CCIII's Mock (AKA The Hairiest Mock Anywhere.)

[Star-Lord]

Thought I'd go ahead and throw my two cents out there and provide a mock of my own.

1. Sacramento - Blake Griffin
I really believe this will pain the Kings management, who really covet Ricky Rubio. They take the best player on the board, though, and figure out what to do with him later.

2. Washington - Ricky Rubio
Do the Wizards really need Rubio? I suppose not. But with Griffin off the board, there is absolutely no reason for them to take anyone else, or even trade down.

3. Los Angeles Clippers - Jordan Hill
The Clippers roster is cluttered and directionless. Taking the young power forward from Arizona doesn't provide any clearer indication of what the plan is, but hey, it's always nice to nab up an athletic and energetic big guy.

4. Oklahoma City - James Harden
I suppose a lot of people probably have Hasheem Thabeet in this spot, but I think the Thunder brass are satisfied enough with what they have, to go along with a potentially reacquired Tyson Chandler. They could also target Sam Dalembert. With Harden, they get a strong complimentary scorer to help stabilize the back court with Russell Westbrook.

5. Minnesota - Tyreke Evans
Even if Evans never becomes a true point guard, he'll be able to step in right away and play with Randy Foye in the back court for the Wolves.

6. Memphis - Hasheem Thabeet
Arguably the best player on the board at this point, the prospect of having their front court anchored by a Marc Gasol/Hasheem Thabeet combo will be far too much for the Grizzlies brass to pass up.

7. Golden State - Brandon Jennings
Easily the most agonizing choice for me. Trying to predict what the Warriors are going to do in this draft is like trying to predict the next Britney Spears meltdown: You may not know what's going to happen, but you know it's coming, and you know that it has a very good chance of being ugly. That being said, I don't think the Dubs selecting Jennings would be ugly. Not at all. I think Brandon's the only guy not named Griffin or Rubio with true All-Star potential. Plus, he screams Warrior to me. I'm just a bit of a pussy for going with the same choice that everyone else has. I wanted to put Terrence Williams here, because the Dubs could really use an unselfish point forward who plays defense, but ultimately I just couldn't justify putting him so high and in front of so many.

8. New York - Stephen Curry
Another Pussy choice on my part, but this one is too obvious not to recognize. Curry is the kind of player D'antoni covets.

9. Toronto - Demar DeRozan
Raptors fans rejoice as their guy quietly slips into their laps. DeRozan could very well go in the top three, due to his massive potential. I happen to think his lack of shooting touch, handles, and overall awareness will cause him to slip past more advanced wings (Harden and Evans.)

10. Milwaukee - Jrue Holiday
I can't be hard on myself for this one, because I jumped on the Holiday bandwagon early, and stayed there. He's going to really show off in the private work outs, and will become a coveted prospect in the 10-15 range, I believe. The Bucks, who need a long term solution at point guard, take the UCLA product before anyone else can steal him.

11. New Jersey - Earl Clark
Another obvious choice for me. Hometown kid? Check. Franchise known for taking chances on talented-but-raw tweeners? Check. A need for a small forward? Check.

12. Charlotte - Gerald Henderson
Larry Brown sees a project in the athletic Duke product that may be worth the time.

13. Indiana - Ty Lawson
One thing is certain in Indiana next year: They're going to need a point guard. Lawson benefits more than anyone by his tournament performance by somehow vaulting himself into the lottery.

14. Phoenix - Terrence Williams
It's a shame that Phoenix is almost guaranteed to trade this pick, because I think Williams could help the Suns right away. Look for Golden State, Toronto, and Minnesota to be among the teams most interested in the uber athletic point forward.

15. Detroit - Dejuan Blair
No player embodies the Pistons philosophies like Blair. This is way too high for him to go, but, to be fair, mooses aren't exactly easy to come by in the league.

16. Chicago - BJ Mullens
The Bulls didn't lose their series with the Celtics exclusively because of a lack of size and depth in the paint, but they were certainly hindered by it. Mullens is raw, but a smart choice for Chicago.

17. Philadelphia - Johnny Flynn
Philly's got a lot of question marks heading into next season. Drafting Johnny Flynn answers one of them, at least partially. I believe Flynn is ready to contribute right away in the NBA, and with the Sixers, he'll be comfortable and effective both in the methodical half court sets, as well as on the break.

