Now that Stan Van Gundy is finished screwing up his team's rotation/chemistry, kobe is done making creepy, contrived scowls and being the object of Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy's unending devotion, Trevor Ariza completed his quest to become this year's James Posey (a decent player who gets overpaid for his defense and clutch three pointers), and the media is done inflating Phil Jackson's place in history among all the great coaches, we can now focus on the draft. my past production has been spotty at best, but i have long arms, so Jay Bilas and almost every NBA gm would take me first if they were drafting bloggers. By the way Magic fans, Mikael Pietrus and Jameer Nelson finally woke up from that coma they were in during the finals. Too bad by the time they re-learn how to play basketball hedo turkoglu will be busy getting overpaid by about 4 million/year, probably by another team (please don't let it be my trail blazers. just get raymond felton and marvin williams at 2/3 the price and move on). But nobody wants to talk about that right now! lets mock...
Los Angeles Clippers: PF Blake Griffin (Oklahoma)
They can't screw this up, right? I mean, its not like they wasted lottery picks on michael olowokandi, darius miles, chris wilcox, and yaroslav koralev...oh wait. Um, lets move on before Mike Duleavy finds a creative way to mess up this situation.
Memphis Grizzlies: PG Ricky Rubio (Spain)
The rumor is that Memphis might actually go with Tyreke Evans. Look, I think Evans is the 3rd best player in the draft, and he's my personal favorite player. you can read more about my man-crush on Evans in my first mock. But how does it make sense to draft tyreke evans when they already have OJ Mayo? Thabeet might also be the pick. Again, I like Thabeet as a player, and in this case he fills a huge need, but how do you pass up on a franchise point guard for a center with limited offensive game? Oh that's right, Thabeet has a huge wingspan. In all seriousness, if the Grizzlies don't want Rubio then they shouldn't reach for a lesser prospect. just take him and trade him.
Oklahoma City Hijackers: C Hasheem Thabeet (UConn)
The word is that the hijackers like Curry and Harden. If that's the case, have fun getting abused on the perimeter defensively and getting outrebounded by 25 rebounds per game. Remember, in this space I'm going with what I think teams should do, and unless Chris Wallace acts like...well, himself and passes up the Spanish Sensation, then it makes no sense for the SEATTLE supersonics to draft a guard.
Sacramento Kings: PG Ty Lawson (UNC)
You may wonder, and rightfully so, what happened to my Tyreke Evans lovefest? Don't worry-I know he's the 3rd best player. But Kevin Martin is in place. And as good as Tyreke Evans is, the disparity between Martin and Evans is much smaller than the difference between Lawson and whoever the hell the kings have at point guard. But If the Grizzlies really have a serious interest in Tyreke Evans, then how does this trade not make sense? Greg Buckner, Marco Jaric, and the 2nd pick for Andres Nocioni, Donte Greene, and the 4th pick. Memphis gets rid of two putrid contracts, gets a solid backup (nocioni), an intriguing prospect (green), and they achieve Chris Wallace's dream of an evans-mayo-conley back court (seriously, what goes on in the man's head?). The kings get to move up to get Rubio while keeping their killer frontline of Spencer Hawes and Jasom Thompson intact (I think it bears mentioning that I don't think the kings should trade either of those guys away to get Rubio. they're both very skilled, run the floor well, and they play off each other really nicely. Please don't break up the most underrated and promising frontline in the game). As for Lawson, I've finally convinced myself that he is worth a top five selection. Much like with Chris Paul and other 6 feet guys, Lawson was so dominant in college that I'm convinced that he can be a starter in the NBA. If the kings don't make a move for Rubio then Lawson is a guy that I would be willing to roll the dice on.
Washington Wizards: PG/SG Tyreke Evans (Memphis)
If Evans slipped this far then Flip Saunders would snatch him up in a cocaine heartbeat. When he goes to the podium to make the pick, he will run so fast that Al Davis will spend a first round draft pick on Flip. I'm giddy just thinking about the prospect of a backcourt consisting of Tyreke Evans and Agent Zero. Let's move on before they have time to hire Isaiah Thomas...
Minnesota Timberwolves: SG Gerald Henderson (Duke)
Amazingly enough, Gerald Henderson actually represents the best value at this point. At Duke he showed that he can slash, shoot, and defend. So what if it took three years for the lightbulb to go on? Thats better than a lot of prospects who looked like there was no lightbulb in place.
Golden State Warriors: PG/SG Stephen Curry (Davidson)
Nellie is always looking for tweeners who can run around, shoot a bunch of threes, and play terrible defense. Do I really need to explain this any more?
