Post#31 » by EddieJonesFan » Mon May 24, 2010 10:34 pm
1.) Washington Wizards - PG John Wall, Kentucky
- Wall will give them the franchise player that they need after Arenas' total fall from grace. He'll give them a team leader that actually has a brain. He needs to work on his advanced ball handling skills and needs to improve his pull up jumper. He's got such an incredible upside, similar to Gary Payton. I think Evan Turner is the better player right now, but this is who they need to turn their franchise around, and he'll really help their young talent.
2.) Philadelphia 76ers - SG/SF Evan Turner, Ohio State
- A trade down with Minnesota is a distinct possibility, but more than likely they stay at 2 and take Turner. Turner is a great fit for them, I don't care what anyone else has to say about Iguodala or Young. Turner gives them a true shot creator, a great motor, an unselfish playmaker, a good defender, and just an all around reliable player. He'll be an excellent fit in the backcourt with Jrue Holiday, their skills match up so well together. Holiday-Turner-Iguodala-Speights-Dalembert is a nice starting lineup. He'll allow Iguodala to play off the ball more, which I think is more suited for him.
3.) New Jersey Nets - PF/C Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech
- Oh boo hoo, we didn't get John Wall. Wall shmall, Favors is going to fall into their laps and he is a great fit for their team. He is almost the ideal frontcourt partner with Lopez and those two will give them a young defensive frontcourt that most franchises can only dream of. Lopez will give them the weak side shot blocker, defensive anchor, and Favors will give them the quick and strong positional defender. He's not very polished yet offensively, but I think he'll develop his set mid range J enough to where he'll be very effective off the pick and roll. He's going to give them a very athletic finisher, a guy who'll score off offensive rebounders, lobs, and he can back a guy down some. He's got great hands, good touch around the basket, a strong motor, very athletic, long, and good PF body. He'll need to improve his positioning offensively, ball handling, and his post moves, but he's still very young and he seems to be a hard worker. I have to admit though that Favors does not do much for their FA pursuits.
4. Minnesota Timberwolves - C DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky
- I don't think they're going to bypass the obvious BPA just so they can get a player that fits their current (pre-trades) roster. They have a ton of picks and it's much easier to come up with a good wing player later in the draft than it is a big man, based on history. They'll either take Cousins and trade him, or take him and trade Jefferson. The only way I don't see them picking him is Cousins' stock falls in a lot of other GM's eyes, and no one wants Jefferson either. If all the interviews and off-court stuff goes well, I think they need to draft Cousins and trade Jefferson. Cousins is a little bit taller than Jefferson and he's A LOT longer than him, he has much better match-up ability size wise against the top centers than Jefferson does. Don't get me wrong, Johnson is a good prospect, but the difference in value is too much for them to just take a pass on, IMO.
5.) Sacramento Kings - SF Wesley Johnson, Syracuse
- This one is hard to predict because Geoff Petrie doesn't always take who people think is the obvious pick. He likes to be unorthodox to a certain extent, but he also doesn't mind taking players at positions he's already loaded at because they're the BPA. They're very weak in the frontcourt and they could use a better long term backcourt partner for Evans than Udrih. However, after the measurements have come out, I really don't see an obvious difference making big. They're all good-solid prospects, but they don't have the all around upside that you look for with a 5th pick, Johnson does however. He may not be the type of player that can create his own offense (yet), but he's a great shooter from mid range and 3, both set and off the dribble, he's super long, he can defend, rebound, he a solid passer, he moves well off the ball, he can finish strong at the basket, and he seems to have an excellent attitude. He may not be a franchise player, but he gives you all the abilities that you want in a complimentary player all in one package. Whatever log jam he gives them, they can figure that stuff out later, he can be the Pippen to Tyreke's Jordan.
6.) Golden State Warriors - PF/C Greg Monroe, Georgetown
- He's not the ideal player for Nelson's system since he's not an explosive finisher, he's not that quick, but he can run the floor well. He doesn't add much to them defensively like Aldrich would, but since when have they cared about defense? He's got enough size and length to play center and he can rebound and pass out, or he can rebound and take the ball up the court himself. He's got some low post scoring, which no one else on that team has. He needs to improve his shooting if he's going to play for Golden State.
7.) Detroit Pistons - C Cole Aldrich, Kansas
- Simply put, they need a physical center that can rebound and play defense. Aldrich didn't measure out too well IMO, but he is still likely to be a tough physical player that can rebound and play D. Offensively, he doesn't add much, but he can be a mistake free role player on that end.