18. Minnesota - James Johnson
Johnson is a tweener with a questionable work ethic, but he could provide a spark for a Minnesota team that will be raking in a bunch of talent of draft day.

19. Atlanta - Jeff Teague
The Wake Forest stars go back to back as the Hawks look to provide some depth and possible long term answers at point guard.

20. Utah - Gani Lawal
By drafting Lawal, Utah will try to lessen the sting of possibly losing Carlos Boozer this summer.

21. New Orleans - Patrick Patterson
The Hornets are paper thin in front, and twice as soft. Patterson isn't tall, but he's chiseled, athletic, tough, and smart.

22. Dallas - Eric Maynor
An intriguing prospect I wish I had seen more of, Maynor could very well go much higher. Here though, Dallas gets a steal to apprentice under Jason Kidd.

23. Sacramento - Darren Collison
This pick really depends on whether or not they decide to keep Griffin, and what they do with him if they don't. They could very well use him as bait for a proven point guard, if they don't do that though, they'll take the dependable, mature, defensive minded Collison.

24. Portland - Tyler Hansbrough
There's absolutely no way in hell that Hansbrough is the 24th best pro prospect in this draft. But, he fills a need for Portland: A tough 4 who can give Lamarcus Aldridge time to rest.

25. Oklahoma City - Austin Daye
To be honest, I don't think anyone knows how Austin is going to turn out as a pro, myself included. All we know is that he's 20 years old, looks like he's 16, and is built like Stick Stickley. He's got an intriguing set of skills, though, and at this point in the draft, Oklahoma isn't really risking much on the Irvine native.

26. Chicago - Chase Budinger
The Bulls pick up a relative steal in this athletic scorer from Arizona. I've noticed a lot of people have Chase higher, but I feel the combination of the perception of his lack of toughness, and his failure to reach his full potential thus far in his career will cause teams to be wary and pass him over.

27. Memphis - Sam Young
No matter what happens, The Grizzlies would be best served by taking a solid defensive forward, which they can nab up in Old Sam Young.

28. Minnesota - Jermaine Taylor
Who? Wha? Jermaine Taylor is going to be the George Hill of this draft. Mark it down now. This past seasons second leading scorer in the nation killed the PIT, will have similar success at the combine and workouts, and will sneak into the first round. The Wolves pick up a strong, athletic scoring machine.

29. Los Angeles Lakers - Nick Calathes
I'm really not sure that the Lakers need anything. At least I'm fairly certain they don't have any needs that can be immediately addressed via the draft. So, they get to play a little bit, and take a future pet project for Phil in the 6'5'' point guard.

30. Cleveland Cavaliers - Dajuan Summers
LeBron's gotta come out of the games at some point. And when he does, I'm sure Mike Brown would like to have Summers to at least consider, even if he is raw, supposedly complacent, and not very motivated.








So, there it is. I'm curious to hear what you guys think, so feel free to hit me with some feedback.

[gswhoops]

The only picks I have issue with are Curry and Blair.

Curry is way too high at #8 IMO, the Knicks need a true point who can handle the ball and distribute, not another tweener G whose only skill is scoring. With Jennings and Evans off the board, I see them going with DeRozan (to get an actual, full-sized SG), Lawson (a real PG) or Mullens (they started Jared Jefferies at center, for God's sake) over Curry.

The Pistons already have Jason Maxiell locked into a long term contract, who is basically Blair's upside projection, minus a little post scoring. Their primary needs are a true C and a SG of the future to compliment Stuckey. If Mullens is still on the board when Detroit picks, I think they'd take all of about 15 seconds to take him.

[Star-Lord]

Those are very good points, ones that I considered while making this mock. Instead of just going by pure need, I've tried taking into account various GM tendencies, draft habits, and the pre draft buzz that's been floating around. Curry is too high at #8, but the word is the Knicks are in love with the guy, and he seems like a D'antoni player through and through.

[sendai91]

All in all, very solid with 2 exceptions - Holiday to the Bucks is a little high, and Maynor to Dallas is rather low.

I'm not sure that I see the Jazz thinking that Jawal is a better option for them than a very solid back-up pg prospect in Maynor. If Maynor is still around @ 20, which I don't think will happen, then the Jazz wouldn't hesitate to pick him up...

