I<3basketball

[i<3basketball]

I<3basketball’s Mock Draft

1. LA Clippers – Blake Griffin – The clear cut #1 pick
2. Memphis – Ricky Rubio – He will be the #2 pick. Conley could be moved for a PF, Frye and fillers a possibility with Portland, maybe he can be teamed up again with Oden.
3. Oklahoma City – Hasheem Thabeet – Thabeet is the number 3 talent in this class. Harden is a possibility, but Thabeet’s size and defensive ability is too much for OKC to pass up.
4. Sacramento – Brandon Jennings – Sacramento needs a PG and Jennings has the potential to rise to this spot. I wouldn’t be surprise in Jrue Holiday finds his way to this pick.
5. Washington – James Harden – He is the BPA and fits in well at SG with the rest of the Wizards. Nick Young is not a starter, but could be a good backup behind Harden.
6. Minnesota – Demar DeRozan – An athlete with immense potential to go next to Jefferson and Love. Hopefully he will hit his prime before Jefferson is out of his prime.
7. Golden State – Jordan Hill – Although they seem to need a PG, Hill is the BPA by far and fills a need for bigs. Brandan Wright needs more time to develop and Hill fits Nelson’s style.
8. New York – Stephen Curry – I’m buying into the promise. He is a fit at PG in D'Antoni system.
9. Toronto – Tyreke Evans – Evans could go higher, but he falls to Toronto and fills a huge need for an athletic 2 guard who can spell Calderon at times.
10. Milwaukee – Jrue Holiday – BPA, Skiles type defensive and smart player. He could go as high as 4 come draft night.
11. New Jersey – DeJuan Blair - The girth NJ needs next to Lopez, Yi is not the answer. His wingspan makes up for his size. I have no doubts he will be a productive NBA player.
12. Charlotte – Gerald Henderson – I don’t like him, but pretty good defensively and athletic. He is a rookie that might actually play under Larry Brown.
13. Indiana – Eric Maynor – It seems that Indiana needs a real PG and Maynor could fit well with their style and other pieces. An upgrade over Ford and Jack in my opinion.
14. Phoenix – Jonny Flynn – A top 10 talent in my opinion, but if he doesn’t go 7 or 8 I think this is where he goes. This is the best fit possible for Flynn and Phoenix. He is my personal favorite player in this draft and this is his absolute floor.
15. Detroit – James Johnson – It is difficult to peg where this team is going and what they are trying to do, so a 3/4 forward with pretty good potential can spell Prince and also play the 4 and grab rebounds while fitting into defensive minded, tough style of Detroit. He has good defensive tools and offensive potential.
16. Chicago – BJ Mullens – Chicago likely targets of a bruiser here, but none are not available. The project center could turn out to be a nice offensive option next to/backing up Noah and could learn a lot from Miller.
17. Philadelphia – Ty Lawson – Philadelphia needs outside shooting and possibly a PG. Lawson fits with their up and down style and he is a decent outside shooter as he proved in the tourney.
18. Minnesota – Earl Clark – I personally believe he is a top 10 talent, but many GM's are down on him and questioning his drive. He will be the steal of the draft Danny Granger style. Derozan can play the 2 eventually and Clark the 3, goodbye Corey Brewer!
19. Atlanta – Jeff Teague – A true center would be nice, but a PG is a more pressing need depending on Bibby. It's likely that Bibby comes back but Teague can be a scorer off the bench as he learns from Bibby and hopefully transitions to a fulltime PG.
20. Utah – Gani Lawal – One of Boozer/Millsap will leave and Lawal could fill their hole. He has good potential offensively.
21. New Orleans – Terrence Williams – He is talented enough to go higher but there are questions about him. NO takes him with the hope he can play the 2/3. He will hopefully learn a lot from Posey and could be a similar type player.
22. Dallas – Austin Daye – He is the BPA at this point. I could see him going as high as 11 to NJ based on his potential, but as of right now I see this as more of his range. He has so much potential but needs time to develop and see if he can actually put it together.
23. Sacramento – Patty Mills – He has potential to be a good NBA backup/potential starter, which all you ask for here at 23. Nothing like some healthy competition at the point.
24. Portland – Damion James – He seems to have fallen of the face of the earth in many mocks, but he can play the 3 or 4. He is more comfortable at the 4 and has the girth/demeanor consistent with what Portland needs.
25. Oklahoma City – Chase Budinger – Another athletic scorer for OKC. He will look good as a shooter at the 2 next to Westbrook and Durant.
26. Chicago – Wayne Ellington – He could go higher, but his size/ lack of perceived potential/lack of anything but shooting is keeping him down here for me. He is good insurance if Gordon leaves, and could be the more productive of their 2 first rounders.
27. Memphis – Marcus Thornton – Memphis needs someone to back up Mayo and Thorton has the ability to do so. Look for him to sneak into the first round.
28. Minnesota – Darren Collison – He could potentially be a fit here, he’s most likely a solid backup.
29. LA Lakers – Nick Calathes – He can play the 1 or 2 and be a good passer/shooter in the triangle. He doesn’t need to have the ball constantly to be effective which makes him a good in the triangle. His size will be an asset for LA.
30. Cleveland – DaJuan Summers – Although he plays the same position as LeBron, he has good size and skills and could be a steal at 30. His shooting will be an valued by Cleveland because of his size. From what I’ve read recently, he’s shown in workouts that he could play the 4 a little which would be nice next to LeBron.