New York Knicks: PG Eric Maynor (Virginia Commonwealth)
I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the Knicks sell the pick for cash or even forfeit it. Mike D'antoni masterfully used this tactic on multiple occasions in Phoenix (I mean, who would ever want to pay a whopping 2 million to future D-leaguers like Andre Iguodala, Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriguez, Rajon Rondo, and Nate Robinson? Especially when you can use that extra cap room to sign blue-chippers like Marcus Banks and a washed up Grant Hill!!!!!). Also, since the Knicks are simply saving money for the summer of Bosh (J.K., Even I know that Lebron is better than Bosh, although Chris will always be my personal fave) it makes more sense to avoid adding to the payroll. Furthermore, no one really makes sense here; all the remaining guys with lottery talent play at least decent defense, which is a big taboo in Mike D'antoni's system. If they do make a pick, Maynor makes the most sense because none of the good free agents in 2010 are point guards. A guy like Demar Derozan doesn't make sense because the Knicks are just planning to go sign Lebron/Wade to a pair of 6 year, 150 million dollar contracts.
Toronto Raptors: PF Jordan Hill (U of A)
Chris Bosh is such a team first guy that he would never show open disdain for a teamate. But I can't even imagine the feeling he gets when he sees Andrea Bargnani "rebound", or when he sees Jose Calderon's "defense", or when he sees Joey Graham play and remembers that they could've had Danny Granger,. Its so bad in Toronto that I actually think Bosh might not mind if Vince Carter came back. Other than the Clippers, has any franchise actually done a better job of killing the morale of two different players with hall of fame potential? If there really are basketball gods, then there's no way they will let such a uniquely skilled, high character big man go to waste. So this pick is really meaningless because the Raptors have pretty much already alienated him past the point of no return. He probably already started secretly searching for houses in New York and telling his agent to work out the terms of his agreement to play for the knicks. But lets pretend that he stays for whatever reason. Hill makes sense because he can give some interior toughness and complement my favorite baller pretty well. Also this lets them move Bargnani to the small forward (trust me, he's better there. His size and athleticism make him a matchup nightmare, and he doesn't have to get embarrased on the low block).
Milwaukee Bucks: Earl Clark (Louisville)
I know, I know, the Bucks don't really need a small forward. If they want to take the best point guard available, then JRue Holliday would probably be the pick...but theres just so much of a disparity between Clark and Holliday that i can't possibly stick the latter in this slot. In such a weak draft, you MUST take the best player once you get to the second half of the lottery.
New Jersey Nets: SG/SF Demar Derozan (USC)
Even if they don't get Lebron the nets have a pretty good future with Brook Lopez (the definition of a draft steal. How did 9 teams pass up on a 7 footer who can defend and is extremely skilled in the post? And I'm not just saying this now: I thought the timberwolves should've taken him third LAST YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and Devin Harris (Cuban's deal looks worse and worse by the nanosecond...and it looked pretty bad even when he made it). Derozan fills the void left by Richard Jefferson. The biggest concern would be that Vince will mentor him on the art of pretending to play aggressive while secretly drifting on the perimeter. However, when Derozan was at USC it looked like Demar could've taught Vinsanity a few new tricks in the art of mailing it in.
Charlotte Bobcate: PG/SG/SF Terrence Williams (Louisville)
This is such a perfect pick. Willaims can defend 3 positions, run the point, and shoot the three. Lets move on before Charlotte remembers that its their job to make terrible lottery picks like Adam Morrison and D.J. Augustin...
Indiana Pacers: PG/SG Jeff Teague (Wake Forest)
I've finally convinced myself to put Teague as the 3rd best point guard. Holliday was a no-show at UCLA; Jennings was a major no-show in Italy; Flynn's ceiling is an above average starter. Teague was more productive than any of those guys this year, and I really feel that he can eventually develop into a Jason Terry type of player.
Phoenix Suns: SG James Harden (ASU)
Holliday is the best remaining player, but there's one big problem: Holliday is a sensational defender, and that simply won't fly with this organization. You may think I'm joking but remember Alvin Gentry was Mike D'antoni's asssistant for quite some time. That narrows it down to Flynn , Jennings, and Harden. Harden has the best chance to be a significant contributor. Unlike Jennings he actually got playing time, and when he did play he played moderately well. Harden is a better prospect than Flynn because he was more productive and has better physical tools. I'm not nearly as high on Harden as everyone else. Living in Arizona allowed me to see a lot of his games, and I wasn't all that impressed. He's a good but inconsistent scorer, and there are just too many times when he looks like he's passively drifting on the perimeter when he should be dominating his defender. Also, how do you explain his disappearance in the second half of the Pac-10 tournament championship game? What happened in the NCAA tournament? Too many question marks for me to put him in the top 10.
1 comments:
good comment
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