Mock Draft #3--6/18

F-Dog

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This is probably my final mock draft. I got all fancy with trades and explanations and such, which should tell you how bored I am right now.

Basically, I see this draft shaping up worse than last year’s for foreign players, with Chad Ford going home in tears after the first round. Most GMs don’t like to draft HS kids anyway, so asking them to draft puny foreign HS kids is asking for something you’re not likely to get.

The oddity in this draft is the huge number of HS players with guarantees. Since so many prospects pulled out at the last minute, the last few picks in the first round are tough to get a read on.



1. Orlando—Emeka Okafor

Unless Dwight Howard is the second coming of Tim Duncan, he’s not worth taking over Okafor; Howard is still a whiny high schooler, remember, while Okafor is probably a top-10 center right now. Even if the Magic are resigned to trading Tracy McGrady, Okafor looks like their man to me.

2. Charlotte (from Clippers)—Dwight Howard

Charlotte offers to take whatever contracts the Clippers want to give them, and possibly give up a future draft pick, for the right to move up to the second pick in a two-man draft. Atlanta’s offer is more appealing, but the Bobcats’ #4 is the last pick where every PG on the board should be available.

3. Chicago—Luol Deng

After flirting with the rest, Bulls GM John Paxson retreats to the safe pick (as usual). Deng’s length is reminiscent of this year’s ‘it’ SF, Tayshaun Prince.

4. LA Clippers (from Charlotte)—Ben Gordon

Ordinarily, I’d expect the Clips to jump on youngest player possible, but Gordon is the PG in this draft that most resembles Baron Davis, the Clippers’ fabled Point Guard Who Got Away. Besides, Donald Sterling is putting all his chips on Kobe this year, and if Kobe signs, he’ll need teammates that are ready to contribute right away.

5. Philadelphia (from Washington)—Andre Iguodala

The 76ers have supposedly been searching for a way to trade up for Iguodala, and I think the Wizards might be receptive. Iguodala would play mostly SF in Philly, but they’re used to having smaller players at that position; playing with Allen Iverson, Iggy’s athletic ability, defense and ball-handling skills will be welcome, and his inconsistent shot less of a factor.

6. Atlanta—Shaun Livingston

I think the Hawks are going HS whether they trade up or not: they seem to be committed to a long-term rebuilding process. Also, when I first read that Livingston is supposed to have the potential to sell tickets, the Hawks came immediately to mind…

7. Phoenix—Josh Smith

The Suns ignore their needs and the polished prospects who can contribute immediately, and use their pick on an uberathletic but ultra-raw high-schooler. David Aldridge immediately slams the Suns for passing on Josh Childress.

8. Toronto—Jameer Nelson

The first reach of the day, but Devin Harris’ stock is dropping nearly as fast as Enron’s did. PG is one of the Raptors’ two needs, and I’m guessing their new management team noticed the success of last year’s #8 pick, TJ Ford; immediate help is going to be a big issue for lottery teams from the Eastern Conference, because four or five playoff spots will be up for grabs there next year.

9. Washington (from Philadelphia)—Josh Childress

Wizards fans seem resigned to the prospect of their team drafting Childress; if it’s going to happen anyway, the Wizards might as well trade down a few spots and pick up another player or pick in the process. Childress is going to get awfully sick of being compared to his new teammate, Jared Jeffries.

10. Cleveland—Devin Harris

Luke Jackson, Kirk Snyder, or Pavel Podkolzine might get a look here, but Harris seems like a great fit if he drops. Harris fills a need, he’s as experienced as anybody left, and he’s from the midwest, so he doesn’t have to be taught all of those Indiana jokes.

11. Golden State—Andris Biedrins

BPA meets need for this pick, since none of the big men are off the board yet. Al Jefferson might make more sense, since he’s more of a center and more different from next year’s lotto pick, Yi JianLian, but there are rumors of a Mullin promise to Biedrins.

12. Seattle—Al Jefferson

The Sonics would take Luke Jackson here, but the Pacers won’t listen to offers for Fred Jones. :p Jefferson’s taller-than-expected height at the combine has prompted hypesters to upgrade him from ‘the next Zach Randolph’ to ‘the next Eddy Curry’…umm, not that that’s really an upgrade…you know what I mean.

13. Portland—Luke Jackson

The local kid turns out to be exactly what the Blazers need—an athletic swingman who can really shoot, who probably won’t blow off team functions, and who might not even smoke pot (well, not every day, at least). Expect Jackson to do a double-take each of the first ten times he passes Dan Dickau in the hallway.

14. Utah—Pavel Podkolzine

I should probably put him at #16, just to twist the knife a little more—what if Podkolzine turns into the next great center, and he’s playing for the Jazz because the Suns sold that pick for cash?

Seriously, though, Podkolzine would fit will with Utah—he’s one of those stiff centers the Jazz have been missing ever since they drafted Greg Ostertag.

