Jazzfan mock draft (Lottery)

[Jazzfan12]

Draft order from ESPN.


1. Nets: John Wall

2. Timberwolves: Evan Turner

3. Warriors: Greg Monroe

Point-center

4. Pacers: Derrick Favors

5. Wizards: Al-Farqou Aminu

In previous years, they would either trade this pick or take Cousins. Neither is happening after this disaster of a year.

6. Kings: DeMarcus Cousins

7. Jazz (From Knicks): Cole Aldrich

8. Pistons: Ed Davis

Need a big. Going to be a choice between Davis and Whiteside. I think Davis' championship experience will give him a slight edge.

9. 76ers: Wesley Johnson

10. Clippers: Patrick Patterson

Clippers need a SF, but they think they're getting LeBron so they won't pick one here. They'll go for NBA-readiness to attract LeBron.

11. Bucks (From Bulls): Hassan Whiteside

Pick would make no sense, but the Bucks don't pick for need or NBA-readiness, they pick for upside.

12. Hornets: Xavier Henry

13. Rockets: James Anderson

14. Grizzles: Donatas Motiejunas

[RondoGreen9]

Aldrich is better than Whiteside, I think he'll go earlier than him.

[gswhoops]

Cousins is clearly the best C in the draft - no way Whiteside and Aldrich go over him.

[ponder276]

Cousins and Monroe both too low IMO.

[carrottop12]

No way the Jazz don't take Cousins if he is available there.

[Jazzfan12]

No way the Jazz don't take Cousins if he is available there.

Cousins is the opposite of a Jazz type of player. They'd probably take him and trade down in that situation though.

[Jazzfan12]

Updated.

[babyjax13]

No way the Jazz don't take Cousins if he is available there.

Cousins is the opposite of a Jazz type of player. They'd probably take him and trade down in that situation though.

No he's not. He is strong in the post, has a variety of moves to get around his defender and pulls down every rebound he sees. Cousins is the perfect fit for the Jazz. IMO, if the Jazz have to decide whether or not to draft him over anyone other than Turner/Wall, they do it.

[Jazzfan12]

Pre-tournament big board:


1. John Wall
2. Evan Turner
3. Derrick Favors
4. DeMarcus Cousins
5. Greg Monroe
6. Cole Aldrich
7. Wesley Johnson
8. Xavier Henry
9. Al-Farqou Aminu
10. Ed Davis
11. Avery Bradley
12. James Anderson
13. Ekpe Udoh
14. Patrick Patterson
15. Devin Ebanks
16. Stanley Robinson
17. Hassan Whiteside
18. Donatas Motiejunas
19. Jan Vesely
20. Paul George

[Cammo101]

Pre-tournament big board:


1. John Wall
2. Evan Turner
3. Derrick Favors
4. DeMarcus Cousins
5. Greg Monroe
6. Cole Aldrich
7. Wesley Johnson
8. Xavier Henry
9. Al-Farqou Aminu
10. Ed Davis
11. Avery Bradley
12. James Anderson
13. Ekpe Udoh
14. Patrick Patterson
15. Devin Ebanks
16. Stanley Robinson
17. Hassan Whiteside
18. Donatas Motiejunas
19. Jan Vesely
20. Paul George

Looks good, but Stanley Robinson over Whiteside is redic. Robinson is a 4 year underachiever who relies solely on athleticism. Whiteside is a freaky athlete, 7 foot tall, and has a smooth jumper. That alone makes him a top 10 pick in my book, and certainly puts him light years ahead of Stanley Robinson.

It would not shock me at all if Stanley Robinson tumbled into the 2nd round before all is said and done.

[Jazzfan12]

I hate all the prospects past 15 in the draft, but I think Whiteside will make his team worse by being on the court and Robinson won't. Whiteside definitely has much more potential than Robinson so you're probably right that Whiteside should be ahead of him though. I doubt any of the five last players on my big board last more than five years in the NBA.

