1.
Chicago Bulls- Derrick Rose-Looks to be the sure thing now, plus a personal pick because I want a guard to be the number one pick this time, since the last guard to be the first overall was Iverson.
2.
Miami Heat- Michael Beasley
-Falls into Miami’s lap, good nucleus with Wade and Marion.
3.
Minnesota Timberwolves- OJ Mayo
-I would be a very happy camper if Mayo somehow falls to the Knicks, I actually see McHale trading down and grabbing Lopez or something. Still, he gets the best player available with Mayo, who is my personal favorite of the draft and should become a superstar.
4.
Seattle Supersonics- Jerryd Bayless-Seems to be a sure thing. I doubt they get any other player unless Mayo falls to them (which is a very good possibility). Even then, they’d probably take Bayless.
5.
Memphis Grizzlies- Kevin Love
-See Bayless, though unlike him, I’m not so sure about this for Memphis. I think they’re taking him too high, but then his value has gone up the past few weeks. I don’t think his size is that much of a problem anymore. I’m also admittedly a bit biased for this because it strengthens the chance that Mayo drops to New York.
6.
New York Knicks- Russell Westbrook-I don’t like Westbrook this high, and the desperate fan in me still hopes Denver trades up and grabs him because he is absolutely perfect for the team. I also hope they get to snag OJ Mayo somehow, either by trading up (which is a very good possibility when McHale is concerned, or by Mayo experiencing a Rudy Gay-type fall). That’s a lot of ifs, but at the end of the day, Westbrook will be a decent pick because he brings so many things to the table, even though I don’t even see him becoming more than a borderline All-Star.
7.
LA Clippers- Eric Gordon-OJ Mayo is also very good here, but no way he drops past New York. Gordon is BPA, fits a need, and may eventually play a little bit of PG. A good thing considering the Clips are on the borderline of rebuilding and they seem weak at both guard positions.
8.
Milwaukee Bucks- Joe Alexander
-seems to be the popular pick here for good reason, big weaknesses at SF and PG, plus he has also shot up the charts. I believe it will be between him and DJ Agustin, but the Former gets the nod because he has less question marks.
9.
Charlotte Bobcats- Brook Lopez-I’m glad he has a very good chance of dropping here. Good big for Charlotte, and should make for a potent frontline. I’m not a big fan of them taking a guard here though, I believe Felton will explode next season.
10.
New Jersey Nets- Danilo Gallinari
-A sure thing (rumored promise), not really the best choice for me but they could do a lot worse. If Jefferson is leaving it would make a lot more sense.
11.
Indiana Pacers- DJ Agustin
-I doubt he slides past the Pacers, unless they trade J.O’Neal and they realize that they suddenly lack size. They could also pick any of the “stud” big forwards that will start to be taken after this.
12.
Sacramento Kings- Darrell Arthur
-Gets the sure thing over the project big men. He should push for starter minutes right out of the gates, since it’s only probably Mikki Moore as a minutes rival with Miller and Hawes entrenched at Center.
13.
Portland- Anthony Randolph
-They can afford to take him despite the question marks (same goes for Donte Greene actually, but I’m more enamored by Randolph).
14.
Golden State- Donte Greene
-It’s personally difficult for me to get a read on this guy. I don’t like the idea of another chucker for Golden State, but he should do better here than anywhere else. A good candidate for dropping however, he can go from here to 25 or something.
15.
Phoenix Suns- Brandon Rush
-Looking back, DeAndre Jordan is indeed a very good possibility here as well, but I think Rush will be a better contributor while Phoenix is in “win-now” mode.
16.
Philadelphia- Mareese Speights
-I’m glad Speights drops all the way to Philly, he’s my favorite among the other big forwards (Arthur, Mcgee, Thompson, etc). Philadelphia actually has one of the best positions in the draft, as there’s little doubt they won’t be able to snag any of the aforementioned PFs.
17.
