According to multilple sources, the 2011 Mock Draft has the Utah Jazz selecting former Kentucky Wildcat, Brandon Knight with the third pick overall and former Kansas Jayhawk, Marcus Morris with the 12th pick overall during the NBA draft on June 23rd, at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.
The Jazz have already shaken things up during this past season, when their long-time head coach Jerry Sloan (23 years) resigned on Feb. 10 during the 2010-11 season. His replacement at the helm is Assistant coach Ty Corbin.
Utah not only lost the longest-tenured head coach in the NBA, but they also traded the face of their franchise in Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets for rookie power forward and potential star, Derrick Favors and point guard, Devin Harris during the season.
With that being said, if the Jazz draft Knight and Morris on Thursday night then they would add two more young potential stars to their already young and talented roster. That roster includes, all-star forward Al Jefferson, defensive prowess Andrei Kirilenko, Butler university standout Gordon Hayward, Harris, Favors and a few other talented players.
Knight is an intelligent floor-general who could learn a lot from starting guard Harris, and he is talented enough to challenge Harris for the lead-guard spot next season. Knight is not scared to take the big-shot late in games and has comnposure to finish strong even when he's not have a good statistical performance throughout a game.
On the other hand, Morris is a skilled offensive post player who is not shy about pulling from behind the arc and knocking down a couple threes for his team. Imagine a 6-foot-10, 6-foot-11 big man stretching the floor with his perimeter shooting, that's pretty scary.
Knight led the Wildcats to the Final Four of 2011 NCAA tournament, while Morris led his Jayhawks to a number one seed in the tournament and an Elite Eight appearance. Knight averaged 17.3 points per game and 4.3 assists per game during his first and only season at Kentucky. Morris averaged 12.6 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game during his three-year career at Kansas.
If all goes as projected, then the Western conference will have to watch out for this newly revamped franchise. It would be tough, but the Jazz could make the post season during the 2011-12 season.
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