[vincecarter4pres]

This is solid overall. With regard to GS's opinion on Curry and anyone else thinking similar, I just want to say this. Towards the beginning of the college season a lot of us fell into the Curry overhype(I am self admittedly one of those), that said he was pretty much a top 3 lock. That's a little crazy, but it's just as crazy as seeing him drop completely out of the lotto in most mocks. The guy is just flatout to talented, period. I don't know how his game translates to the pros in the form of team success and wins and what exactly his role is, but I do know that he is not a one trick pony and although not a true point guard in the sense of the term, neither are a lot of the top PG's not named Paul and Deron.
Also with Blair, I personally feel that it is probably too high for him, but my opinion of where players will go and my opinion on where players should go in this draft, is very different, for good reason, so I don't think it that far fetched that a GM takes a reach on him.

[Villanova1L]

Like the draft a lot overall.

I agree that the Jazz probably take Maynor if he's there or Patty Mills, who i don't think you have being drafted at all in the first round.

Dont know why Indy takes a PG that high, I think a SG/SF to compliment Granger makes more sense. Based on how your draft fell I think that Williams makes sense there.

Holiday is a little high for me, especially ahead of Flynn and Lawson. It could definitely happen, so no real problem with it though.

I think Blair falls a little, and Detroit isn't a great fit when they have Maxiel who's a very similar player.

Overall really nice draft.

[vincecarter4pres]

^^^I don't see why anyone would draft Lawson over Holiday.
Also don't see why Indianna drafts a shooting guard or small forward, that is their most over crowded position. Granger is a SF, Rush is a SG/SF, Dunleavy the same, Daniels the same, Graham and the list goes on.
They would look for a power forward or even a center, maybe a point guard figuring Jack is really an undersized shooting guard and their only other guy is Ford, who could be traded and even if not he's only signed for around 3 more seasons, which would be perfect for him to retain the starting role and a bulk of the minutes while the kid they draft learns from him and on the job experience.

[Star-Lord]

Whoa, lots of comments. Thanks for the kudos guys.

All in all, very solid with 2 exceptions - Holiday to the Bucks is a little high, and Maynor to Dallas is rather low.

I'm not sure that I see the Jazz thinking that Jawal is a better option for them than a very solid back-up pg prospect in Maynor. If Maynor is still around @ 20, which I don't think will happen, then the Jazz wouldn't hesitate to pick him up...

That's a very good point. But, with Boozer looking to opt out, I think Jazz management will rush to cover their bases a little bit by nabbing Jawal. Plus, I could see Sloan wanting to give Ronnie Price a chance at that back up point guard position. It isn't completely out of the realm of possibility that the Jazz take Maynor, though. In fact, I had him going there up until about a week ago.

This is solid overall. With regard to GS's opinion on Curry and anyone else thinking similar, I just want to say this. Towards the beginning of the college season a lot of us fell into the Curry overhype(I am self admittedly one of those), that said he was pretty much a top 3 lock. That's a little crazy, but it's just as crazy as seeing him drop completely out of the lotto in most mocks. The guy is just flatout to talented, period. I don't know how his game translates to the pros in the form of team success and wins and what exactly his role is, but I do know that he is not a one trick pony and although not a true point guard in the sense of the term, neither are a lot of the top PG's not named Paul and Deron.
Also with Blair, I personally feel that it is probably too high for him, but my opinion of where players will go and my opinion on where players should go in this draft, is very different, for good reason, so I don't think it that far fetched that a GM takes a reach on him.

Two good points made here. Scouts and GM's have had two years now to fall in love with Steph Curry. He's going to go in the lottery, and I'm pretty sure he's a top ten pick in this draft. I totally agree that 15 is too high for Dejuan, but he fits with what Pistons management typically looks for, and his stock has only been going up since about February. He's my "reach" player, meaning that he's the guy teams will reach way too high for.

^^^I don't see why anyone would draft Lawson over Holiday.
Also don't see why Indianna drafts a shooting guard or small forward, that is their most over crowded position. Granger is a SF, Rush is a SG/SF, Dunleavy the same, Daniels the same, Graham and the list goes on.
They would look for a power forward or even a center, maybe a point guard figuring Jack is really an undersized shooting guard and their only other guy is Ford, who could be traded and even if not he's only signed for around 3 more seasons, which would be perfect for him to retain the starting role and a bulk of the minutes while the kid they draft learns from him and on the job experience.

