2011 NBA Draft

The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (23:00 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting sponsor of the 2011 NBA draft. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The Cleveland Cavaliers had the first pick due to a previous trade they had involving the Los Angeles Clippers, choosing point guard Kyrie Irving of Duke. Of the 60 players drafted, 7 were freshmen, 7 were sophomores, 14 were juniors, 19 were seniors, 12 were international players without U.S. college basketball experience (including the first-ever Qatari-selected player), and 1 was a D-League player.

The 2011 NBA draft marked the final time the New Jersey Nets made an NBA draft appearance. After the end of the Nets' 2011–12 season, the franchise relocated to Brooklyn, New York and was renamed to the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets made their first draft appearance with the Brooklyn moniker in 2012. Four of the first-round picks, including three of the top four picks, Kyrie Irving, Derrick Williams, Tristan Thompson, and Iman Shumpert, would all eventually become teammates on the Cleveland Cavaliers. The 2011 draft is considered one of the most loaded drafts in NBA history; seven players in the draft would play in at least two All-Star games and six were selected to at least one All-NBA Team, including the final pick of the draft, Isaiah Thomas.

Draft selections

Notable undrafted players

These players were not selected in the 2011 NBA draft but have played at least one game in the NBA.

Eligibility rules

As of 2010, the basic eligibility rules for the draft are listed below.
* All drafted players must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In terms of dates, players eligible for the 2011 draft must be born on or before December 31, 1992.
* Any player who is not an "international player", as defined in the CBA, must be at least one year removed from the graduation of his high school class. The CBA defines "international players" as players who permanently resided outside the U.S. for three years prior to the draft, did not complete high school in the U.S., and have never enrolled at a U.S. college or university.

The basic requirement for automatic eligibility for a U.S. player is the completion of his college eligibility.

Players who meet the CBA definition of "international players" are automatically eligible if their 22nd birthday falls during or before the calendar year of the draft (i.e., born on or before December 31, 1989). U.S. players who were at least one year removed from their high school graduation and have played minor-league basketball with a team outside the NBA are also automatically eligible.

A player who is not automatically eligible must declare his eligibility for the draft by notifying the NBA offices in writing no later than 60 days before the draft. (non-international players) (international players) For the 2011 draft, this date fell on April 24. Under NCAA rules, players will only have until May 8 to withdraw from the draft and maintain their college eligibility. This year, a total of 69 collegiate players and 20 international players declared as early entry candidates. At the withdrawal deadline, 41 early entry candidates withdrew from the draft (25 from US colleges and institutions), leaving 42 collegiate players and six international players as the early entry candidates for the draft.

A player who has hired an agent will forfeit his remaining college eligibility, regardless of whether he is drafted. Also, while the CBA allows a player to withdraw from the draft twice, the NCAA mandates that a player who has declared twice loses his college eligibility.

Draft lottery

The first 14 picks in the draft belong to teams that missed the playoffs; the order will be determined through a lottery. The lottery will determine the three teams that will obtain the first three picks on the draft. The remaining first-round picks and the second-round picks were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. As it is commonplace in the event of identical win–loss records, the NBA performed a random drawing to break the ties on April 15, 2011.

The lottery was held on May 17, 2011, in Secaucus, New Jersey, who obtained the Los Angeles Clippers' first-round draft pick, won the lottery. The Cavaliers won the lottery with a 22.7% chance to win, combining a 19.9% chance from their own pick and 2.8% chance from the Clippers' pick. However, their winning lottery combination came from the Clippers' pick, which had a significantly lower chance to win. The Minnesota Timberwolves, who had the worst record and the biggest chance to win the lottery, won the second pick. The Utah Jazz, who obtained the New Jersey Nets' first-round draft pick, won the third pick.

Below were the chances for each team to get specific picks in the 2011 draft lottery, rounded to three decimal places.

Entrants

Early entrants

College underclassmen

(All players are Americans except as indicated)

* Alec Burks – G, Colorado (sophomore)
* DeAngelo Casto – C, Washington State (junior)
* Roscoe Davis – F, Midland JC (TX) (freshman)
* Mamadou Diarra – C, Chaminade (junior)
* Jeremy Green – G, Stanford (junior)
* Jordan Hamilton – G/F, Texas (sophomore)
* Tobias Harris – F, Tennessee (freshman)
* Tyler Honeycutt – F, UCLA (sophomore)
* Scotty Hopson – G, Tennessee (junior)
* Kyrie Irving – G, Duke (freshman)
* Reggie Jackson – G, Boston College (junior)
* Terrence Jennings – F, Louisville (junior)
* Cory Joseph – G, Texas (freshman)
* Enes Kanter – F/C, Kentucky (freshman)
**Although Kanter enrolled at Kentucky, he never played because he was declared ineligible by the NCAA due to financial benefits he had received from his previous Turkish club, Fenerbahçe Ülker.
* Ryan Kelley – G, Colorado (sophomore)
* Dan Kelm – G, Viterbo (WI) (sophomore)
* Brandon Knight – G, Kentucky (freshman)
* Malcolm Lee – G, UCLA (junior)
* Kawhi Leonard – F, San Diego State (sophomore)
* Travis Leslie – G, Georgia (junior)