[gswhoops]

Gaaaahhh! We don't need Jordan Hill! We already have two lanky, athletic PFs to develop in Wright and Randolph and plenty of other holes to fill.

Given who's on the board, I'd say we take Evans or Holiday easily over Hill. The only reason we would want Hill would be to trade him for Rubio.

[john2jer]

If you can't tell, I'm shaking my head right now.

[i<3basketball]

If you can't tell, I'm shaking my head right now.

Why's that?

[i<3basketball]

Gaaaahhh! We don't need Jordan Hill! We already have two lanky, athletic PFs to develop in Wright and Randolph and plenty of other holes to fill.

Given who's on the board, I'd say we take Evans or Holiday easily over Hill. The only reason we would want Hill would be to trade him for Rubio.

I did take in the fact that both Randolph and Wright are there, but Randolph is going to be a SF and Wright is not ready yet. This is a draft where you take the BPA and Hill is that at #7.

[i<3basketball]

Just moving this up to get more feedback...

[gswhoops]

Gaaaahhh! We don't need Jordan Hill! We already have two lanky, athletic PFs to develop in Wright and Randolph and plenty of other holes to fill.

Given who's on the board, I'd say we take Evans or Holiday easily over Hill. The only reason we would want Hill would be to trade him for Rubio.

I did take in the fact that both Randolph and Wright are there, but Randolph is going to be a SF and Wright is not ready yet. This is a draft where you take the BPA and Hill is that at #7.

We have a huge need at PG, and two guys that would be great fits next to Ellis (Evans and Holiday) are still on the board. One of those guys would be a much better pick then Hill.

[i<3basketball]

We have a huge need at PG, and two guys that would be great fits next to Ellis (Evans and Holiday) are still on the board. One of those guys would be a much better pick then Hill.

I understand you need a PG, but Evans is not that and will never be a full time PG. I also think that Hill's value is greater than Jrue to the Warriors because of the interior presence he will bring. Just my 2 cents.

[Silver Man]

Don't really understand why the Kings would choose two point guards at 4 and 23.

[i<3basketball]

Don't really understand why the Kings would choose two point guards at 4 and 23.

That is by far their biggest weakness and Mills is pretty much the BPA there. Udrih is as good as gone in my opinion, and they have no other PG's on their roster so getting 2 PG's makes sense to me. Plus, they will likely push each other from day 1.