I agree with this entire post. As I've said before, I think Holiday is going to be one of those guys that dazzles in work outs, and shoots up the draft because of it, similar to Joe Alexander. As for the Pacers, I don't think TJ Ford is long for the team, and taking a flier on a guy who may or may not pan out in the pros in Lawson wouldn't be a terrible choice at all.

[Villanova1L]

If Holiday out plays them in workouts, then that's one thing, but as of now he hasn't earned it.

I think Lawson helped his stock this year, and he didn't go in last year even though he was rumored to have a guarantee at 20. I think Lawson will impress in workouts, so its basically the same rationale just with a nonfreshman.

[vincecarter4pres]

If Holiday out plays them in workouts, then that's one thing, but as of now he hasn't earned it.

I think Lawson helped his stock this year, and he didn't go in last year even though he was rumored to have a guarantee at 20. I think Lawson will impress in workouts, so its basically the same rationale just with a nonfreshman.

If he had a top 20 guarentee last year, I doubt he would have a ring this year.
Lawson is being highly overrated on these boards and in general lately. I say him as a 2nd rounder more then half way through the college season on most mocks, and I thought that was stupid, but I see no reason for him to go higher then maybe 15 and I think he is more likely in the late teens to late 20's.
He has no star potential and is likely never going to be even a full time starter. You don't use a lotto pick on a potential 20mpg player. A team that is already a playoff team, or a team with multiple picks takes a player like Lawson in the mid to late 1st.

[Villanova1L]

If Holiday out plays them in workouts, then that's one thing, but as of now he hasn't earned it.

I think Lawson helped his stock this year, and he didn't go in last year even though he was rumored to have a guarantee at 20. I think Lawson will impress in workouts, so its basically the same rationale just with a nonfreshman.

If he had a top 20 guarentee last year, I doubt he would have a ring this year.
Lawson is being highly overrated on these boards and in general lately. I say him as a 2nd rounder more then half way through the college season on most mocks, and I thought that was stupid, but I see no reason for him to go higher then maybe 15 and I think he is more likely in the late teens to late 20's.
He has no star potential and is likely never going to be even a full time starter. You don't use a lotto pick on a potential 20mpg player. A team that is already a playoff team, or a team with multiple picks takes a player like Lawson in the mid to late 1st.

There were definitely rumors swirling he was guaranteed 20 before his arrest (can't remember what it was for) last year. I know it was widely circulated, but since he pulled out we'll never know.

[big3_8_19_21]

Pretty good mock top to bottom, however -
Wolves would probably go with Maynor at 18 rather than James Johnson. There is a gaping hole at PG that was filled by Sebastian Telfair, Kevin Ollie and Bobby Brown this past season. Wolves DEFINITELY need to pick up a PG in the draft and Maynor at 18 seems like the most likely option. Also Wolves have Ryan Gomes who seems to be a similar sort of player to James Johnson and the 2 best players on the roster (Jefferson/Love) are both PF's. For the sake of roster balance, I'd definitely say Maynor at 18.

[Star-Lord]

If Minny does indeed take Tyreke with their first pick, my guess is they'll try to pair him with Foye in the back court right away. Telfair is serviceable as a back up, so drafting Maynor at 18 could be a little redundant. I do agree that Gomes and Johnson are awfully similar, but with Craig Smith's deal coming off the books this summer or next (I believe,) James Johnson could step right in and fill that hole.

[carmelbrownqueen]

Actually I think Holliday is in the right position. He's a Skiles type of player and I could see the Bucks picking him at that position. Good job.

[big3_8_19_21]

I guess I'd rather just re-sign Smith and try to fill a different hole with the 18th pick...like a back-up PG. I'd take Evans/Maynor at PG with Gomes/Smith/Jefferson/Love over Evans/Telfair with Gomes/Johnson/Jefferson/Love. I'm so sick of Telfair and his sub-40 FG%. Smith, on the other hand, does what he does well and is a nice offensive spark off the bench. It could be argued that Foye could play both guard positions, but I would like to have him at SG on offense as much as possible, he is much, much better when he's playing off the ball. We really don't even need Smith back, especially if Pekovic comes over, since Pekovic, Jefferson and Love would get all the minutes at PF and C at about 32 minutes each.

