The first 2011 NBA Mock Draft at SB Nation has the Cleveland Cavaliers selecting Arizona forward Derrick Williams (second overall pick) and Congolese center Bismack Biyombo (eighth). To be clear, the league has yet to set the formal draft order--that will come during the Draft Lottery on May 17--so this mock goes by the odds of winning the Lottery. The Cavaliers have their own pick as well as the Los Angeles Clippers' as a result of the February trade involving Baron Davis, Mo Williams, and Jamario Moon.
Williams averaged 19.5 points and 8.3 boards for the Wildcats this season, shooting a remarkable 56.8 percent from the field. Tom Ziller, who authored SB Nation's mock, says Williams is "a great prospect, and he has a pulse," which is "enough" for a Cavaliers team that needs talent at every position.
Biyombo, age 18, is a tantalizing prospect. Though unpolished, he rates as a far better NBA prospect than some of the other young, foreign-born centers who failed to live up to their lofty draft position. Jonathan Givony, among the industry's best-regarded draft experts, writes that Biyombo "plays the game with incredible emotion," which is "an extremely desirable trait" in young players. Further, Biyombo has unique physical gifts:
He measured a 7-7 wingspan (which would rank fifth longest in our expansive database) at the Nike Hoop Summit, despite standing just 6-7 ¾ without shoes. No player of record has ever measured a wingspan that is nearly 12 inches longer than his actual height [....] He also sports a chiseled 243-pound frame (4.8% body fat) that he should have no problem putting additional weight onto.
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