With Thursday night in the books, it's now time to hand out some 2011 NBA Draft grades. While grades are an immediate reaction and there's no telling just how good or bad picks will turn out for at least a few years, it's always interesting to see what people have to say the morning after the draft.
↵What SB Nation's Tom Ziller is saying about the Detroit Pistons is all good. He gave the Pistons an A for their three picks, which consisted of Kentucky guard Brandon Knight, Duke forward Kyle Singler and Florida forward Vernon Macklin.
↵Here is Ziller's breakdown of the Pistons' first-round pick:
↵↵↵Knight essentially fell into the Pistons' laps at No. 8. Knight had been rumored to go as high as No. 3, or definitely No. 5, but perhaps No. 7 if he really slipped. Nuh uh. The Jazz took Enes Kanter at No. 3, the Raptors opted for Jonas Valanciunas at No. 5 and the Kings traded out of No. 7. That left Joe Dumars and Detroit staring the top guard in the draft in the face. Dumars did the smart thing and pocketed Knight.
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Ziller went on to say that the Singler pick wasn't all that much different. The Pistons took another solid player at No. 33, and overall they gained some serious talent during the 2011 NBA Draft.