Toronto Raptors- Robin Lopez
-an excellent frontcourt companion to Bosh, and maybe Bargnani as well to offset the latter’s lack of defensive presence and rebounding.
18.
Washington Wizards- DeAndre Jordan
-I think this is Jordan’s best possible position, it could very well be a low-risk, high-reward type of situation, since they wouldn’t need him to contribute immediately because they have quite the number of stars and good roleplayers. If he pans out as expected though, he would fill Washington’s biggest need well, which is it at Center. I see him faring better than Hibbert or Koufos for the Wizards.
19.
Cleveland Cavaliers- Nicolas Batum
-In my opinion another low-risk, high-reward player. He has lottery-pick type potential, and will be asked to contribute immediately for the Cavaliers, but him playing second-fiddle at best to Lebron for the next couple of years will be a blessing in disguise for him to get acquainted with the NBA and find his niche. I think either he or JJ Hickson will drop, and obviously it’s Hickson getting the raw end of the stick in this case.
20.
Denver Nuggets- Mario Chalmers
-This is a formality pick because I’m quite sure the Lowry trade will push through (which is an excellent trade IMHO because I have a been a big fan of Lowry and I actually think he’s better than Conley). Anyway, Chalmers is Lowry-ish and should Denver choose to stay with the pick he would be the best fit.
21.
New Jersey Nets- JaVale McGee
-McGee’s slide ends here, Nets are almost certain to take a big here, and like Philadelphia, they have quite the selection to choose from.
22.
Orlando Magic- Courtney Lee
-They seem to very high on him, plus he fits a need at their weak spot which is off guard. They take him or Douglas-Roberts for sure.
23.
Utah Jazz- Roy Hibbert
-Hibbert’s slide ends here as well. A very good and sure pick for the Jazz who don’t really have any holes aside from bench depth. He should be a good fit next to the undersized Millsap. Even if he turns out to be Greg Ostertag Version2 that won’t be a bad thing for the Jazz, considering their overall star power at each position.
24.
Seattle Supersonics- Alexis Ajinca
-Another dropper, especially with talks of him being a late lottery pick. I don’t know muck about him, but I’m 100% sure that Seattle goes with a big, especially since they went with a guard for their first pick and they lack frontcourt depth anyway.
25.
Houston Rockets- Kosta Koufos
-Once again another dropper, I could see him going anytime from 14-30, but he should fall more in the 18-25 range. If DeAndre Jordan doesn’t drop to Washington I’m sure they’ll pick Koufos up. Anyway, provides an insurance big for the Rockets, adding another dimension to their frontcourt since most of the others are gritty, physical inside players.
26.
San Antonio Spurs- JJ Hickson
As mentioned when I talked about Batum, Hickson is the one who unfortunately drops. That being said, I love this pick for San Antonio, especially since they lack frontcourt depth (especially concerning youth). They can go with Ibaka or Thompson, though I think Hickson will be the better fit with Ian Mahinmi presumably coming in.
27.
New Orleans Hornets- Chris Douglas-Roberts
It’s either between him and Bill Walker in my opinion, unless they take a flyer on one of the great potential bigs that drop to them.
28.
Memphis Grizzlies- Serge Ibaka
-Possible BPA? I’m not sure about the bigs at this stage, Bill Walker or another guard is a good possibility here, but I think they’d go for the project big with their second pick.
29.
Detroit Pistons- Jason Thompson
-Don’t know too much about this guy, only that he is definitely a first-rounder and has been shooting up many draft charts.
30.
Boston Celtics- Bill Walker
-I just wanted him in the first round, he has the talent anyway. He might go to Memphis or New Orleans, then maybe Boston drafts hometown favorite Gary Forbes or takes a chance on a project big like Nathan Jawai.
I’d bet good money that there will be a good positional trade during the draft however, and a very big surprise. I hope it’s New York and them snagging Mayo. Either way draft night has the potential to be very, very interesting.
Putting out my own mock draft
Linear Mode