15. Boston—Kris Humphries

Since he played for the 80’s Celtics and coached the Suns, you know Danny Ainge won’t be afraid to draft white guys. I like the irony in the Celtics picking the ‘next Gugliotta’ as a result of Raef LaFrentz blowing out his knee.

16. Utah—Sergei Monya

This is one of those locks of the draft—the Utah Red Army, er, Jazz, already dumped Aleksander Pavlovic on the Bobcats in anticipation of drafting Monya.

Q: Why are the Jazz filling their roster with former commies, anyway?

Jazz GM Kevin O’Connor: Well, we’ve discovered that players who grew up under a brutal, spirit-crushing dictatorship seem to respond better to Jerry Sloan’s coaching…


17. Atlanta—David Harrison

The Hawks need a big somewhere, and Harrison seems like their type—athletic and short-armed. Nazr Mohammad’s shoes need somebody to fill them.

18. New Orleans—Kirk Snyder

I can see Snyder in his NBA Draft Collection pimp suit, muttering to himself, “what more do I need to do before somebody uses a lottery pick on me?” :confused: If he falls this far, the Hornets luck out, but some good player is going to drop in any case: there’s just not enough room for all of the “late lottery pick” types.

19. Miami—Kevin Martin

Jameer Nelson would be perfect for the Heat—he fits with their recent draft philosophy of taking productive college players without worrying about their measurables—but he’s long gone. David Harrison is gone, too. PJ Ramos was supposedly terrible in his workout with the Heat. Kevin Martin doesn’t seem like much of a need pick, but he’s worked out for Miami twice (not counting his private workout in Chicago), so they must like what they saw the first time, anyway.

20. Denver—Peter John Ramos

Denver needs a two and a five, but the players that might contribute immediately are gone. Ramos is a project, but Kiki Vandeweghe seems to be willing to take those on, and Ramos can’t be as slow or as unathletic as Rafael Araujo. Dorrell Wright is starting to look pretty good at this spot, too.

21. Utah—Anderson Varejao

I could give them Khryapa just for kicks, but the Red Army needs a PF, too, and Varejao is another one of those active, athletic foreigners with upside. It’s only a matter of time before Utah shuts down their domestic scouting entirely.

22. New Jersey—J.R. Smith

I have no idea when J.R. Smith will be picked, and I’m not sure who’s making this pick, either, so as far as I’m concerned, player and pick are perfect for each other.

I guess if I knew that Portland was making this pick, I’d have to look at the centers, Araujo and Ha Seung-Jin.

23. Portland—Sebastian Telfair

The second of the rumored promise picks; Portland changed GMs, but haven’t lost their predilection for l-o-n-g--term projects. Telfair has a year under Damon Stoudamire where he can learn how to be short, then he’ll probably spend the next couple of years backing up some free agent PG. Adidas will be thrilled to death.

24. Boston—Dorrell Wright
25. Boston—Robert Swift


The Promise Twins don’t look nearly as bad now as they did before the foreign prospects pulled out of the draft in droves. Well, Swift still looks pretty bad, but Dorrell Wright might even be the BPA at this point (if he’s not picked before now, that is).

26. Sacramento—Rafael Araujo

The Kings still run Vlade Divac at center, so they have less to fear than most teams regarding Araujo’s glacially slow play. Araujo has most of the offensive skills needed to hang with the Kings, so he’d be a valuable role player, coming off the bench to brutalize opponents whenever Brad Miller needs a rest.

27. LA Lakers—Sasha Vujacic

The last promise player in the first round; the Lakers have supposedly been following Vujacic around for two years now. I tried to make my draft so that Vujacic was taken with the pick right before theirs, but I couldn’t make it work out right. ;)

28. San Antonio—Viktor Khryapa

The Spurs need a backup PG who’s better than Charlie Ward, they need somebody who can make a shot when it counts, but most of all they need someone who’s willing to go away and stay away until the Spurs call for him. Khryapa seems like he has the best chance (of the players left) of filling at least one of those three criteria.

29. Indiana—Chris Duhon

Bad as Duhon has supposedly played this spring, I still think he sneaks into the first round somewhere. He has proven upside (he just has to turn back into the player he was two years ago) and some team is going to figure that he’s still worth having around as an 11th or 12th man, even if he doesn’t improve. I might be mistaken, though. :shrug:
 

elindholm

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Great work, F-Dog! I don't agree with all of it, but it makes for very entertaining reading. Beats the crap out of most stuff on the "real" sports sites, that's for sure.
 
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F-Dog

F-Dog

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elindholm said:
Great work, F-Dog! I don't agree with all of it, but it makes for very entertaining reading. Beats the crap out of most stuff on the "real" sports sites, that's for sure.

Thanks, Eric. :cool:
 

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