Well everyone and their mother is making a mock draft so myself and mrj decided to make one. 1. Milwaukee selects Andrew Bogut This is pretty simple. Redd wants Bogut and they need a big man and immediate impact which Bogut gives them 2. Atlanta selects Marvin Williams Though Atlanta has a glut of similar players (J.Smith, Childress, Harrington) they take him for his upside, the best in the draft. When it comes down to it they won't be able to pass on his upside. 3. Portland select Gerald Green Portland has their mind set on Telfair as their Point Guard of the future. Taking Paul here just wouldnt make sense because he is only a small improvement over Telfair which isn't worth the number three pick. Gerald gives them the swingman they need. Look for them to try and trade their pick specifically with Charlotte who wants Paul. 4. New Orleans selects Chris Paul They need a PG badly as well as many other positions but Paul is the best player available so they take him. Paul's lack of height is not enough to boost Deron Williams up to this pick. 5. Charlotte selects Deron Williams Charlotte has a real need for a PG (Brevin Knight while good this year isn't the answer) and Deron is the best one available. The better players available are big men but Charlotte is set in the frontcourt with Prezbec and Okafor. 6. Utah selects Raymond Felton Utah badly needs a Point Guard but with the two best gone they take Felton though it may be a little high for him. Their need for a Point Guard outweighs the other talent avaliable. 7. Toronto selects Danny Granger They have dire needs for Point Guards and Center but with another pick later they can afford to take Granger because Jalen Rose won't be there much longer and they need a SF to replace him. Granger has improved drammaticly and his stock keeps rising. 8. New York selects Fran Vasquez With a player this good still available Isiah can't resist himself. He gives the Knicks some much needed height at 6-11. Isiah needs to save his job and Franny is ready to produce right now. Isiah can't risk a bad start of next year which could cost him his job so he takes the most NBA ready big man available. 9. Golden State selects Hakim Warrick With Troy Murphy and Cabarkapa as their PFs they could use another PF and one that can block shots and play inside. This describes Warrick pretty well and if he wa an inch or two taller there would be no questioning this pick. He is an explosive player that would fit well alongside JRich and BDiddy. 10. The Lakers select Tiago Splitter We know the rumors that Phil Jackson would want Jarret Jack but for now we don't know for sure so until then Tiago makes sense. Drafting Tiago allows for Lamar Odom to play Small Forward where he seems more comfortable. 11. Orlando selects Martell Webster This looks like a great pick for Orlando with the failed Mobley trade and Grant Hill's health a permenant question mark. For a HS player he is very NBA ready and is an outstanding scorer. 12. The Clippers select Antoine Wright The Clippers seemingly have talent everywhere so Wright's versatility seems like a good fit at the 2 and 3. They really need Wright because Bobby Simmons will most likely go elsewhere leaving a whole at the Small Forward position. 13. Charlotte selects Joey Graham Having already adressed their Point Guard needs with the number five pick they need a swingman badly. Right now they are giving big minutes to Gerald Wallace at the 3 which they really can't do if they want to contend. This is their weakest position after having adressed the PG so they take Graham to fill the spot. 14. Minnesota selects Channing Frye Minnesota really needs a Center (among other things) and Frye is the best one available. He has nice size, athletacism, and experience from spending four years in college. He gives them the inside presence that Olowakandi can't. 15. New Jersey selects Chris Taft At number 15 his immense skills are just too much to pass up for New Jersey who needs a Power Forward. He is tall, strong, and athletic enough to run with the NJ offense. 16. Toronto selects Jarret Jack Toronto is not at all happy with Rafer Alston at PG and would love to bring in someone else. Jack is the best best PG available so they take him. 17. Indiana selects Rudy Fernandez With Reggie Miller likely retiring they could use a SG like Fernandez and his amazing stroke will help fill the void left by Reggie. 18. Boston selects Johan Petro There is no doubt that giving Blount that deal last summer was a mistake and they still have the need for a big-time Center. Petro is big, fast and athletic and could develop into a great center. NBA teams have worried because he is developing slowly but in a year or two could be great. 