8.) Los Angeles Clippers - SF/PF Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest
- I can see them picking a high upside guy like Whiteside or Motiejunas, but with SF being a relatively open spot for them and Aminu probably being the most talented guy on the board, they take Aminu here I think. Think of a rebounding frontcourt of Kaman-Griffin-Aminu, wow. He'd be a huge help to them defensively, with versatility to defend the 2-4 (certain 4's) with his length and athleticism. Aminu is going to have to focus on his off-ball scoring and spot up shooting if he's going to fit in the Clippers lineup offensively. In the long run, he really has to improve his ball handling and shooting if he's going to be a SF.
9.) Utah Jazz - PF/C Ekpe Udoh, Baylor
- Sucks for them here if they miss out on Aldrich and Monroe, two players everyone has associated with Utah. Ekpe Udoh, as I've mentioned before, is the next best fit for them. He'll give them the passing they look for in bigs, a solid jumper, ball handling, and an athletic finisher. He didn't measure out well reach wise (only 8'10.5) but he's a good shot blocker/post defender, and he can fit into their frontcourt offensively and defensively.
10.) Indiana Pacers - PF Ed Davis, North Carolina
- He's got the best all around potential and polish of the bigs left. Measured out well at 6'10 and 9'0 standing reach, but needs to put on some muscle as he only weights 230 with 10% body fat. I see Davis as a Joe Smith/Poor man's Al Horford type, he'll be a solid rebounder and positional defender, have a decent touch from inside and mid range. Davis still has some of that "unknown" quantity to him which leaves the possibility of some unforeseen upside.
11.) New Orleans Hornets - PF/C Donatas Motiejunas, Lithuania
- This was between Patterson, Whiteside, George, and Motiejunas. Patterson seems like the concensus here at the moment, but I think they go for higher upside than him, even though I'm sure they like Pattereson. The Hornets are hard to get a read on, I can definitely see them liking Paul George (I can see a lot of teams liking him, he's hard not to like) since he adds pretty much exactly what they need at the 3, plus some high upside. Whiteside fits what they need a shot blocking center, but they seemed pretty irked by the players that chose not to participate in the basketball drills at the pre-draft camp, so I don't know how they'd feel about a guy who has maturity questions and showed up in flip-flops. I think Motiejunas is going to impress quite a bit once you start moving into team workouts, where he can show off his athleticism, ball handling, passing, and shooting. He may not give them the defensive big that they need, but that's not there at this point without a lot of risk and not a whole lot of upside. I don't know, this is probably a dumb choice.
12.) Memphis Grizzlies - SG/SF Xavier Henry, Kansas
- They need a swingman for insurance in case Gay leaves. They could also use some extra shooting, which Henry also provides. Henry measured out to be a legit 6'6 with a long wingspan, a solid reach, and good body fat%. I can also see Paul George ending up here, but I decided against it because he may not be polished enough for their liking.
13.) Toronto Raptors - PF/C Daniel Orton, Kentucky
- They really need a big, preferably a defensive oriented one, and Alabi/Orton/Whiteside are all raw to a certain extent, Orton probably has the second best upside of the three and he doesn't have Whiteside's off-court flags...yet.
14.) Houston Rockets - C Hassan Whiteside, Marshall
- They also need a defensive oriented center with size and length. Whiteside doesn't have much strength and that's going to be a problem with his development, but what he does have is excellent length, great athleticism, a decent jump shot, big shot blocking numbers, and huge upside. They're taking a huge risk with Whiteside's reported off-court red flags, but I think they're in a position to take that risk.
15.) Milwaukee Bucks - PF Patrick Patterson, Kentucky
- They could use help from SG to PF. If Patterson isn't on the board, I could definitely see them going after George. I chose to go big instead because Patterson is a relatively safe big, he can give them a nice compliment high post, high activity big to pair with Bogut. Plus, I think he'll be able to handle a good amount of minutes right away. Patterson is solid across the board, good rebounder, good shooter, good finisher, good athlete, but he isn't that great at anything. He measured out surprisingly well.