Jermaine Taylor is interesting at 28. He's definitely worth a look. Ideally I'd probably go with a Euro that we could bring over in a year since we don't want too many rooks next year. I'd probably take Omri Casspi since I've read that he is enamored with playing in the NBA and might be willing to take a pay cut to do it, and since it's at the end of the 1st round, he would probably have to take one to come over. I'd be OK with Taylor, too.

[Star-Lord]

Actually I think Holliday is in the right position. He's a Skiles type of player and I could see the Bucks picking him at that position. Good job.

Thank you. The fact that Jrue is Skiles' wet dream was the main reason for the choice to put him there.

I guess I'd rather just re-sign Smith and try to fill a different hole with the 18th pick...like a back-up PG. I'd take Evans/Maynor at PG with Gomes/Smith/Jefferson/Love over Evans/Telfair with Gomes/Johnson/Jefferson/Love. I'm so sick of Telfair and his sub-40 FG%. Smith, on the other hand, does what he does well and is a nice offensive spark off the bench. It could be argued that Foye could play both guard positions, but I would like to have him at SG on offense as much as possible, he is much, much better when he's playing off the ball. We really don't even need Smith back, especially if Pekovic comes over, since Pekovic, Jefferson and Love would get all the minutes at PF and C at about 32 minutes each.

I understand your desire to be rid of Telfair, much in the same way most Wolves fans wanted desperately to be rid of Rashad McCants. The thing is, if the Wolves go with Evans with their first pick, management may find drafting another guard with their second pick to be redundant. I really believe that whatever team drafts Tyreke is going to try to use him as a point guard. Whether that works out or not is another story. If the Wolves become dead set on moving Telfair, then I could definitely see them going for someone like Maynor with their second pick. Incidentally, I think Maynor would be an awesome fit for Minnesota.

Jermaine Taylor is interesting at 28. He's definitely worth a look. Ideally I'd probably go with a Euro that we could bring over in a year since we don't want too many rooks next year. I'd probably take Omri Casspi since I've read that he is enamored with playing in the NBA and might be willing to take a pay cut to do it, and since it's at the end of the 1st round, he would probably have to take one to come over. I'd be OK with Taylor, too.

I'm not a big fan of teams picking foreigners who most of the time never end up playing for the franchise. Especially when it comes at the expense of incredibly talented Americans. Jermaine can step in and help a team right away, and as far as I can tell, the Wolves could really use some help with their second unit scoring. Jermaine will look good in workouts, with his athleticism and nose for the bucket, but what sets him apart is his efficiency. He was the third leading scorer in the country last season, and out of the top three scorers, the most efficient by far. Now, considering Steph Curry and Jodie Meeks were the two above him, it becomes clear that there's a little more to that story, but facts are facts, and no one can overlook the production Taylor has had. Bottom line, if J.R. Giddens can get drafted in the first round of last years draft, which was one of the stronger classes in the past decade, then there's absolutely no reason Taylor can't go in the first round in this years anemic draft.

[big3_8_19_21]

I'm still not really sold on Evans at no. 5, though...I might consider take DeRozan over him, in which case I would for sure take Maynor at 18. I'm split on Evans and DeRozan, though. Both have sky high potential, but both currently have pretty big holes in their game that they need to work on.

I understand not taking Maynor at 18 because of redundancy, but at the same time redundancy was exactly why I don't want to draft Johnson and I personally feel like Maynor brings more to the team that we need (even taking a PG earlier) than Johnson does. Value-wise Johnson is fine at 18, but as it stands I currently consider the Wolves to not have a point guard, so we could use both a starter and a back-up. Also, I think Maynor has much lower bust potential than Evans making him either an insurance policy (so we for sure get a starting PG one way or the other) or a back-up to Evans.

Jermaine Taylor's height is the main thing that worries me. How many 6'4" pure SGs really pan out? I know it happens, but the odds are definitely against him in that regard. However at the end of the 1st round in a weak draft, you take what you can get.

There are a ton of 6'4" and under SGs in this year's draft it seems:
Jeff Teague (seems more like a SG than PG)
Wayne Ellington
Marcus Thornton
Jermaine Taylor
Toney Douglas
Jodie Meeks
Jerel McNeal
Jack McClinton

That's an incredible crop as far as 3pt shooting goes, though.