19. Memphis selects Monta Ellis With the Grizzlies actively shopping Jason Williams they need a new PG and Ellis could be that player. He is an amazing pure scorer and could contribute right away for the Grizz. 20. Denver selects Sean May May figures in here as a backup PF in Denver where Kenyon Martin has under-whelmed. He can provide some bang off the bench for Denver. He is beastly in the paint and could round out a punishing frontline for the Nuggets. 21. Pheonix selects Charlie Villanueva Charlie would fit perfectly into Pheonix's attack, being able to play multiple positions (SF and PF). He is big, fast, and tough and the only reason he isnt a lottery pick is his questionable work ethic. He is simply too talented to pass this late in the draft. 22. Denver selects CJ Miles With Veshon Lenard aging and in questionable health Denver needs a Shooting Guard. The backups as SG DeMarr Johnson and Greg Buckner don't cut it either. Miles is a good scorer and an exceptional rebounder for a guard. 23. Sacramento selects Rashad McCants With Cuttino Mobley likely gone in free agency Sacramento has a gaping hole at the Shooting Guard position. McCants has impressed a lot of scouts with his recent workouts and is the best available shooting guard at this point. The only thing that drops him this far is his checkered past which has made teams hesitant. 24. Houston selects Wayne Simien Houston's most pressing need is some frontcourt help to go with Yao Ming. Simien is expirienced and ready to contribute right away for Houston. 25. Seattle selects Francisco Garcia He is a good fit for Seatle for multiple reasons. First he can play 3 positions (2,3,4) which could help their future planning with all the upcoming free agents. Second he is expirienced and ready to contribute right away. Third he can basicly do everything that Vladamir Radmonavich has done for Seattle making him expandable. He also does more than just shoot, he creates by passing and dribbling too. 26. Detroit selects Andrew Bynum Detroit has depth everywhere right now so they can afford to pick a project and wait while he develops (wait that was Darko ). Thinking towards the future their entire frontcourt (Wallace, Wallace, McDyess, Campbell) has been in the league at least eight years and 3 of them (Rasheed, McDyess, Afro) are bout to turn 31 so they need to think towards their future there. They won't take another PF because they aren't yet ready to give up on Darko. 27. Utah selects Kennedy Winston Utah has already solved their need for a PG by taking Raymond Felton and they need a SG and Kennedy Winston is a good fit there. Also when they want to put Kirilenko at the PF position they can slide Winston over to the SF. 28. San Antonio selects Andray Blatche San Antonio like Detroit is a deep team and can afford to draft a project like Blatche who is only 18. He can handle the ball, shoot the three and bang inside and play either the 4 or the 5. 29. Miami selects Ike Diogu With Haslem not neccesarily returning and Mourning an uncertainty to return as well Miami goes for the best Power Forward available. Though a little undersized Diogu he has excellent footwork, great low post moves and is very tough and could replace Haslem. 30. New York selects Randolph Morris With the Knicks lacking size, Randolph Morris will be an ideal pick for them especially considering he is physically built well and will be like clay for Potter Aguirre to mold. Can't see Zeke passing up on someone like Morris.
I can't quite understand this Memphis pick. Why exactly would Jerry West take a High School SG/PG tweener? The Grizzlies really need size in this draft, with a need for a backup C and backup PF. That far overrides their need for a PG. If the Grizzlies don't trade their pick, I can't see them passing up Yaroslav Korolev, Ersan Ilyasova, Marko Tomas, Sean May, or Andrew Bynum. Also, I don't see C.J. Miles as a first rounder. I only know one mock draft site (which shall remain nameless ) that views him that way. From everything I've read from ESPN and sources like that, he's a second rounder. Besides, why would Karl (UNC fanattic) pass up on Rashad McCants had he slipped all the way to #22? Utah's pick is alright, but I think they'll go with an international kid. They have a lot of picks in this year's draft and probably won't want to take on that many salaries. Logic suggests that they trade some picks or draft an international kid or two who they can leave in Europe for a few years. Ilic and Ukic would be available and might be good fits. This was a pretty solid mock draft all around though. Good job guys!
