With the 2011 NBA draft coming up in a week, it’s time to look at the teams needs for the teams in the Central Division.
Point guard Derrick Rose was the MVP of the NBA, but he was often a one man show in terms of scoring. The Bulls had the best defense in the league. The Bulls need a ton of help at the guards’ positions, but they are pretty solid in the front court
Shooting guards Ronnie Brewer and Keith Bogans only combined to average 10 points per game. They did not get the job done. Rose needs a running mate; he needs someone to pass to that can score. The Bulls also have Kyle Korver but he can only shoot, he really can’t do anything else.
When Rose gets a break, the Bulls need a better backup point guard C.J. Waston is not the answer.
The Bulls are solid in the frontcourt with Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, and Taj Gibson, but the Bulls could also use some depth at those positions.
Now that LeBron James is in Miami, the Cavaliers are in need of a star, a face of the franchise. Luckily for the Cavs they have two of the top four picks in the 2011 NBA draft, including the 1st overall.
The only position on the court that the Cavaliers don’t need help is at power forward with J.J. Hickson. Despite their bad record they still got pretty good production out of their point guards Baron Davis, Daniel Gibson, and Ramon Sessions, but still none of these guys are elite, and none of them are potential long time starters.
The Cavaliers really need help on the wing whether that’s the shooting guard or small forward position. Anthony Parker, Alonzo Gee, Manny Harris, Christian Eyenga, and Joey Graham don’t scare many people. The best of that group is Parker who is a free agent. The Cavaliers really need athletic wings. To me this is their most pressing need.
The Cavs could also use a true center, Anderson Vaejao is more of a power forward but he has to play the center position because Hickson is at the power forward position. Current center Ryan Hollins is not the answer he has a player option on the final year of his contract.
First the Pistons need a new head coach with Jon Kuester getting fired. The Pistons need to get better on defense; they were 28th in the league in terms of points allowed. The Pistons are steady at the point guard and power forward position, but they need help elsewhere.
The Pistons need another big guy, Greg Monroe shined for the Pistons in his rookie season. Ben Wallace is entering his final year of his contract then likely to retire, and Chris Wilcox is a free agent. They need another big man to team up with Monroe and Charlie Villanueva.
I assume small forward Tayshaun Prince will be gone after 8 years in the Motor City. So this leads a big void for the Pistons at that position, Austin Daye is not a starting small forward.
The Pistons could also use a young shooting guard as Richard Hamilton is getting up there in age, and Ben Gordon didn’t perform up to his contract.
The Indiana Pacers had a losing record but still made the playoffs and gave the Bulls a run for their money. With star small forward Danny Granger, point guard Derrick Collison, power forward Tyler Hansbrough, and center Roy Hibbert the Pacers really have a lot young players with potential, but still there are questions.
With current players Jeff Foster, Solomon Jones,Josh McRoberts, and Mike Dunleavy all free agents the Pacers really need some help in the front court if they want to take that next step.
Back up point guard T.J. Ford was in the doghouse most of the season and he will likely not be back, so this is suddenly a position of need. A.J. Price showed he isn’t capable of handling this. The Pacers haven’t really had a capable shooting guard since Reggie Miller. They could always add another shooter.
The Bucks need people who can score; they scored the least amount of points last year in the NBA. The only position the Bucks don’t really need help at is point guard with Brandon Jennings and center with Andrew Bogut. They are also pretty solid at the power forward position with Drew Gooden.
They could really use an athletic wing or two who can get to the basket, the Bucks don’t really have a player besides Jennings that can get to the rim. The Bucks also need more shooters, as they were 24th in the league last year from three. Shooting guard John Salmons and small forward Corey Maggette had down seasons. The Bucks need to bring in players here to challenge them.
The Bucks need to get a backup center to develop since Bogut is injury prone. They don’t have one currently on their roster. They could also use a backup point guard, you really can’t count on Earl Boykins.
Tags: 2011 NBA Draft, 2011 nba Draft team needs, Brandon Jennings, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Derrick Rose, Detriot Pistons, Indiana Pacers, J.J. Hickson, Milwaukee Bucks, Tyler Hansbrough
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