playoffs breakout Bismack Biyombo, Kemba Walker and the one the Jazz have to wish they would have snagged, Klay Thompson.
While Stephen Curry has received a large portion of the praise for the Golden State Warriors’ success, he owes a lot of that to his partner-in-crime, the second Splash Brother, Klay Thompson.
Aside from being a lights out shooter (45 percent from the field and 42 percent from deep for his career), Thompson is also an exceptional defender, making him one of the league’s best two-way players.
Not only is Thompson an impressive player, but obviously Kanter’s short stint with the Jazz was one of total disappointment. While there’s no telling how Thompson would’ve fit on the team, it’s hard to see anyone being more disgruntled and anxious to part ways with the team than Kanter was.
The fact that Kanter eventually had no desire to play for the Jazz and was traded away for next to nothing is what makes this draft choice hurt even more.
The jury is still very much out on the Alec Burks pick. While Burks has shown some brilliant flashes and put up some decent numbers during his time as a Jazzman, injuries have largely kept him from becoming the elite player the Jazz hoped he could become.
We shouldn’t sleep on a player that Dwyane Wade once referred to as the league’s most underrated player, but there is a clear choice of who the Jazz should have taken instead: Kawhi Leonard.
At least the Utah Jazz don’t have to feel as bad as the Indiana Pacers, who actually drafted Kawhi Leonard before trading him to the San Antonio Spurs for George Hill. That one certainly hurts.
Then again, knowing that the Jazz could have utilized their 12th pick for a player who would go on to become back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year and NBA Finals MVP certainly is a bit painful as well.
Burks could very well still turn out to be an incredible addition for the Jazz, but his career up to this point surely can’t match up with Leonard’s elite defense and All-Star quality offense. This past season, Leonard averaged 21.2 points per game on an insanely efficient 50.6 percent from the field and 44.3 percent from behind the arc.
Following Leonard, the 2011 NBA Draft produced a number of solid players such as Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris, Jimmy Butler, and the final pick of the draft Isaiah Thomas. Nevertheless, none of these can compare to the player that Kawhi Leonard has become.
Who they should have taken: Klay Thompson (11), Kawhi Leonard (15)
Next: 2012