2009 SlowForm RealGM Mock Draft recap

[dice]

ouch pacer fans

Starting shortly after the lottery took place, I started a mock draft that would allow each team board as a group to determine their team's selection. There were no particular time constraints on reaching a decision, thus some selections took multiple days for a frontrunner to emerge due to lack of board activity or a close call. The draft was finally completed on the official NBA draft day. Due to the length of time required, feelings of some boards have changed since their selection was made.

Here are the final results, with comments and quotes provided below certain selections:

1. Clippers - Blake Griffin PF, 20, Oklahoma City, OK
2. Grizzlies - Ricky Rubio PG, 18, Barcelona, Spain
3. Thunder - Hasheem Thabeet C, 22, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
4. Kings - James Harden SG, 19, Los Angeles, CA
------A lot of boards were puzzled by this choice. The rationale was BPA/trade bait
5. Wizards* - Tyreke Evans G, 19, Chester, PA
6. Wolves - Demar DeRozan G/F, 19, Compton, CA
------"Can we quit instead? Evans and Harden were my top two choices." - john2jer
------As it turns out, john2jer will likely get his wish at #5
------"There is almost no chance we hold onto this pick come draft time" - revprodeji
7. Warriors - Jrue Holiday G, 19, Chatsworth, CA
------"The only guys I'm scared to death to pass on are off the board except Holiday. Jrue Holiday." - -bob-
------"If Hill falls to seven you can't pass him up." - oaktown
------"Hill is a role player at best." - Sid
------"...wouldn't even take [Hill] with the 7th pick? pssh..." - 5Strong
------"Blair would mop the court with Hills face." - TB
------"Should Be: DeJuan Blair - easily the BPA." - giberish
8. Knicks - Jordan Hill PF, 21, Atlanta, GA
------"It's becoming more and more obvious [Clark] is the pick as the days go by." - TheBluest
------"Hill would be a steal at this point in the draft." - Big Chan
------"Considering the amount of depth still left at guard...and the lack of front court bigs in the draft, [Hill] is the only option." - R-DAWG
------"roll the dice with Jordan Hill. Seems like a great fit for this offense." - Deeeez
------"Jordan Hill. He's obviously the BPA." - BklynKING
9. Raptors - Brandon Jennings PG, 19, Los Angeles, CA
------"ewww @ stephen curry" - zigzagzig
------"Jennings, please and thank you." - anj
------"If the draft opened up like that and we steal Jennings..." - cdel00
------"I can't believe the number of you that want Jennings. Epic bust in the making." - RapsFan
10. Bucks - DeJuan Blair PF, 20, Pittsburgh, PA
------"Hold my nose and take Curry." - paulpressey25
11. Nets - James Johnson PF, 22, Cheyenne, WY
------Earl Clark a very close second
------"Why would Blair go at 10? I am taking James Johnson every day of the week." - Preludepunk27
12. Bobcats - Terrence Williams SG, 21, Seattle, WA
13. Pacers - Stephen Curry G, 21, Charlotte, NC
------"Curry. Whether you think he fits on the team or not, he clearly has the most value here" - granger05
14. Suns - Earl Clark F, 21, Plainfield, NJ
------"Clark is a steal if out of the top 10..." - TASTIC
15. Pistons - Austin Daye F, 21, Irvine, CA
------"Austin Daye. Tons of potential." - -Smiley
------"I want Austin Daye also...could be a star" - mattyj
------"If Austin Daye is the best available, trade the pick for cash." - Liqourish
16. Bulls - Jonny Flynn PG, 20, Niagara Falls, NY
------"Flynn. I hope all the Tyler love is some cruel joke." - bdiddy
------"Flynn....I take him, let him show off a bit, and use him as trade bait down the line since he will be a very very good PG." - RyGuy
------"Hansbrough. Flynn does throw me for a loop though...." - Dak
------"[Hansbrough] would already be our best skilled power forward, and allow us to dangle Thomas in the Bosh/Amar'e trades." - bullzman
------"Hansbrough at 16 will be a complete waste of a draft pick." - Wolverine
------"It's a tragedy if we draft Hansbrough over Flynn." - theanimal
------"The need for Flynn is pretty useless. I would gladly pick Hansbrough over him. Since he fits a need more than him" - mr.ankle
------"Tyler Hansbrough...will be the new Aaron Gray." - LikeMike
------"Flynn if I could work a trade on draft day" - rozzman
------"I'd take Flynn and pack Kirk's bags for him...." - Ralph
------"Henderson wold have been my pick. I think he and Flynn are pretty close and Henderson fits better." - dynasty_maker
17. Sixers - Ty Lawson PG, 21, Clinton, MD
------"Why would you sink a pick into a PG so he can sit around and do nothing....So give me a SG upgrade Ellington is the man." - Cassidy
------"I want Flynn almost as much as rubio...that pick makes NO sense for Chicago." - tua
18. Wolves - Gerald Henderson SG, 21, Caldwell, NJ
19. Hawks - Eric Maynor PG, 22, Fayetteville, NC
20. Jazz - Jeff Teague PG, 21, Indianapolis, IN
------"Jeff Teague. No one is a particularly close second.." - sendai
------"I got to go with Mullens. Got to go with size at 20." - idajazz
------"Either Teague or Mullens are a steal right here." - Bat
------"Anyone but Mullens...please!" - UTJazzFan
------"[Mullens] has the tools to become a good player." - babyjax
------"but not the will or work ethic...the only reason he plays basketball is so he can help his mom out." - reeferman
21. Hornets - Darren Collison PG, 21, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
22. Mavericks - Marcus Thornton SG, 22, Baton Rouge, LA
23. Kings - Tyler Hansbrough PF, 23, Columbia, MO
24. Blazers - BJ Mullens C, 20, Canal Winchester, OH
------"BJ Mullins is the valu here. Put him in the D-League for 2 years and see if he ferments." - JD45
------"trade pick for 6 pack of beer" - PacificBlazer
------"How in the heck did Mullens slide to 24?" - BBen
25. Thunder - Sam Young SF, 24, Clinton, MD
26. Bulls - Wayne Ellington SG, 21, Wynnewood, PA
------"Put me down for a Budinger! He has shootability." - kyrv
------"I like Beaubois a lot at 26 no matter who we go with at 16. Could be one of the steals of the draft IMO" - theanimal
27. Grizzlies - Omri Casspi SF, 21, Yavne, Israel
------"Casspi, makes sense so we can complete our new moniker as United Nations South." - dark-child
28. Wolves - Patrick Mills PG, 20, Canberra, Australia
------"Thats right, this draft thing started when veryone but me and 2 or 3 others had a hard on for bloody Derozen, god im glad that period is over." - Vindicater
------"Yeah, DeRozan was a bad call on our part, but Henderson would be FANTASTIC at 18." - big3
29. Lakers - Chase Budinger SF, 21, Encinitas, CA
------"Chase Budinger and run like hell." - TyCobb
30. Cavaliers - Derrick Brown F, 21, Dayton, OH