Overall a very nice mock. Got a few concerns thoguh. wth...Hakim Warrick at 9 to the Warriors? Murphy will be getting the majority of the minutes at PF, and Biendris will play minutes there. Hakim is not even a PF in the NBA. He's what...6'8, 220 tops? Although he has long arms and great athleticsm, he's more suited for the SF role in the NBA. They supposedly have a commitment to Frye, and he fits the backup PF spot better than Warrick. Tiago Splitter is a better option as well. Plus you can trade down about 7-8 spots to get Warrick. You're right that Francisco can play 3 posistions...but they are the 1, 2 and 3. The Grizz really have more of a need for a Bigman than a PG imo, because with Williams, you most likely will get a PG back in return, and it's much easier to add a PG via FA than a young quality PF/C. Bynum, Villanueva and May seem like better options to me than Ellis, who is a scoring PG. Like I said, overall, it's a very nice mock...better than Draftcity's.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Banks:</div><div class="quote_post">Overall a very nice mock. Got a few concerns thoguh. wth...Hakim Warrick at 9 to the Warriors? Murphy will be getting the majority of the minutes at PF, and Biendris will play minutes there. Hakim is not even a PF in the NBA. He's what...6'8, 220 tops? Although he has long arms and great athleticsm, he's more suited for the SF role in the NBA. They supposedly have a commitment to Frye, and he fits the backup PF spot better than Warrick. Tiago Splitter is a better option as well. Plus you can trade down about 7-8 spots to get Warrick. You're right that Francisco can play 3 posistions...but they are the 1, 2 and 3. The Grizz really have more of a need for a Bigman than a PG imo, because with Williams, you most likely will get a PG back in return, and it's much easier to add a PG via FA than a young quality PF/C. Bynum, Villanueva and May seem like better options to me than Ellis, who is a scoring PG. Like I said, overall, it's a very nice mock...better than Draftcity's.</div> Don't read too much into that "commitment" to Frye. It's just very illogical that any team would make any kind of commitment to a Senior projected to go in the mid to late first round by most sources. I was talking to some people about this, and they gave me the idea that this commitment might be a move to get Danny Granger (as crazy as it sounds). Golden State knows that Toronto wants Frye and was probably planning on taking him #16 and taking Granger #7. So Golden State, who wants Granger, says that they're going to take Frye at #9 in an attempt to get Toronto to draft Frye at #7 thus letting Granger to slide to them at #9. As far out as that may sound, things like that happen during the draft. A lot of these "rumors" are just smoke and mirrors.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Voodoo Child:</div><div class="quote_post">Don't read too much into that "commitment" to Frye. It's just very illogical that any team would make any kind of commitment to a Senior projected to go in the mid to late first round by most sources. I was talking to some people about this, and they gave me the idea that this commitment might be a move to get Danny Granger (as crazy as it sounds). Golden State knows that Toronto wants Frye and was probably planning on taking him #16 and taking Granger #7. So Golden State, who wants Granger, says that they're going to take Frye at #9 in an attempt to get Toronto to draft Frye at #7 thus letting Granger to slide to them at #9. As far out as that may sound, things like that happen during the draft. A lot of these "rumors" are just smoke and mirrors.</div> Yeah I didn't read much into either, because to me it doesn't make sense at all to make a commitment to a senior...is he gonna pull out or something if he doesn't get a gurantee top 10? I just used it as another factor on why the Warriors wouldn't take Warrick at 9, even if it has no truth at all to it. I was just listing all the possible reasons on why Warrick wouldn't and shouldn't be taken at 9.
I'm taking the "resident comedian" quote under the site name to heart here. You left off a LOT of internationls that will go round one. A couple picks, (Memphis, Denver, and picks 25 and up pretty much) just make me scratch my head. I think your lottery is very solid, but the rest is gonna make me think a little. But, of course, this is all on opinion. Check back with ya after Chicago!
Overall not bad guys. I dont see Graham or Splitter going that high personally. I'll say high teens for Graham, low 20 for Splitter. I like Toronto's pick in Granger, and i think its a very likely situation, especially if Felton is off the board. I also like Jack at PG to replace Rafer who's to prone to shooting bad shots, very very often....though i could see the Lakers taking him or trading down a few spots to get him before 16, they really need a PG.
How does Garcia make Radmanovic expendable? Vlad is a 3/4, Garcia is a 1/2/3. Even SF is a bit of a stretch for Franny in the pros given his skinny build.
all I gotta say is Toronto better not take Frye with the 7! Don't fall for no smoke and mirrors Babcock I would say that is a HUGE reach as well as you should always follow your draft board and not go by what others are saying or doing.
