The 2011 NBA Draft will be held on June 23 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and while the Lakers and Clippers don't have picks until the second round, there is still a local flavor to this year's draft. The latest 2011 mock draft by Tom Ziller at SB Nation has Kyrie Irving of Duke going to the Cavaliers, by way of the Clippers (via a 2.8% chance coming to fruition). USC big man Nikola Vucevic is slated to go late in the first round, No. 25 to the Boston Celtics.
↵Vucejic, who measured out as the tallest player in the draft at 7-feet, 260 pounds, was a double-double machine with the Trojans last season. The center from Montenegro averaged 17.1 points and 10.3 rebounds at USC as a junior. Ziller thought he'd be perfect for Boston, noting, "Danny Ainge always seems to pick promising prospects instead of NBA-ready contributors. It's like he always wants to rebuild, even though he has a championship contender."
↵USC had two first-round NBA picks in 2008 (O.J. Mayo, Nick Young) and 2009 (DeMar DeRozan, Taj Gibson), but had no draft picks in 2010.
↵For more information on USC hoops, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Conquest Chronicles. To keep tabs on the 2011 NBA draft, be sure to check in with the SB Nation draft hub.