*After the #5 pick was traded to Minnesota the general consensus at that board was that the Wolves too would take Evans in that slot

[Kuq_e_Zi91]

this makes me sad... very, very sad.

[Grang33r]

haha i remember when you came here and posted this asking us who we wanted to pick. Pretty cool that you kept up with it and have it saved to look back on. I wouldn't say "ouch Pacers" tho, its funny looking back and seeing how many uneducated people who think they are the top notch NBA experts go and vote for guys and surpass stars, yet, the crush GMs for making bad choices. Props to the Knicks, Pistons, Suns and Hornets fans for voting on the guy they actually picked.

dice- Curry had to be voted by this board, if he dropped in the mock, he was clearly a elite player of this draft. Any idea of who the top 3 vote getters were on our board?

[granger05]

Awesome, I got quoted in this. I really wanted Jrue Holiday to be our pick when the actual draft was going on. However, I'm willing to give Hansbrough a fare shake and hope he gets fully healthy. I thought before last season that he could end up being a guy like Joakim Noah who helps the team with all the little things he does. That may still be true, and Noah has looked more valuable in every season.

[MNPacersfan]

Awesome, I got quoted in this. I really wanted Jrue Holiday to be our pick when the actual draft was going on. However, I'm willing to give Hansbrough a fare shake and hope he gets fully healthy. I thought before last season that he could end up being a guy like Joakim Noah who helps the team with all the little things he does. That may still be true, and Noah has looked more valuable in every season.

Grant thisthough; Noah is a legitimate athlete. It's easier to improve your game if you're an athlete because knowledge catches up to your natural ability the longer you stay in the league. Hansbrough seems to have the work ethic to improve, but his game shows little to no athleticism. I think that he is what he is right now and that he's not going to get much better.

This was funny to me, right before the 2009 draft he was on Dan Patrick's show and said that the only thing that separated him from Blake Griffin is that Blake can jump higher. I'm excited to see them both in action next season.

[Miller4ever]

Hansbrough doesn't lack athleticism; he just looks awkward when he plays.

He was at times the best rebounder on the floor period when he played healthily.

[MUpacersSIC]

Hansbrough doesn't lack athleticism; he just looks awkward when he plays.

He was at times the best rebounder on the floor period when he played healthily.

I agree, Hansbrough is much more athletic then given credit for. I always think it's ridiculous when prospects get the whole "not athletic" card. I mean, they're going to the NBA... they are ALL athletic. These days we have just grown accustomed to the new breed of "freak athletes" that they make some of the others look a little less athletic. I'm pretty sure if I was standing next to Hansbrough when he went through his workouts on the court his athleticism would blow my mind. I'm a decent athlete, but I'm no Hansbrough.

Overall I do think Hansbrough is going to be a starting PF. He averaged almost 9pts and 5reb in only like 17 minutes. To me he has the work ethic to keep improving and those numbers (if he's healthy of course) I believe will greatly improve next year. I'm predicting a 15pts and 9reb season for (again let me emphasize HEALTHY) Hansbrough. Yes, I think he can be THAT good.

[dice]

dice- Curry had to be voted by this board, if he dropped in the mock, he was clearly a elite player of this draft. Any idea of who the top 3 vote getters were on our board?

maynor was the only one aside from curry who had multiple people interested. some suggested drafting curry as BPA then trading him (for maynor +, even)

[Grang33r]

dice- Curry had to be voted by this board, if he dropped in the mock, he was clearly a elite player of this draft. Any idea of who the top 3 vote getters were on our board?

maynor was the only one aside from curry who had multiple people interested. some suggested drafting curry as BPA then trading him (for maynor +, even)

Gotcha, thanks.