* DeAndre Liggins – G, Kentucky (junior)
* Shelvin Mack – G, Butler (junior)
* Keishawn Mayes – F, Campbell (junior)
* Darius Morris – G, Michigan (sophomore)
* Marcus Morris – F, Kansas (junior)
* Markieff Morris – F, Kansas (junior)
* Willie Reed – F, Saint Louis (junior)
* Jereme Richmond – G/F, Illinois (freshman)
* Carleton Scott – F, Notre Dame (junior)
* Josh Selby – G, Kansas (freshman)
* Iman Shumpert – G, Georgia Tech (junior)
* Chris Singleton – F, Florida State (junior)
* Greg Smith – C, Fresno State (sophomore)
* Isaiah Thomas – G, Washington (junior)
* Trey Thompkins – F, Georgia (junior)
* Klay Thompson – G, Washington State (junior)
* Tristan Thompson – F, Texas (freshman)
* Nikola Vučević – F, USC (junior)
* Kemba Walker – G, Connecticut (junior)
* Antoine Watson – G, Florida International (junior)
* Derrick Williams – F, Arizona (sophomore)
* Jordan Williams – F, Maryland (sophomore)

International players

This list is restricted to players who meet the CBA definition of "international" players.
* Dāvis Bertāns – F, Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia)
* Bismack Biyombo – F, Baloncesto Fuenlabrada (Spain)
* Nikola Mirotić – F, Real Madrid (Spain)
* Donatas Motiejūnas – F, Benetton Treviso (Italy)
* Jonas Valančiūnas – C, Lietuvos Rytas ( Lithuania)
* Jan Veselý – F, Partizan Belgrade (Serbia)

Automatically eligible entrants

Players who do not meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:
* They have completed 4 years of their college eligibility.
* If they graduated from high school in the U.S., but did not enroll in a U.S. college or university, four years have passed since their high school class graduated.
* They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team outside of the NBA, anywhere in the world, and have played under that contract.

Players who meet the criteria for "international" players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria:
* They are least 22 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In terms of dates, players born on or before December 31, 1989, are automatically eligible for the 2011 draft.
* They have signed a contract with a professional basketball team outside of the NBA ''within the United States'', and have played under that contract.

Invited attendees

The NBA annually invites 10 to 15 players to sit in the so-called "green room", a special room set aside at the draft site for the invited players plus their families and agents. This season, the following players were invited (listed alphabetically):
* Bismack Biyombo, Baloncesto Fuenlabrada (not on the original list; added later)
* Alec Burks, Colorado
* Jimmer Fredette, Brigham Young
* Kyrie Irving, Duke
* Enes Kanter, Kentucky
* Brandon Knight, Kentucky
* Kawhi Leonard, San Diego State
* Marcus Morris, Kansas
* Markieff Morris, Kansas (not on the original list; added later)
* Donatas Motiejūnas, Benetton Treviso
* Chris Singleton, Florida State
* Klay Thompson, Washington State
* Tristan Thompson, Texas
* Jonas Valančiūnas, Lietuvos Rytas
* Jan Veselý, Partizan Belgrade
* Kemba Walker, Connecticut
* Derrick Williams, Arizona

Trades involving draft picks

Pre-draft trades

Prior to the day of the draft, the following trades were made and resulted in exchanges of draft picks between the teams.
* On February 24, 2011, the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Baron Davis and a 2011 first-round draft pick from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon.
* On February 23, 2011, the Utah Jazz acquired Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, New Jersey's 2011 first-round draft pick and Golden State's 2012 first-round draft pick from the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Deron Williams.
* On February 22, 2011, the Chicago Bulls acquired Miami's 2011 first-round draft pick (the 28th pick) from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for James Johnson. Previously, on July 9, 2010, the Raptors re-acquired their 2011 first-round draft pick (the 5th pick) while also acquiring Miami's 2011 first-round draft pick (the 28th pick) and a trade exception from the Miami Heat in exchange for Chris Bosh. Previously, on February 14, 2009, the Heat acquired Jermaine O'Neal, Jamario Moon, a 2011 first-round draft pick (the 5th pick) and a 2010 second-round draft pick from the Raptors in exchange for Shawn Marion, Marcus Banks and cash considerations.
* On February 23, 2011, the Washington Wizards acquired Mike Bibby, Maurice Evans, Jordan Crawford and a 2011 first-round draft pick from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong.
* On February 23, 2011, the Charlotte Bobcats acquired Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham, Sean Marks, New Orleans

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