With the 2011 NBA Finals over, we move to the next event on the NBA calendar, and one more important to college basketball fans: The 2011 NBA Draft. As Marquette fans, we have the fate of Jimmy Butler to concern ourselves with. Paul Imig of FS Wisconsin reports that not only will Jimmy have worked out for 14 NBA teams by the close of business on Monday, but he will not be working out for the Milwaukee Bucks, who currently possess the 10th and 40th picks in the draft. This leads us to believe that Jimmy and his agent received enough feedback to indicate that he'll be off the board by the time that #40 pick comes up. The best case scenario for Jimmy is to hear his name pop up before the end of the first round. Even with a new collective bargaining agreement looming, I would find it hard to believe that the preset first round contracts are going away.
In any case, let's take a look at how Jimmy's faring in the NBA Draft mock drafts from across the internet. For entertainment purposes, I decided to compare Jimmy's positioning to Providence's Marshon Brooks. Jimmy and Brooks are roughly the same physical size, and while Marshon has shown himself to be a uniquely talented scorer, Jimmy showed on two separate occasions that he can contain that kind of talent. You'd have to figure that should help Jimmy's case to drafted in roughly the same neighborhood as Marshon, right?
You've got to be kidding me.
Oh, that's right, I forgot. NBA front offices are crazy obsessed with potential and don't actually give a crap about things like hard work, attitude, defense, and - here's a whacky concept - playing basketball. But Yi Jinlian posts up a chair like no one's ever seen before and all of a sudden he gets drafted #6 overall.
Just to avoid inciting a panic (and to pay respect to our SBN overlords) the last 5 on the list there aren't publishing a 2nd round mock draft. I don't blame them, really. Considering there's no requirement to ever sign a 2nd round player, it tends to get a little unpredictable, which is how you end up with a guy going undrafted and then starting on a playoff team within 10 months.
I don't know how much these mock drafts will change in the week between now and the draft, but I'll check back in on Monday and see what we can find.