16.) Minnesota Timberwolves - SF Paul George, Fresno State
- I also considered James Anderson here since he's more of a SG and little more of a pure shooter, but I figured that he isn't that great of a ball handler/off the drible guy either, so I went with the guy that has the obviously better upside and would be an awesome fit with Rubio, if he ever comes over. George really has all the tools to be a very good player, he's very athletic, he's 6'9, he's incredibly long, he's shown he can shoot in at least catch and shoot situations, board a little, passing ability, good ft shooter, and he improved his finishing ability a lot this year. George will probably go higher than this by draft day, he's got that much going for him right now. He seems like a good kid too, just needs to work on his ball handling and fundamentals.
17.) Chicago Bulls - SG/SF James Anderson, Oklahoma State
- Just a flat out shooter, a guy who can really move off the ball, get open and drain jumpers. Not good defensively, not a great athlete, and didn't measure out extremely well, but the Bulls need scoring help at the wings, and he can really help.
18.) Miami Heat - C Kevin Seraphin, France
- I'm sure Miami has their sights set on a top free agent PF, but they're still going to need some help at the center position. Seraphin may not be an ideal center, but he is 6'9 w/o shoes, near 270 lbs, strong, very athletic, and has long arms. So he has the tools to make up for his lack of height. Excellent rebounder overseas, and he blocks shots too. Just seems like a guy with a lot of good tools to develop, and French prospects have been on a roll lately. It's possible they go with Alabi here (that 9'5 standing reach plus athleticism is very tempting), but that cat needs to seriously improve his defensive rebounding. It's a tough call if they do in fact go center here.
19.) Boston Celtics - SF Gordon Hayward, Butler
- The Celtics really need to shore up their bench, it would be a good idea if they picked up another first round pick. Hayward gives them a solid offensive player off the bench that can spell Pierce, and he has a little more upside than Luke Babbitt, who I also considered here. He can rebound some, move off the ball, pass, and shoot. They could use some guard depth, but perhaps they use their MLE for that since this draft isn't so deep in polished guards. I can see them liking Dominique Jones though.
20.) San Antonio Spurs - SF/PF Damion James, Texas
- They could really use someone long and athletic at the 3, Damion James is that. James is going to have a hard time defining his position, but he's a long, athletic, and a very good rebounder. Offensively he can move off the ball, has a decent set shot, and has a strong motor. He doesn't have great lateral quickness, but should have enough size and length to defend 3's adequately. If the Spurs don't manage to bring over Splitter, they could go with Alabi or Sanders here.
21.) Oklahoma City Thunder - SF/PF Luke Babbitt, Nevada
- Just thought they could use a good shooter/scorer off the bench. I really don't know what they'd be down for at this point. Alabi doesn't seem like enough of a talent to get any PT over Krstic or Mullens.
22.) Portland Trailblazers - PG/SG Eric Bledsoe, Kentucky
- A project that could eventually be a defensive stopper and 3 pt shooter at the 1. Miller has only one more guarantee year left and I can't imagine they pick up his option will the off-court problems they had. Bayless has been a huge disappointment. I picked him over Bradley because
23.) Minnesota Timberwolves - SG Jordan Crawford, Xavier
- Measured out with decent size (6'4 200), great athlete, and a good on ball shooter/scorer. Not great off the ball, shot release is a little low, and doesn't have much value off the ball, but he's one of those guys that can just come off the bench and give you a scoring boost.
24.) Atlanta Hawks - C Solomon Alabi, Florida State
- Easy, they really need a real shot blocking center.
25.) Memphis Grizzlies - SF/PF Stanley Robinson, Connecticut
- Really athletic combo forward that can be defend the forward positions and be active.
26.) Oklahoma City Thunder - SG Elliot Williams, Memphis
- blah
27.) New Jersey Nets - PG/SG Terrico White, Mississippi
- He's a project, but he's got high upside and good physical tools for SG. Needs better shot selection and to improve his IQ.
28.) Memphis Grizzlies - PG/SG Avery Bradley, Texas
- A long and athletic combo guard that can shoot and defend the 1. Needs to get stronger and become a better finisher.
29.) Orlando Magic - PF/C Larry Sanders, VCU
- I highly doubt Sanders lasts this long in the actual draft, but whatever. He's a project big that needs to add strength and offensive skills, but he's athletic, 6'10, and super long (9'4 standing reach). They could use a long athletic big to back up their frontcourt.
30.) Washington Wizards - SF/PF Quincy Pondexter, Washington
- Good defensive forward that can finish at the basket and has a decent mid range game. Still pretty raw with perimeter skills, but ready to contribute defensively.
