Hoops Nation

Continuing on, we recap the last 11-30 picks of the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft. Check out the in-depth recap of picks 1-10 here.
 

With pick number 11, the Trailblazers needed to choose a big man, in order to replace the injury-plagued Gerg Oden. The Blazers picked Meyers Leonard, the center from Illinois. Leonard can help the team with his defense and his rebounding ability. Also, he is noteworthy of running the court and scoring the ball.
 

Kevin Martin might be moved elsewhere in the coming weeks. The Rockets had to choose correctly at number twelve. By selecting Jeremy Lamb, Houston added an athletic guard to give a boost to their backcourt.
 

Steve Nash is a big name in this year’s free agency, which begins on July 1, 2012. The Suns are unsure of the point guard’s future. This gave them an easy prospect to select which was the point guard from UNC, Kendall Marshall. Marshall can score, but he is better at passing the ball. He can create for his teammates and he is probably the best passer in the draft.
 

The Milwaukee Bucks are suited for the future. They selected John Henson from UNC, as well. Henson is a great shot blocker and he can run down the court and catch the ball in the pain to score. With the loss of Andrew Bogut, the Bucks added on a great big man to help Mbah a Moute, Ilyasova, and Udoh.
 

Andre Igoudala will most likely be moved before the start of next season. Because of this, the Sixers need a small forward to fill the void at the three. At pick number 15, the Sixers selected Maurice Harkless from st. John’s University.
 

The Houston Rockets selected two small forwards with the 16th and 18th picks of the draft. Remember, these picks were in effort of bringing in Dwight Howard to play for Houston. Looks like they are sticking with Royce White and Terrence Jones.
 

The Dallas Mavericks selected Tyler Zeller, the big man from UNC. He said he was looking forward to working with Dirk Nowitzki, but the big man was later traded to the Cavaliers for Cleveland’s pick, Jared Cunningham, who was selected 24th overall.
 

Though Marquis Teague was projected to be selected by Orlando, the Magic focused on selecting a big man to help out Dwight Howard (if he stays) and Glen “Big Baby” Davis. They drafted the power forward from st. Bonaventure, Andrew Nicholson. The good thing about Nicholson’s game is he can play inside and out on both offense and defense.
 

The Denver Nuggets add on to their list of foreign players. The Nuggets need help with the guard position, so they selected the point guard from France, supposedly the next Tony Parker, Evan Fournier. Fournier has great, stellar scoring instincts, which the Nuggets are known for.
 

The Boston Celtics are lacking a good center and Kevin Garnett may possibly retire, despite the great season he had this past season. With the 21st and 22nd overall picks, the Celtics drafted a power forward and a center. Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo are both works in progress, but surely as the season moves on and the two get the feel of the NBA, they just might have some tricks up their sleeves to prove critics wrong.
 

The Hawks are still a pretty good playoff team, but Joe Johnson cannot be the only go-to scorer for the franchise. Hence, they selected John Jenkins from Vanderbilt. Jenkins is probably the best shooter in the draft and he could provide some terrific scoring for Atlanta.
 

Mike Conley sure showed he needed a good back up to help him out in Memphis. The Grizzles selected Troy Wroten from Washington. Wroten has been compared to Rajon Rondo and he has excellent size and athleticism for a point guard.  
 

Not that they need another power forward, but the Indiana Pacers selected Miles Plumlee from Duke. Plumlee does add size and strength to an already tough frontcourt.
 

Sam Presti was a big winner in this year’s draft. Kevin Durant experienced lots of playing minutes, serving as the Thunder’s small forward. No one was really the designated backup for the superstar and luckily for them, a great prospect was still available. With the 28th overall pick, Oklahoma City selected Perry Jones III from Baylor. Perry Jones can turn similarly into Kevin Durant. Jones can dribble, shoot, and he can also attack the basket. He is definitely one of the steals of this year’s draft. He may be the piece that can lead them to more wins in the future.
 

With the 29th overall pick, the Chicago Bulls needed to make a wise choice. They definitely needed to choose a point guard, with Derrick Rose out for probably half the season. Marquis Teague was projected to go to the Magic, but the Bulls were lucky enough to still have Teague available as a pick. Marquis Teague was the point guard for the Wildcats’ championship squad. His talents can fill the absence or Derrick Rose, for a while.
 

The Golden State Warriors traded away Ekpe Udoh to the Milwaukee Bucks, in the surprising Monta Ellis deal. Udoh was a great shot blocker and he definitely could grab rebounds. Udoh was also getting the hang of working the block on the offensive end. Picking Festus Ezeli, the center from Vanderbilt, the Warriors basically picked up another Udoh. Though Ezeli needs to get more comfortable offensively, he has excellent skills in shot blocking and rebounding. He is very mobile and with his great work ethic, he can develop into a great backup center for Andrew Bogut.
 

The 2012 NBA Draft was considered the “deepest” draft to many analysts. All the players who were picked can bring some great value to their respective teams due to their own skills and talents. Will many of them become stars? We’re years away from that, but only next season can give us the window to the future.
 

Check out the official NBA rookie class players play at the 2012 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas from July 13-22, at the campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas.