Boston College junior guard Reggie Jackson is projected to be the No. 22 overall in the 2011 NBA Draft, taken by the Denver Nuggets in Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com's latest 2011 NBA Mock Draft on Yahoo! Sports.
Jackson, a 21-year-old 6'3" combo guard, will be the best player available at No. 22, leading Denver to draft him despite their needs in the interior.
Denver's biggest need is likely at the 4, but with no interesting power forward prospect on the board, the Nuggets will likely seek the best available player. Pairing the super long and highly efficient Reggie Jackson alongside Ty Lawson(notes), Raymond Felton(notes) and Arron Afflalo(notes) in Denver's backcourt could make sense, especially long-term. (via Yahoo! Sports)
Givony also had the Boston Celtics drafting Georgia Bulldogs junior small forward Travis Leslie at No. 25 overall, noting that his toughness and athleticism should help the aging Celtics.
The Celtics missed the toughness and athleticism of Tony Allen(notes) on the wing in the playoffs this spring. There's no better athlete in this draft than Travis Leslie, and having a bunch of pros like Kevin Garnett(notes), Ray Allen(notes) and Paul Pierce(notes) show him the ropes could go a long way in accelerating his development.
Without surprise, Duke freshman point guard Kyrie Irving is the No. 1 overall pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Givony's mock draft. In addition, Givony has Arizona forward Derrick Williams going to the Minnesota Timberwolves at No. 2, Uconn point guard Kemba Walker going to the Utah Jazz at No. 3, Jonas Valanciunas going the Cavs at No. 4 and Kentucky point guard Brandon Knight going to the Toronto Raptors at No. 5.