[Jazzfan12]

General pick projections for prospects:


Wall: 1
Turner: 2-3
Favors: 2-3
Cousins: 4-6
Aminu: 4-6
Johnson: 4-6
Aldrich: 7-10
Monroe: 7-10
Patterson: 7-10
Ed Davis: 11-15
Henry: 11-15
Motiejunas: 11-15
Udoh: 16-20
Alabi: 16-20
Anderson: 16-20
Bradley: 16-20
Ebanks: 16-20
Sanders: 21-30
Paul George: 26-35
Whiteside: 26-35
Jan Vesely: 26-35
Warren: 36-45
Robinson: 36-45

[Jazzfan12]

Updated Big Board:

1. John Wall
2. Evan Turner
3. Derrick Favors
4. DeMarcus Cousins
5. Wesley Johnson
6. Greg Monroe
7. Cole Aldrich
8. Al-Farouq Aminu
9. Xavier Henry
10. Ed Davis
11. Avery Bradley
12. James Anderson
13. Patrick Patterson
14. Ekpe Udoh
15. Jan Vesely
16. Devin Ebanks
17. Hassan Whiteside
18. Stanley Robinson
19. Donatas Motiejunas
20. Paul George


Updated mock:



1. Nets: John Wall
2. Timberwolves: Evan Turner
3. Warriors: Derrick Favors
4. Wizards: Wesley Johnson
5. Pistons: DeMarcus Cousins
6. Pacers: Al-Farouq Aminu
7. 76ers: Xavier Henry
8. Kings: Cole Aldrich
9. Jazz: Greg Monroe
10. Clippers: Patrick Patterson
11. Bucks: Ed Davis
12. Hornets: James Anderson
13. Grizzlies: Devin Ebanks
14. Rockets: Hassan Whiteside


I still think Monroe will declare.

[Gremz]

I can't see Aminu being a wise choice for Indy.

[Jazzfan12]

They need guards or a power forward it seems to me, and Aminu is the best player left out of that group.

[BucksRUS]

Henry at 7 looks too high to me. He is a good player, but is not athletic enough to go that high.

[Jazzfan12]

Some player comparisons I came up with:


John Wall-Gary Payton
Evan Turner-Later career Kobe Bryant
Derrick Favors-Rich Man's Al Horford
DeMarcus Cousins-Carlos Boozer with worse passing
Greg Monroe-Vlade Divac
Cole Aldrich-Joel Pryzbilla
Xavier Henry-Wally Szerbiak
Al-Farouq Aminu-Tyrus Thomas with superior handles
Ed Davis-Marcus Camby
Hassan Whiteside-JaVale McGee
Donatas Motiejunas-Yi Jianlian

[Jazzfan12]

New mock (Based on projected order of finish):


1. Nets: John Wall

2. Timberwolves: Evan Turner

3. Wizards: Derrick Favors

4. Warriors: DeMarcus Cousins

5. Pistons: Patrick Patterson

Patterson is a very NBA-ready player who Dumars loves. I can't see him taking a project like Davis, Aminu, or Whiteside here when he's been focused on rebuilding on the fly, so it will be between Aldrich and Patterson. I think Patterson wins the national championship and has excellent workouts, causing him to jump Aldrich.

6. Kings: Wesley Johnson

Lots of options here. Apparently the Kings hate Greg Monroe as a prospect so that narrows it down a bit. Bradley, Johnson, and Aldrich would all be good fits and the Kings aren't afraid of reaching for the player they like so that keeps all of them as a possibility.

7. Jazz (From Knicks): Greg Monroe

8. 76ers: Al-Farouq Aminu

Fairly redundant, but the 76ers are obsessed with small forwards and Aminu is great value here.

9. Clippers: Xavier Henry

Will open up the court for LeBron.

10. Pacers: Ed Davis

11. Bucks (From Bulls): Hassan Whiteside

In the end, I think Whiteside won't be picked in the top 20, but the Bucks seem to draft on upside alone, and Whiteside has tons of it.

12. Hornets: Cole Aldrich

13. Rockets: James Anderson

14. Grizzlies: Eric Bledsoe

[RTM]

I don't see any chance of Patterson going at 5. Detroit would trade down if they wanted him.

But I don't see him as one of our top choices. Assuming we fall out of the top 4, I'd bet our list is Aldrich, Aminu, Monroe (if he declares), Davis and Udoh.

[moss_is_1]

Some player comparisons I came up with:


John Wall-Gary Payton
Evan Turner-Later career Kobe Bryant
Derrick Favors-Rich Man's Al Horford
DeMarcus Cousins-Carlos Boozer with worse passing
Greg Monroe-Vlade Divac
Cole Aldrich-Joel Pryzbilla
Xavier Henry-Wally Szerbiak
Al-Farouq Aminu-Tyrus Thomas with superior handles
Ed Davis-Marcus Camby
Hassan Whiteside-JaVale McGee
Donatas Motiejunas-Yi Jianlian

Turner seems like a Joe Johnson Brandon Roy without as good of a jumper, Kobe is a bit of a stretch I think.
Henry as Wally? On offense..maybe, but he is a very good defender, pry best suited to defend sfs because he isn't really quick. Maybe a more perimeter oriented Paul Pierce?